In Lino Brocka's Maynila sa mga Kuko Ng Liwanag (Cinema Artists, 1975), Manila is a libertarian dystopia where poverty breeds its own predators and victims as the city's poor grasp for the little wealth that hasn't yet been distributed. When Julio Madiaga (Rafael Roco Jr,), a young man from the province arrives in Manila to search for his lost love Ligaya Paraiso (Hilda Koronel), he's robbed of what little cash he has. Forced to work so he can afford the bare necessities of life, Julio finds a job in an unsafe construction site in which the workers allow their employer to pocket a chunk of their pay for fear of losing their only job. Soon, Julio finds himself working as a male prostitute even if it requires a different kind of sacrifice. Brocka's Manila is ambivalent to Julio's pain and its indifference, the city stamps out every glimmer of hope in his life. There's a deep undercurrent of anger and frustration to Julio's journey. A casual conversation between construction workers is followed by a fatal accident when a rope holding a bucket of water is released and falls from the height of a few stories. At this moment, the smooth, neorealist-influenced camerawork is traded for a quickly edited shot/reverse-shot montage between the bucket and the face of the man standing below it. The bucket hits him and he dies. Stupid, meaningless and avoidable. This harsh, stylized moment of violence, one of several, contrasts with the more subdued tone of the rest of the film. It's a signal to the audience that no matter how hard the characters struggle, this world is indifferent to their pain. Even as Julio scours the city, building relationships with people he meets and getting closer to his goal of finding Ligaya, these short fits of violence and emotion disrupt the complacency of the characters to their situation, suggesting that there's tragedy to be found in their acceptance of such a fate. Maynila sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag, with its extended scenes of working-class struggle punctuated by moments of harrowing, highly stylized violence suggests that violent reactions should be expected from a society that preys on the vulnerable. By the time Julio reaches his final confrontation with Ah Tek (Tommy Yap), an act of stupid, violent catharsis feels like his only possible course of action.
Maynila sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag's 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 encode doesn't disappoint, with excellent picture quality presented for the first time in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. As mentioned in the accompanying booklet, the transfer was made from the original 35mm camera negative and scanned in 4K resolution with some mild DNR applied to remove any visible dirt and debris. The film looks absolutely beautiful in high definition. Brightness levels are splendid, rendering inky rich and penetrating blacks throughout. Contrast is pitch-perfect, displaying crisp and brilliant whites that never bloom or overpower the rest of the picture. Except for some very minor and likely negligible instances of posterization, the image exhibits superb natural gradations for a perceptible depth of field and dimension. There is also a thin veil of noticeable grain, providing the high-def transfer with an appreciable cinematic quality. Aside from some age-related softness and a small dip in resolution levels, the presentation comes with wonderful definition and clarity. Much of the film is bathed in deep, suffocating shadows, which plays an important role to the narrative. Thankfully, details don't suffer or falter in this area, remaining distinct and visible from beginning to end. Maynila sa mga Kuko Ng Liwanag looks spectacular on Blu-ray. The first-rate uncompressed PCM mono track brilliantly complements the beautiful imagery of this classic drama. The film is mostly driven by the visuals, but character interaction and conversations are of course, important for establishing emotional depth. Dialogue reproduction is excellent, providing clear, intelligible tonal inflections emitted by the actors. The one-channel presentation also delivers a surprisingly wide dynamic range with superb clarity detail and acoustics. Subtle atmospheric effects can be clearly heard throughout the film giving the mix an appreciable sense of space and presence. Despite being a box-office failure during its initial theatrical release, Maynila sa mga Kuko Ng Liwanag has since become widely recognized as one of the most beautifully photographed and remarkable films in Philippine cinema history. The Criterion Collection brings this stunning masterwork to high-definition Blu-ray with an excellent and marvelous audio/video presentation which does the film justice. Maynila sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag also comes with an outstanding wealth of bonus features which is made available for the first time to home viewers.
Original Music: Max Jocson
Sound: Luis Reyes, Ramon Reyes
Editing: Edgardo Jarlego, Ike Jarlego, Jr.
Director of Photography: Miguel de Leon
Screenplay: Clodualdo del Mundo, Jr.
Direction: Lino Brocka
