''Raja Bersiong'' (King of the Fanged Wings) is a 1968

Malaysian Malaysian may refer to: * Something from or related to Malaysia, a country in Southeast Asia * Malaysian Malay, a dialect of Malay language spoken mainly in Malaysia * Malaysian people, people who are identified with the country of Malaysia regar ...

historical

epic film Epic films are a style of filmmaking with large-scale, sweeping scope, and spectacle. The usage of the term has shifted over time, sometimes designating a film genre and at other times simply synonymous with big-budget filmmaking. Like epics in ...

in Malay directed by

Jamil Sulong Jamil ( ar, جميل) is an Arabic given name. It means "handsome" in Arabic as well as "beautiful". The Latin spelling variants include Gamil (used mainly in Egypt), Cemil (in Turkish), Djemil or Djamel (mainly in North African countries influenc ...

and based on a story by former Malaysian Prime Minister

Tunku Abdul Rahman Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah ( ms, ‏تونكو عبد الرحمن ڤوترا الحاج ابن سلطان عبد الحميد حليم شاه, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 8 Febru ...

. Despite costing RM 750,000 to produce, ten times the cost of the average Malaysian film, it was a flop at the box-office. The story is loosely based on historical myth

Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa ( Jawi: حكاية مروڠ مهاوڠسا ), alternatively spelt Hikayat Marong Mahawangsa and also known as the Kedah Annals, is a Malay literary work that gives a romantic account of the history and tales relating ...

, first told about pre-Islamic

Kedah Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman and historically as Queda, is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km2, and it consists of the mainla ...

that was once ruled by

Raja Ong Maha Perita Deria ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested fr ...

The story is very popular and has been filmed twice, in 1963 and 1968. It has also been staged as a theatrical production by the Petronas Performing Arts Group.Kakiseni.com - The 60 Second Plug: "Raja Bersiong"

Synopsis (''Raja Bersiong 1963'')

A King and his troops came across a town called Kampung Gading. There, they meet a strong but mute and deaf man named Badang, who is the personal servant of a young woman named Chomel. The King pretended to be a normal guard as part of a plan to lure Badang to become his personal protector and Chomel to become his wife. His plan worked and he married Chomel and Badang left to work for him. Some time later, the king's appetite changed. At dinner one night, he commends the cook for the delicious dish and asked what the main ingredient was. The cook was forced to reveal that the unusual taste was due to his (the cook's) own blood, which had dropped into the dish when his hand was bleeding. The king deduced that the blood was the ingredient to make all his food delicious and commanded that all his food be cooked in human blood from then on. His taste for blood grew so intense that over time he grew fangs and began attacking his own people to feast on them. When people began dying to satisfy the King's thirst for blood, his subjects revolted and the King was killed by them.

References

External links

* https://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/sunsetstrip/balcony/5275/filem/r/raja_bersiong.html&date=2009-10-25+22:30:23 * 1968 films Malaysian horror films Malay-language films Malay Film Productions films Historical epic films Films about cannibalism {{1960s-horror-film-stub