Educational Media Reviews Online

This film compares and contrasts the treatment of national treasures, the ancient temples at Ankor in Cambodia and Ayutthaya in Thailand in the late 1980's to early 1990's. The end credits on the film indicate it was created for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and copyrighted in 1990. At the time of production, there were clear differences in the conservation, preservation and use of the temple complexes at Ankor Wat, Ankor Thom, and Ayutthaya. Chiefly, the better quality temples at Ankor in Cambodia were in great danger of again being overgrown by encroaching jungle while the less restored ruins at Ayutthaya had been stabilized and were highly in demand as a tourist destination.

The film begins at Ankor Wat and records the state of conservation in 1990 and chronicles restoration projects begun in 1908 under the French, to the high point of efforts in 1960, to the skeleton crew on hand in the early '90's working by hand to lessen further deterioration to the structures, with no restoration in effect. Ankor Thom, the last great Ankor temple, was then deserted, with no restoration or conservation programming in place. Few foreign visitors were allowed to visit either site, none during the rainy season, and locals only visited the temples considered safe.

Ayutthaya, ancient capital of a Thai river island state, is located about 2 1/2 hours by cruise boat from Bankok and also seems a favored tour bus stop. The ruins, the destruction the result of a Burmese invasion of 1767-1768 have been preserved and reinforced to allow their enjoyment by foreign and domestic tourists.

What to say about Temples of Glory? The film is somewhat dated, and those intending to use it for instructional purposes may need to focus audience attention based on recent changes in Kampuchea and any effects on sites in Thailand of the political climate since 1992 and the Asian financial collapse of 1997. A check on the web will confirm that both Ankor and Ayutthaya are on current tourist itineraries. However, depending on what effects recent restoration and conservation efforts have or haven't had on the sites, the film may contain some images of Ankor and Ayutthaya that are no longer available. Recommended with the reservation that the material is dated.