Bangkok Hilton
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| Bangkok Hilton | |
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| Directed by | Ken Cameron |
| Written by | Ken Cameron (story), Terry Hayes (story), Tony Morphett (story), Terry Hayes (screenplay) |
| Starring | Nicole Kidman, Denholm Elliott, Hugo Weaving, Joy Smithers |
| Release date(s) | 1989 |
| Running time | 270 mins |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Bangkok Hilton is a six-part Australian mini-series, made in 1989 by director Ken Cameron. In 2000 it was released on DVD in the United Kingdom, with a four-and-a-half hour running time; there is also another DVD edition with a drastically shortened length. The title of the mini-series is, in the story, the nickname of a fictional Bangkok prison in which the protagonist is imprisoned.
There are actually three hotels in Bangkok currently affiliated with the Hilton Hotels Corporation: Millennium Hilton Bangkok, Conrad Bangkok and Conrad Residences. At the time the movie was made, Hilton International Bangkok (opened in 1983) was also in business. It is now owned by Raffles International and is known as Nai Lert Park Bangkok.
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[edit] Plot
The central plot of Bangkok Hilton revolves around Katrina Stanton (Nicole Kidman), who is imprisoned and sentenced to death in Thailand for drug smuggling. The drugs were planted on her by her boyfriend who was using her to smuggle the drugs out of the country.
Bangkok Hilton also contains a sub-plot focusing on Katrina Stanton's quest to find her father, Hal Stanton (Denholm Elliott). Hal Stanton had been a POW in World War II (as had Denholm Elliott), imprisoned in the very same jail that now holds his daughter. By the time the movie catches up to him, though, he has lapsed into alcoholism and seems on the verge of a melancholic demise. As the story unfolds, though, he becomes his daughter's last hope, and he is.
The plot has much in common with Alan Parker's Midnight Express, which was loosely based on the true story of an American caught smuggling drugs out of Turkey. Bangkok Hilton arguably served as inspiration for two recent Hollywood releases, Return to Paradise, starring Anne Heche, Vince Vaughn and Joaquin Phoenix, and Brokedown Palace, starring Claire Danes and Kate Beckinsale.
[edit] Impact
After the series aired, the name Bangkok Hilton has regularly been used in the media to refer to any and all Thai prisons as if those prisons were actually nicknamed Bangkok Hilton in real life. Some news reports state that the Klong Prem women's prison carries the nickname Bangkok Hilton [1]
A 2004 BBC documentary about Bangkwang prison - a male only prison - was titled "The Real Bangkok Hilton" [2]. Some news reports have claimed that Bangkwang prison itself carries the real-life nickname "Bangkok Hilton". [3]
[edit] Characters
- Nicole Kidman - Katrina Stanton
- Denholm Elliott - Hal Stanton
- Hugo Weaving - Richard Carlisle
- Joy Smithers - Mandy Engels
- Norman Kaye - George McNair
- Jerome Ehlers - Arkie Ragan
- Pauline Chan - Pretty Warden
- Noah Taylor - Billy Engels
- Richard Carter - Detective King
- Gerda Nicolson - Lady Faulkner
- Judy Morris - Catherine Faulkner
[edit] References
- ^ Mark Baker (September 27, 2002). That one bad trip to Bangkok. The Age. Retrieved on 2008-01-05.
- ^ BBC Program on Bangkwang Prison [1]
- ^ James Hopkirk (October 23, 2005). Checking in to the Bangkok Hilton. The Observer. Retrieved on 2008-02-08.
[edit] External links
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