Elephant White is a 2010 action movie about mercenary Curtie Church (Djimon Hounsou) who takes up an assignment in the Thai capital of Bangkok to stop a ruthless gang of human traffickers.
With the help of old-time friend and shady arms dealer Jimmy (Kevin Bacon) he enters the dark side of Bangkok, only to discover that nobody is who they say they are and that he’s right in the middle of a local mob war.
The title refers to an apparent Thai belief that a white elephant, being very rare, brings luck. In one scene in the movie, Thai godfather Boss Katha offers a white coated elephant to an opposing godfather in a vain attempt to stop the gang war.
The Beretta 92FS is a prominent handgun in the movie, being used by most Thai thugs. It is seen in black, two-tone but in most cases the inox version is used.
Another weapon of choice for Curtie is the SIG-Sauer P226. It is not seen fired and may be some kind of non-gun because on several occasions it is held close to actor’s faces and because of the incorrect/missing SIG inscription on the slide.
During the climatic shoot-out at the brothel, one of the thugs send to ‘welcome’ Curtie is carrying what looks like a Glock non-gun, evidenced by the closed barrel and the crude finish. Since the gun is kicked from his hand martial-arts style, it is not surprising that a non-gun is used.
For his first assignment in Bangkok, Curtie chooses an Remington 700 AICS tactical rifle in olive drab version. He uses it with both a regular as well as with a night vision scope. In addition, he uses some kind of custom-made silencer but because it sits halfway down the barrel it’s probably a prop with the sole purpose to make the gun look cool.
Error creating thumbnail: File missingRemington 700 in AICS 1.5 stock with 10 round magazine - 7.62x51mm NATOError creating thumbnail: File missingCurtie testing the Remington 700 AICS in one of Jimmy’s gun caches. As a good customer, he’s displaying excellent trigger discipline.Error creating thumbnail: File missingCurtie preparing for a night-time hit from his hide-out at the tower in the monastery. This shot has a good view of the night vision scope, with the switch correctly turned to ‘off’.Error creating thumbnail: File missingCurtie facing attackers during the night-time shoot-out in the garden of the drug lord’s mansion. Again, the carrying sling is used for extra stability and the night vision scope proves it’s worth...Error creating thumbnail: File missingWhile his mysterious associate Mae looks on, Curtie deals with a treat. Note how the carrying sling is wrapped around his hand for extra stability.
Barrett M82A1M
For his second assignment, Curtie picks a Barrett M82A1M from the impressive weapons cache that Jimmy keeps on board of the oriental junk moored in Bangkok harbor. Interestingly, it does not have the standard muzzle brake but rather a big suppressor that makes the rifle look even more massive than it already is.
Error creating thumbnail: File missingBarrett M82A1M - .50 BMGError creating thumbnail: File missingCurtie picking up the Barrett M82A1M for a closer inspection while Jimmy is doing his sales talk on the gun.Error creating thumbnail: File missingA good angle on the massive Barrett M82A1M with Jimmy making his last offer. Note the stack of huge .50 BMG magazines underneath the gun, actually looking like bricks.Error creating thumbnail: File missingA good action shot of Curtie taking out targets at Thai godfather Boss Katha’s mansion from a rooftop position. The gun blast at the end of the suppressor seems a bit odd and may have been added in post-production.Error creating thumbnail: File missingGodfather Boss Katha inspecting the Barrett M82A1M in an attempt to determine who used it in the attack on his mansion. It seems inscriptions or serial numbers on the magazine well have been removed to cover the gun’s origins.
Norinco Type 56-1
Jimmy’s night club has a gambling joint where he likes to show off his weapon’s skills by betting with visitors how quick he is able to assemble an Norinco Type 56-1 assault rifle blindfolded. The rifle appears to be some kind of modified version because it has several Picatinny rails and does not have the traditional wooden grips but some kind of composite instead.
As a matter of last resort, Thai thugs who try to stop the fleeing Curtie, are employing an M16A1 with M203 Grenade Launcher. The shooter seems to be surprisingly skilled as he puts his first grenade right on top of the speeding van in which Curtie is leaving the scene.
When Jimmy gives Curtie a tour of his warehouse gun cache, he picks up a M1928 Thompson submachine gun elaborating on a future business venture that will focus on guns actually used in movies (sounds familiar?!?).
For the final scene, Curtie chooses a SWD/Cobray Street Sweeper to clear Rajahdon’s brothel. He manufactures an unidentified duckbeak-shaped device and affixes it to the barrel. Apart from making the shotgun look like a vacuum cleaner this device seems to make the spray of the shotgun shells wider, allowing him to hit more targets in the confined hallways.
When Curtie checks with Jimmy for the first time for ‘tools’, Jimmy takes him to his downtown warehouse. Here, Jimmy keeps a cache of predominantly historic weapons that he plans to use in a future business venture; a Hard Rock Café-style franchise which instead of guitars will have screen-used guns on the walls. It is possible that most wall-mounted guns are actually airguns or props.
Error creating thumbnail: File missingJimmy giving Curtie a tour of his well-stocked warehouse. In this shot, the following guns are visible; (1) M1 Garand rifles, (2) several AK-47 type rifles, (3) a scoped M16A1 Rifle plus some unidentifiable revolvers on the ammunition crate on the left.Error creating thumbnail: File missing”No! No! Wrong section, not for rent! Not just any M76, it was used by Lee Marvin in Prime Cut. He shot Gene Hackman with it, and I’ve got the papers to prove it. I am starting my own Planet Hollywood here, with all guns. It’s all genius, right?”Error creating thumbnail: File missingThis looks like the ‘left-over corner’ of the gun cache. Two guns are clearly visible; (1) a M1 Garand plus (2) what appears to be a rubber prop of an M16A1 Rifle with a visibly bend barrel cover. In the back, on the left, stands what looks like some kind of an anti-tank rifle but it cannot be clearly identified.Error creating thumbnail: File missing”This (1) M1 was used by Clint himself in Pink Cadillac, (5) Grease Gun, Charlie Bronson, Dirty Dozen! I know it’s a franchise, right? All I need is a name. I was thinking, you know, “AK Cafe”, or “Gunzone” like “Funzone”, right?” (Also visible: (2) AK-47 rifle, (3) Accuracy International Arctic Warfare and (4) MAT-49 submachine gun.
Gun cache on junk
On a non-assuming junk in Bangkok harbor, Jimmy keeps a weapons cache that’s even more complete than the one in the warehouse. The place looks like a ‘gun candy store’, containing a wide array of historical and present-day pistols, rifles and everything in between. Here, again, it may be that most guns are props but there’s not enough detail to tell.
An unidentified rifle is used by a Thai sniper trying to take out Curtie during one of his missions. The pronounced carrying handle seems to give it away as an Norinco QBZ-95 style rifle, but there’s not enough detail for a complete identification. The front sight might also identify this rifle as some sort of an M16 rifle.
During a car chase, one of the Thai thugs fires a pistol that cannot be clearly identified. The long barrel makes it look like a Detonics ScoreMaster but it could also be that the image was taken just as the slide was locking back. It has also been suggested that this might be a modified Walther P99.
