Cirio H. Santiago
Directing
Biography
Producer/director Cirio H. Santiago is the son of Dr. Ciriaco Santiago, who founded Premiere Productions in Manila in 1946. He has two siblings. After starting out as a producer he started directing english-language movies in the early 70s. Santiago became one of the pioneers of the "Blaxploitation" genre by being one of the first to cast black actors and especially actresses as strong action heroes. Movies like TNT Jackson (1974) became instant cult classics. In the 80s, Santiago became known for his numerous low-budget Vietnam war movies such as Firehawk (1993) which gave him a reputation as the "master of the Vietnam war genre". A long running production partnership with Roger Corman assured proper distribution of his movies in the USA. Many of today's hottest filmmakers such as Jonathan Demme, Joe Dante or Carl Franklin got their first directing jobs with Santiago. In 1995 he was named president of the Philippines Film Development Funds by President Ramos. The organization strives to uplift the quality of Filipino filmmaking to new, higher standards and to encourage production of foreign movies on location in the Philippines. Premiere Productions, headed by Cirio H. Santiago, still remains one of the biggest studios in the Philippines and went public in 1997.
Known For
Female prisoners in a Philippine jail are being subjected to sadistic torture. Five of the women, along with the help of two men, plot an escape.
The Big Doll House
The year is 2021 AD. Women have been enslaved by a brutal army of men who survived the nuclear holocaust. Their only hope for freedom is in the hands of a nomadic band of fierce she-warriors: The Sisterhood.
The Sisterhood
Don "The Dragon" Wilson is back and forced to take on the greatest legends of the martial arts world. Wilson fights off all comers while defending rock superstar Shanna (Deirdre Imershein) against the insane attacks of a fanatical veteran John Sweet (Matthias Hues-I Come In Peace).
Blackbelt
A band of female pirates go undercover at a prison camp on a coffee plantation to rescue their leader's sister.
The Muthers
Silk, the toughest cop in Honolulu, busts small time smugglers only to reveal a larger syndicate smuggling Asian mobsters into the States by buying the identities of Hawaiian citizens.
Silk
After witnessing her husband's brutal murder, Carla travels to her parents' home in a small mountain town to start over. When she's repeatedly harassed by redneck locals, Carla seeks help from the town sheriff but is met with indifference. This continues until Carla's finally attacked, raped, and her parents executed by the twisted townies. Carla, after escaping a mental hospital, resolves to get bloody revenge.
Naked Vengeance
Carol Jeffries is a naive American woman staying in the Philippines. She is given ten years in prison after being set up by her drug-dealer boyfriend, Rudy. She endures the harsh conditions, sadistic head matron and attempts on her life, then convinces her cell-mates to try to escape with her through the jungle, in spite of the knowledge that ruthless trackers will be sent out after them.
Women in Cages
Jake Ray gives up his title after killing a man in the ring. When Jake goes to Manila to help an old friend, trouble awaits him! After fending off multiple attacks, Jake is finally captured and chained to a half a dozen martial arts champions. Taken to an island fortress, they are forced to battle chemically-stimulated killers in fights to the death. To win - and to live - it will take every ounce of strength and skill in their martial arts arsenal
Bloodfist II
A Filipino re-edit of the original Godzilla. Appears to have been edited in a similar fashion to the American King of the Monsters!, with the use of Filipino actors. No footage of this version has ever surfaced.
Tokyo 1960
Eddie, a hot-blooded cop, after surviving a fatal accident was forced to undergo plastic surgery and eventually faked his own death. He then assumed a new identity and planned to exact revenge on the people who made his life miserable.
Doble Kara
In the final decades of the 20th century, the Philippines was a country where low-budget exploitation-film producers were free to make nearly any kind of movie they wanted, any way they pleased. It was a country with extremely lax labor regulations and a very permissive attitude towards cultural expression. As a result, it became a hotbed for the production of cheapie movies. Their history and the genre itself are detailed in this breezy, nostalgic documentary.
Machete Maidens Unleashed!
Attractive women must escape from a jungle prison.
Hell Hole
Women rebel against slave labor in a filthy jungle prison where they feed sugar cane to a mechanical maw.
The Big Bird Cage
The Future is now. There are no rules and no place to hide from the deadly Highway Warriors who ravage the roads in machines of destruction.
Wheels of Fire
To avenge the brutal murder of his brother, Jake Ray journeys to the Philippines, where his search for truth finds him battling both in and out of the ring. But the weapons are always the same: bare fists, bare feet. And the rules never change: last man standing wins.
Bloodfist
Undercover cop Jo Alwood is out to avenge her sisters death at the hands of a serial killer.
Angel of Destruction
Aladdin and his new friend Paige visit English kings, Egyptian queens, come face to face with a Tyrannosaurus Rex, and walk the gangplank with Blackbeard the Pirate, in search of a stolen magic lamp.
Aladdin and the Adventure of All Time
An American colonel will pay any price to defeat the Viet Cong. When his unauthorized fighting force in Cambodia is discovered, he becomes a one man army, fighting a war of his own for a cause he knows is just.
Kill Zone
When soldier Anthony Glenn discovers that Mai is missing, he sets out to rescue her from the corrupt Major Sorenson pitting soldier against soldier in a bloody game of honor.
Eye of the Eagle 2: Inside the Enemy
A sinister vampire sends out a horde of undead beauties to bring back victims for his dinner.