 |
|
Sandokan, The Tiger
of Malaysia
Sandokan
"The Tiger of Malaysia" sprang from the pen of Italian
adventure writer Emilio Salgari. In 2007, the pirate
was named one of the 1001 greatest characters of the
20th century.
Orphaned
when the British murdered his family and stole his throne,
Sandokan gathered a legion of pirates and took to the
sea to attain his vengeance. Under the command of Sandokan
and his loyal friend Yanez de Gomera, the Tigers of
Mompracem fight for the defense of tiny native kingdoms
against the colonial powers of the Dutch and British
empires.
The first Sandokan adventure appeared in serial form
in the La Nuova Arena in 1883, and was published as
Le tigri di Mompracem in 1900. The tale proved so popular,
the characters so intriguing, that it spawned a legion
of sequels, pitting Sandokan and Yanez against a variety
of enemies: Rajah James Brooke, Governor of Sarawak,
better known as The Exterminator for the merciless way
he hunted down pirates; the Thugs of the Kali cult in
the Indian Sunderbands, and a variety of petty dictators
and colonial powers. Salgari's pen transformed the bloodthirsty
pirate into a noble warrior, a kind of Malay Robin Hood,
imbuing his characters with a strong sense of idealism,
passion, and loyalty.
It wasn't long before Sandokan spread to other forms
of media, from theater and music to television and film.
Legendary Hollywood body builder, Steve Reeves gave
North America its first glimpse of the Malay pirate
in the 1963 MGM film Sandokan the Great, doing well
enough at the box office to spawn a sequel the following
year. Two more movies were made in the mid 60s starring
Ray Danton.
However, it wasn't until 1976, when three European production
houses united to create a TV miniseries based on Mr.
Salgari's novels, that the quintessential Sandokan was
found. Kabir Bedi rocked Europe with his portrayal of
the Malayan pirate, bringing in 27 million weekly viewers
in Italy alone. A sequel was made La tigre e ancora
viva: Sandokan alla Riscossa! the following year which
also proved popular. Bedi's Sandokan was the most marketed
miniseries of its time and to this day his is the face
of the Malay pirate.
The 90s saw Sandokan's adventures return to the small
screen. BBI in Spain had Sandokan drawn as a tiger.
The series was quite popular throughout Europe and is
now available on DVD. RAI also produced an animated
version with Italian production house Mondo TV, now
in its third series. Both were very popular in Europe
and generated a number of toys and video games. DVDs
in English of the Spanish aniamted series are available
online.
|
|
