Sandokan is a fictional late 19th-century

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

created by

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

author

Emilio Salgari Emilio Salgari (, but often erroneously ; 21 August 1862 – 25 April 1911) was an Italian writer of action adventure swashbucklers and a pioneer of science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of spe ...

. His adventures first appeared in publication in 1883. Sandokan is the protagonist of 11 adventure novels. Sandokan is known throughout the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Ph ...

as the "Tiger of

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

Sandokan series

Emilio Salgari wrote several novels chronicling the adventures of Sandokan and Yanez, two of his most legendary creations. They are introduced in ''

The Tigers of Mompracem ''The Tigers of Mompracem'' (original title: ''Le Tigri di Mompracem'') is an exotic adventure novel written by Italian author Emilio Salgari, published in 1900. It features his most famous character, Sandokan. It was adapted into a 1970 film '' ...

'', which portrays their conflicts against the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

. In subsequent novels, they battle against

James Brooke Sir James Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak (29 April 1803 – 11 June 1868), was a British soldier and adventurer who founded the Raj of Sarawak in Borneo. He ruled as the first White Rajah of Sarawak from 1841 until his death in 1868. Brooke was b ...

, the

Raja ''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 ...

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the Malaysian state of Sabah to the northeast, ...

, and also travel to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

to measure themselves against the Thugs, a notorious band of stranglers devoted to the goddess

Kali Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In this tra ...

The original series

* ''

The Mystery of the Black Jungle ''The Mystery of the Black Jungle'' ( it, I misteri della jungla nera) is an exotic adventure novel written by Italian author Emilio Salgari, published in 1895. It features two of his most well-known characters, the hunter Tremal-Naik and his loy ...

'' (''I Misteri della Jungla Nera'', 1895) * ''

The Pirates of Malaysia ''The Pirates of Malaysia'' ( it, I pirati della Malesia) is an exotic adventure novel written by Italian author Emilio Salgari, published in 1896. It features his most famous character, Sandokan, and is a sequel to ''The Tigers of Mompracem''. Sy ...

''(''I Pirati della Malesia'', 1896) * ''

''(''Le Tigri di Mompracem'', 1900) * ''

The Two Tigers ''The Two Tigers'' (original title: ''Le due tigri'') is the fourth adventure novel in the Sandokan series written by Italian author Emilio Salgari, published in 1904. Plot summary India, 1857. Just when Tremal-Naik's life was getting back to no ...

''(''Le due Tigri'', 1904) * ''

The King of the Sea ''The King of the Sea'' (original title: ''Il re del mare'') is an exotic adventure novel written by Italian author Emilio Salgari, published in 1906. It features his most famous character, Sandokan. Plot introduction Malaysia, 1868. A mysteriou ...

''(''Il Re del Mare'', 1906) * ''

Quest for a Throne ''Quest for a Throne'' (original title: ''Alla conquista di un impero'') is an exotic adventure novel written by Italian author Emilio Salgari, published in 1907. It features his most famous character, Sandokan. Plot introduction Sandokan and Ya ...

''(''Alla conquista di un impero'', 1907) * ''

Sandokan to the Rescue ''Sandokan to the Rescue'' (Italian: ''Sandokan alla riscossa'') is a 1907 adventure novel by the Italian writer Emilio Salgari. It is the seventh in his series featuring the nineteenth century Malayan pirate Sandokan. It is also known by the alt ...

'' (''Sandokan alla riscossa'', 1907) * ''Return to Mompracem ''(''La riconquista del Mompracem'', 1908) * ''The Brahman'' (''Il Bramino dell'Assam'', 1911) * ''An Empire Crumbles'' (''La caduta di un impero'', 1911) (published posthumously) * ''Yanez' Revenge ''(''La rivincita di Yanez'', 1913) (published posthumously)

Follow-up works

Other Sandokan titles were written by Italian authors Luigi Motta, Emilio Fancelli and by Salgari's son Omar.

Paco Ignacio Taibo II Paco Ignacio Taibo II (born Francisco Ignacio Taibo Mahojo; on January 11, 1949), also known as Paco Taibo II or informally as PIT is a Spanish-Mexican writer, novelist and political activist based in Mexico City. He is most widely known as the ...

has written a recent Sandokan novel entitled ''The Return of the Tigers of Malaysia''. Gianni Padoan wrote 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).

Fictional biography

Sandokan is the son of Kaigadan, the last of a dynasty of rulers of

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and e ...

, whose parents were killed by the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Sou ...

in a bid to seize the throne. Having sworn revenge, Sandokan assembles a group of rebel pirates, the Tigers of Mompracem (now Pulau Kuraman), to attack them, and earns the personal name of the Tiger of Malaysia. Stranded in

Labuan Labuan (), officially the Federal Territory of Labuan ( ms, Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan), is a Federal Territory of Malaysia. Its territory includes and six smaller islands, off the coast of the state of Sabah in East Malaysia. Labuan's capita ...

, Sandokan is recovering of his wounds in the house of Lord James Guillonk, when he meets the lord's niece Marianna, the "Pearl of Labuan", with whom he falls in love. Sandokan escapes, but reunites with Marianna and later marries her. After his defeat, Sandokan stills frees his men from jail and apparently gives up piracy and escapes to Java with his wife. Sandokan and his friend Yanez De Gomera go on to help Kammamuri fight

, the "Exterminator", the White Rajah of Sarawak, so as to free Tremal-Naik. Sandokan later has to help Tremal-Naik again, when his daughter is kidnapped by the Thugs of the Kali, 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 as rajah of Kini Balù ( Ambong and Marudu). His friend Yanez is appointed rajah of

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

Characteristics

Sandokan character is inspired by the Spanish naval captain Carlos Cuarteroni Fernández. 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.

Related characters

* Sandokan, also known as the Tiger of Malaysia, a Bornean king turned pirate * Lady Marianna Guillonk, also known as the Pearl of Labuan, Sandokan's Italian-English wife * Yanez De Gomera: Sandokan's loyal friend and comrade, Portuguese, Goan * James Brooke, the White Rajah of

, their worst enemy * Lord James Guillonk, Marianna's father, wants to kill Sandokan * Tremal-Naik, Indian from Bengal * Kammamuri, Tremal-Naik's servant

Films

The first Sandokan films were made in 1941 in Italy with

Luigi Pavese Luigi Pavese (25 October 1897 – 13 December 1969) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Biography Born in Asti, Pavese started his career in 1916 working as a silent film actor at 19 years of age. He then began his theatrical debut in 192 ...

as Sandokan. * '' Pirates of Malaya'' (''I pirati della Malesia'') (dir.

Enrico Guazzoni Enrico Guazzoni (18 December 1876 – 23 September 1949) Birth name Enrico Guazzone. Additionally, document states in lower right, "è morte in Roma in 23-9-49 / died in Rome 23 September 1949". was an Italian screenwriter and film director. G ...

) * ''

'' (''Le due tigri'') (dir.

Giorgio Simonelli Giorgio Simonelli (14 November 1901 Birth name: Giorgio Simonelli. – 3 October 1966), was an Italian film director, editor, screenwriter and journalist. Life and career Born in Rome, Simonelli obtained a high school diploma in business stud ...

) A series of Italian-made films with American leads were filmed in 1964 and released internationally. * '' Sandokan the Great'' (''Sandokan, la tigre di Mompracem'') (1964), starring Steve Reeves (dir.

Umberto Lenzi Umberto Lenzi (6 August 1931 – 19 October 2017) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and novelist. A fan of film since young age, Lenzi studied at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia and made his first film in 1958 which went unr ...

) * '' Sandokan - The Pirate of Malaysia'' (''I pirati della Malesia'') (1964) ''Pirates of the Seven Seas'', starring Steve Reeves (dir. Umberto Lenzi) * ''

'' (''Sandokan alla riscossa'') (1964) ''Sandokan Fights Back'', starring Ray Danton (dir.

Luigi Capuano Luigi Capuano (13 July 1904 – 20 October 1979) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. Born in Naples, he directed 43 films between 1947 and 1971. Selected filmography * '' Vertigine d'amore'' (1949) * '' Flying Squadron'' (1949) * ...

) * ''

Sandokan Against the Leopard of Sarawak ''Sandokan Against the Leopard of Sarawak'' (Italian: ''Sandokan contro il leopardo di Sarawak'') is a 1964 historical adventure film directed by Luigi Capuano and starring Ray Danton, Franca Bettoia and Guy Madison.Goble p.939 It was made as a c ...

'' (''Sandokan contro il leopardo di Sarawak'') (1964) ''Return of Sandokan'' , starring Ray Danton (dir.

) A pair of Italian films featuring a character named "Sandok" were filmed based on the character by Salgari. * ''

Temple of the White Elephant ''Temple of the White Elephant'', also known as ''Sandok, il Maciste della Giungla'', is a 1964 film directed by Umberto Lenzi and starring Sean Flynn. Plot In British colonial India, Lt. Dick Ramsay is charged with secretly rescuing the kidnapp ...

'' ( ''Sandok, il Maciste della giungla'') with

Mimmo Palmara Domenico "Mimmo" Palmara (25 July 1928 – 10 June 2016) was an Italian actor. Biography Born in Cagliari, Palmara made his film debut in 1952 as a character actor in drama films by eminent directors such as Luchino Visconti, Mario Monicelli and ...

as Sandok (1964, dir. Umberto Lenzi) * ''The Mountain of Light'', ''

Jungle Adventurer ''Jungle Adventurer'' ( it, La montagna di luce, lit=The Mountain of Light) is an Italian adventure film. It starred Richard Harrison. The film is loosely based on Emilio Salgari's 1902 adventure novel ''La montagna di luce'' (''The Mountain o ...

'', with Richard Harrison (1965, dir. Umberto Lenzi) A 1970 Italian-Spanish film ''

'' was made with

Ivan Rassimov Ivan Rassimov (Born Ivan Đerasimović; Serbian Cyrillic: Иван Ђерасимовић) (7 May 1938 – 14 March 2003) was an Italian film actor of Serb descent who appeared in many horror and exploitation films. Biography Born in Trieste ...

as Sandokan

TV miniseries

In 1976, Indian actor

Kabir Bedi Kabir Bedi ( pa, ਕਬੀਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਬੇਦੀ; born 16 January 1946) is an Indian actor. His career has spanned three continents covering India, the United States and especially Italy among other European countries in three media: fi ...

played the lead in ''

Sandokan Sandokan is a fictional late 19th-century pirate created by Italian author Emilio Salgari. His adventures first appeared in publication in 1883. Sandokan is the protagonist of 11 adventure novels. Sandokan is known throughout the South China ...

'', a six-part miniseries for European television directed by Sergio Sollima.

Carole André Carole André-Smith (born 11 March 1953) is a French-Italian former actress. Her best known role was Kabir Bedi's love interest Lady Marianna, nicknamed "", in the successful RAI series ''Sandokan'' (1976). Since retiring from acting, she has b ...

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 by

Adolfo Celi Adolfo Celi (; 27 July 1922 – 19 February 1986) was an Italian film actor and director. Born in Curcuraci, Messina, Sicily, Celi appeared in nearly 100 films, specialising in international villains. Although a prominent actor in Italian ...

. The series included these episodes: *"The Kidnapping" *"The Mysterious Prince" *"The Tiger Hunt" *"The Offer" *"Betrayal" *"The Battle" In 1977, Kabir Bedi reprised his role in the film '' La 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 of the De Angelis brothers), and made the top 10 in many European countries, albeit mostly in the translated English version. A 2004 documentary, ''Sandokan's Adventure'', detailed the making of the series. Two further television series were made ''

The Return of Sandokan ''The Return of Sandokan'' is a 1996 television series produced by Germany (where it was released as ''Die Rückkehr des Sandokan'') and Italy (where is known as ''Il ritorno di Sandokan''). It is a sequel to the 1976 ''Sandokan'' television ser ...

'' in 1996 and '' The Son of Sandokan'' in 1998, with Kabir Bedi again reprising his role.

Animated series

''Sandokan'' the animated series was released in 1992 by Spanish animation studio

BRB International BRB Internacional S.A.U is a Spanish licensing and production company of animated television series as ''Around the World with Willy Fog'', '' Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds'' and '' The World of David the Gnome''. On 31 January 2018, WildBra ...

, and broadcast in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

and

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...

on RTE Two. This children's animated show, written by Doug Stone and Dave Mallow, is loosely based on Salgari's novels. In the show, Sandokan (here an

anthropomorphized Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

tiger) is an usurped prince who travels the seas as a pirate seeking to reclaim his rightful throne from the Rajah of Sarawak. The first nine episodes of the series are available in three DVD 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 was released in 1998 from a coproduction among

RAI RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...

on 1993-94,

SEK Studio Korean April 26 Animation Studio () is a state-owned North Korean animation studio, based in Othan-dong, Central District, Pyongyang. History The studio started operations in September 1957, as 4.26 Children's Film Studio (4.26아동영화� ...

, and

Mondo TV Mondo TV is an Italian production and television distribution company. Founded by Orlando Corradi in 1985 and based in Rome, Mondo TV is a public company, quoted on the STAR segment of the Italian main stock exchange, Borsa Italiana. It distribu ...

and broadcast in Italy on

Rai 1 Rai 1 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's flagship television channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream and gene ...

. This series was composed into three parts: (''Sandokan, the Tiger of Malaysia'', produced in 1998); (''Sandokan, the Tiger roars again'', 2000); and (''Sandokan, The Two Tigers'', 2004). The adventures of this 26-episode cartoon series are based on the stories of Emilio Salgari. The story takes place in the second half of the 19th century, and is situated in the Malaysian archipelago, Borneo, and India. Co-produced with RAI Italy and TF1 France, the series achieved a big success such that it a second series was decided to be produced on this character. An interactive computer game, a video special, a sticker album, along with other merchandising articles such as books, toys, shirts, bags, etc. based on the series are now available.

References

External links

Watch the complete Sandokan animated series from MondoTV/RAI
* ttp://10kbullets.com/reviews/s/sandokan-the-great/ Review of The Steve Reeves 1963 filmbr>Read a review of the 1960s Sandokan filmsRead the first three chapters of Sandokan: The Tigers of MompracemThe Tiger of Malaysia, Barga NewsRead a review of Sandokan: The Tigers of Mompracem at SBTB.com.Read an article by Italy Magazine
{{Sandokan Literary characters introduced in 1883 Novels by Emilio Salgari Italian novels adapted into television shows Television shows based on Italian novels Fictional pirates Adventure film characters Italian children's animated television series Spanish children's animated television series Fictional tigers Fictional princes Fictional Malaysian people Channel 4 original programming Italian adventure novels Malaysia in fiction Characters in Italian novels