Manila in the Claws of Light / Maynila sa mga kuko ng liwanag (1975) [Criterion Collection]

Director: Lino Brocka
Writers: Edgardo Reyes (novel), Clodualdo Del Mundo Jr. (screenplay)
Stars: Hilda Koronel, Bembol Roco, Lou Salvador Jr.

Lino Brocka achieved international acclaim with this candid portrait of 1970s Manila, a breakout example of the more serious-minded filmmaking the director had turned to after building a career on mainstream movies he described as “soaps.” A young fisherman from a provincial village arrives in the capital on a quest to track down his girlfriend, who was lured there with the promise of work and hasn’t been heard from since. In the meantime, he takes a low-wage job at a construction site and witnesses life on the streets, where death strikes without warning, corruption and exploitation are commonplace, and protests hint at escalating civil unrest. Mixing visceral, documentary-like realism with the narrative focus of Hollywood noir and melodrama, Manila in the Claws of Light is a howl of anguish from one of the most celebrated figures in Philippine cinema.

Extras:
- Introduction by filmmaker Martin Scorsese
- Signed: Lino Brocka, a 1987 documentary about the director by Christian Blackwood
- “Manila” … A Filipino Film, a 1975 documentary about the making of the film, featuring Brocka and actors Hilda Koronel and Rafael Roco Jr.
- New interview with critic, filmmaker, and festival programmer Tony Rayns







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