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| Sandokan | |
|---|---|
 Sandokan and Marianna "The Pearl of Labuan" on the cover of the novelThe Tigers of Mompracem, Alberto Della Valle 1900 | |
| Created by | Emilio Salgari |
| Portrayed by | Luigi Pavese (1941) Steve Reeves (1964) Ray Danton (1964) Ivan Rassimov (1970) Kabir Bedi (1976-1998) Can Yaman (TBA) |
| In-universe information | |
| Alias | The Tiger of Malaysia |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Pirate, Warrior, Prince (later Rajah) |
| Spouse | Marianna Guillonk |
| Nationality | Bornean |
Sandokan is a fictional late 19th-centurypirate created byItalian authorEmilio Salgari. His adventures first appeared in publication in 1883. Sandokan is the hero of 11 adventure novels. Within the series, Sandokan is known throughout theSouth China Sea as the "Tiger ofMalaya".[1]
Emilio Salgari wrote several novels telling the adventures of Sandokan and Yanez, two of his most legendary creations. They are introduced inThe Tigers of Mompracem, which portrays their struggle againstDutch andBritish. In many sequels, they fight againstJames Brooke, a white-skin adventurer, self-appointed asRajah ofSarawak; they also move toIndia to smash down theThugs, a notorious band of stranglers devoted to the goddessKali.
Other Sandokan adventures were written by Italian novelist Luigi Motta, Emilio Fancelli, and by Salgari's son, Omar.Paco Ignacio Taibo II has published a recent "Sandokan" novel entitledThe Return of the Tigers of Malaysia.Gianni Padoan has edited a series of novels that are declaredly a sci-fi reinterpretation of the Tigers of Malaysia series by Emilio Salgari:I misteri della stella nera (Mondadori 1978),I pirati della galassia (Mondadori 1978),Le tigri di Moonpracer (Mondadori 1979),Alla conquista di Rigel (Mondadori 1980).
Sandokan is the son of Kaigadan, the last Prince ofBorneo, whose parents were killed by theEast India Company in a bid to seize the throne. Having sworn revenge, Sandokan gathers a group of rebels and pirates, the Tigers of Mompracem (nowPulau Kuraman), to regain his Princedom, and adopts the nickname of "Tiger of Malaysia". Stranded inLabuan, Sandokan is recovering of his wounds in the house of Lord James Guillonk, where he meets Marianna, the Lord's niece, aka the "Pearl of Labuan", whom he falls in love with. Sandokan escapes, but reunites with Marianna, and later marries her. After his defeat, Sandokan set his men free from jail, and apparently gives up piracy, and escapes toJava with his wife. Actually, Sandokan and his friend, Yanez De Gomera, keep on help their friend Kammamuri to fight James Brooke, the "Exterminator", the White Rajah of Sarawak, and finally to free Tremal-Naik. Sandokan later has to help Tremal-Naik again, when his daughter is kidnapped by Thugs, Kali-yug's worshippers, a sect of killers commanded by Suyodhana, the "Tiger of India".
Following many battles over a period of years, Sandokan defeats all of his enemies and retires asrajah of Kini Balù (Ambong andMarudu). His friend Yanez is appointed rajah ofAssam.
Sandokan character is inspired by theSpanish naval captainCarlos Cuarteroni Fernández.[2] He is depicted by Salgari as a gallant pirate. He is described as tall, charming, very muscular, slender, and attractive, with cold, black eyes, a fierce and severe look, and a big turban on his head. Unlike his troops, who are described as mostly half-naked, Sandokan always wears fine oriental clothes, generally red silk with embroidered gold, and long, red, leather boots.
Sandokan is a formidable fighter, brave, and ruthless with his enemies, but kind, generous, and faithful to his friends. He has absolute leadership over his men, and is often shown as having no fear, with Yanez playing as a sort of counterweight to his impulsive nature.
The first Sandokan films were made in 1941 in Italy withLuigi Pavese as Sandokan.
A series of Italian-made films with American leads were filmed in 1964 and released internationally.
A 1970 Italian-Spanish filmThe Tigers of Mompracem was made withIvan Rassimov as Sandokan
Additionally,Temple of the White Elephant (a.k.a.Sandok, ilMaciste della giungla) withMimmo Palmara (1964, dir. Umberto Lenzi), who played a character named "Sandok", inspired by Salgari's character. Meanwhile,The Mountain of Light,a.k.a.Jungle Adventurer, withRichard Harrison (1965, dir. Umberto Lenzi) was retitled "Sandok" in certain territories, itself being based on a non-Sandokan Salgari novel.
In 1976, Indian actorKabir Bedi played the lead inSandokan, a six-part miniseries for European television directed bySergio Sollima.Carole André was cast as Lady Marianna Guillonk,Philippe Leroy played Sandokan's trusted friend and lieutenant Yanez De Gomera. The role of the main antagonist James Brooke was performed byAdolfo Celi.
In 1977,Kabir Bedi reprised his role in the filmLa tigre è ancora viva: Sandokan alla riscossa! (The Tiger Lives Again: Sandokan to the Rescue!). The TV series theme song, "Sandokan", was composed by Oliver Onions (a pseudonym ofthe De Angelis brothers), and made the top 10 in many European countries, albeit mostly in the translated English version.
A 2004documentary,Sandokan's Adventure, detailed the making of the series.
Two further television series were madeThe Return of Sandokan in 1996 andThe Son of Sandokan in 1998, withKabir Bedi again reprising his role.
It was announced that a new series is in the works atLux Vide forRai 1, developed by Alessandro Sermoneta,Scott Rosenbaum and Davide Lantieri.Can Yaman stars in the role of Sandokan, with Alanah Bloor cast as Lady Marianna Guillonk.[3] The series began filming in April 2024.[4]
The first animated series,Sandokan, was released in 1992 by Spanish animation studioBRB International, and broadcast in theUnited Kingdom onChannel 4 andRepublic of Ireland onRTE Two. It was later repeated in the UK on certainITV regions in 1996. This children's animated show, written byDoug Stone andDave Mallow, is loosely based on Salgari's novels. In the show, Sandokan (here ananthropomorphized tiger) is an usurped prince, who travels the seas as a pirate seeking to reclaim his rightful throne from the Rajah of Sarawak. He battles the evil maharajah, who killed his parents. In the midst of this local struggle, Sandokan falls in love with Mariana (here ananthropomorphized deer), who is the daughter of a European power, who has naval influence over the area. The first nine episodes of the series are available in threeDVD volumes in the United Kingdom. A condensed version of the series was released as an animated movie,The Princess and the Pirate, in 1995.
Another animated series, this time with human characters, was released in 1998 from a coproduction amongRAI on 1993−94,SEK Studio, andMondo TV and broadcast in Italy onRai 1. This 26-episode series was composed of three parts:Sandokan, la tigre della Malesia (Sandokan, the Tiger of Malaysia, produced in 1998);Sandokan, la tigre ruggisce ancora (Sandokan, the Tiger roars again, 2000); andSandokan, le due tigri (Sandokan, The Two Tigers, 2004). The story takes place in the second half of the 19th century, and is situated in the Malaysian archipelago, Borneo, and India.
