#926: BROCKA, Lino: Manila In The Claws Of Light (1975)

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BROCKA, Lino (Philippines)
Manila In The Claws Of Light [1975]
Spine #926
Blu-ray


Lino Brooks 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.

126 minutes
Color/Black & White
Monaural
in Tagalog
1:85:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2018
Director/Writers


Based on the novel Sa mga kuko ng liwanag by Edgardo Reyes.
Lino Brocka was 36 when he directed Manilla in the Claws of Light.

Other Brocka films in the Collection:

#874: Insiang (1976)

The Film

A

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

 The Booklet

Twelve-page wraparound featuring an essay by film scholar José B. Capino.

Commentary

None.

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 Koronel and Roco Jr.

Interview

With critic, filmmaker, and festival programmer Tony Rayns.

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

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