"Edge of the World - Trailer" Topic

"Born in Bengal to a British expatriates, Brooke would join the Bengal Army of the British East India Company before being seriously wounded and sent to England to recover. Having inherited a small fortune, he later bought a 142-ton boat and set sail for Borneo in 1838 in order to escape a certain romantic scandal. After falling in love with this tropical paradise, he fought pirates and the Sultan's enemies to win, in 1841, a crown as Rajah of Sarawak, where he ruled a jungle kingdom larger than England until his death in 1868. Brooke was knighted by Queen Victoria for his bravery, but went on to defy the monarch when the British Empire tried to colonize Sarawak. The reign of the White Rajah lasted three generations across a century, and the family's legacy is now immortalised in the recently opened Brooke Gallery at Fort Margherita in Kuching, Sarawak."

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Armand

Fascinating locale and period. I wouldn't describe the Brooke period (a bit over 100 years if we include the period of Japanese occupation during WW 2) as three generations, although it did encompass only three White Rajas: James, his nephew Charles and Charles' son Vyner-didn't the last Rajah Muda die within the past year or two?

There's a good quantity of information available, albeit not always easy to find. Covered fictionally by one Flashman novel (Flashman's Lady) and the Sandokan novels, movies, and live action and animated TV shows with James Brooke (the "Exterminator") as the eponymous hero's main adversary (at least in those I've read). I vaguely recall seeing one of the films many years ago; they were Italian made (the Sandokan author was Italian) films of the same general style as the Italian Hercules films-in fact, I think Steve Reeves starred in some of the Sandokan films.

Several contemporary accounts of the Brookes in Sarawak survive (I have maybe half a dozen or so), and excerpts of James Brooke's journals are found in Henry Keppel's accounts of his anti-piracy patrols in the seas around Borneo. Others, including a bio and bit of a history (titled "My Life in Sarawak") by the Ranee, Charles wife, can be found on archive dot org.

Inasmuch as this is a wargaming site, I should also mention that rules ("The Kris and the Flame"), figures, ships and buildings to game the period are all available from Patrick Wilson, the (Virtual) Armchair General.

Great Zot!

I've been waiting for the release of this film for about a year, and it was filmed almost three years ago.

Sorry to see it won't go into general theatrical release--it should look WONDERFUL on the Big Screen, but I'll take it in any form that's offered.

And thank you, Brother Dennis, for the kind plug of the full range of rules, vessel models, figures, weapons, etc, released last year at TVAG.

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And here: link

If this film doesn't get your blood up, you'd better check for hypotension!

TVAG

Thanks!

Armand