Eddie Romero is probably the best known director from the Philippines (to fans of exploitation films at least) and he wrote, produced and directed this actioner which tells of the Battle of Manila in 1945. It was a gritty, bloodthirsty affair in which the Japanese massacred thousands of civilians - one of those heartbreaking stories from the end of the war when so many people died who shouldn't, purely because of a nation's spite.
This has some impressive production values (tanks, extras running from buildings, explosions) and plenty of action. Unfortunately it's often hard to keep track of who is who - there are too many main characters (either that or Romero fails to differentiate them enough). There are also too many explosions.
James Shigeta plays a more sympathetic Japanese and John Ashley pops up as an American soldier.
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