Dang Bireley's and Young Gangsters
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| Dang Bireley's and Young Gangsters (2499 Antapan Krong Muang) | |
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 The Thai movie poster. |
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| Directed by | Nonzee Nimibutr |
| Produced by | Visute Poolvoralaks |
| Written by | Wisit Sasanatieng (screenplay) Suriyong Saktaisong (story) |
| Starring | Jessadaporn Pholdee Noppachai Muttaweevong Attaporn Teemakorn Supakorn Kitsuwon Chartchai Ngamsan Apichart Choosakul Champagne X |
| Music by | Orange Music |
| Cinematography | Winai Patomboon |
| Editing by | Sunit Ussavinikul |
| Distributed by | Tai Entertainment |
| Release date(s) |  April 11, 1997 |
| Running time | 110 min |
| Country | Thailand |
| Language | Thai |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Dang Bireley's and Young Gangsters (Thai: 2499 อันธพาลครองเมือง or 2499 Antapan Krong Muang) is a 1997 crime drama film about young Thai gangsters in 1950s Thailand. Featuring John Woo-style heroic bloodshed, it was the debut film from director Nonzee Nimibutr and was the first screenplay by director and screenwriter Wisit Sasanatieng.
The 2499 in the Thai title refers to the year in the Buddhist calendar when the story starts, corresponding to the year 1956.
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[edit] Plot
Dang, the son of a prostitute, growing up in 1950s Thailand, compensates for his inferiority complex by boosting up his ego. At the age of 13, he killed a man who was beating his mother. By age 16, he had dropped out of school and started his own protection racket. With his right-hand man Lam Sing, Dang is high protective of Piak, and is also friends with Pu Bottle Bomb and Pu's sidekick Dum.
They all model themselves after Elvis Presley and James Dean. Dang attracts the attention of a young night club singer named Wallapa, who pressures Dang to stop being a gangster and live a normal life. Dang's mother also wishes that he would stop being gangster and ordain as a Buddhist monk.
Dang carves out more territory by killing the local gang boss, Mad Dog. Meanwhle, Piak is caught up in a fight between rival school gangs, instigated by Pu and Dum. The fight leads to a falling out between Dang and Pu, and all the young gangsters must leave Bangkok for the countryside. Dang, Lam Sing and Piak go to work for Sergeant Chien, a former policeman turned gangster, at Chien's bar and gambling den. Chien needs more muscle to go against a rival operator, Headman Tek, and brings in Pu and Dum against Dang's wishes. Pu and Dum then stir up trouble in the gambling den, and are banned. Sergeant Chien is killed by a motorcyclist gunman who pulls up alongside Chien's car on a road.
With Chien gone, Dang returns to Bangkok, where he plans on fulfilling his mother's wishes and taking his oath as a monk. However Pu and Dum show up during the ceremony and gun battle ensues. Lam Sing is killed, and Dang and Piak are wounded, but Pu and Dum are killed.
In an epilogue, narrated by an older Piak, it turns out Dang survived his wounds, but continued as a gangster, and then died in a car accident at age 24, just like his idol James Dean.
[edit] Cast
- Jessadaporn Pholdee as Dang Bireley
- Noppachai Muttaweevong as Lam Sing
- Attaporn Teemakorn as Piak
- Supakorn Kitsuwon as Pu Bottle Bomb
- Chartchai Ngamsan as Dum Esso
- Champagne X as Wallapa
- Apichart Choosakul as Sergeant Chien
- Parichart Borsudhi as Dang's mother
- Piya Bunnak as Pol
- Teerachai Plugpimarn as Mad Dog
- Suthakorn Jaimun as Headman Tek
[edit] Trivia
- The main character takes his name from a soft drink factory next door to his home that produces Dang Bireley's soda. It was an actual soft-drink brand in Thailand. His friends gave him that name, as in "Hey, Dang Bireley's ..."
- The English-title is variously stated as Dang Bireley's and Young Gangsters, Dang Bireley's and the Young Gangsters, Dang Bireley and the Young Gangsters, Dang Bireley's Young Gangsters and even Dang Bailey and the Young Gangsters.
- Chartchai Ngamsan, who portrays Pu Bottle Bomb's sidekick, played another character named Dum (the Thai name for the color black) in Tears of the Black Tiger, directed by screenwriter Wisit Sasanatieng. In Tears, Chartchai was the lead character, while Supakorn Kitsuwon played the sidekick role.
[edit] Awards and nominations
- 1997 Vancouver International Film Festival - nominated for a Dragons and Tigers award.
[edit] External links
- Dang Bireley's and Young Gangsters at the Internet Movie Database
- Dang Bireley's and Young Gangsters at the Thai Film Database
- Thai Film Reviews by Simon Booth
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