Asia Weekly

Philippines Obituaries

Philippine film director inspired Tarantino

Philippine filmmaker Cirio Santiago, who Hollywood director Quentin Tarantino has cited as a major influence, has died of lung cancer at 72, says Marinel Cruz in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Santiago produced and directed several Hollywood B movies, working with Roger Corman and Jonathan Demme, among others, says the Mindanao Times. At the time of his death, Santiago was finishing the futuristic Mad Max-inspired Road Raiders, a co-production with Corman. Along with Corman, Santiago became one of the pioneers of the "Blaxploitation" genre in the 1970s by choosing black actors and actresses to play strong action heroes in his films. 

He is also known as the "master of Vietnam war-themed movies," notes Karen A Pagsolingan on the Philippine Entertainment Portal website. Among his notable films were TNT Jackson (1975), Firehawk (1993), Ultimatum (1994) and Vital Parts (2001). As a director, he completed more than 50 films, ranging from Darna at ang Babaeng Tuod (1964) to Dahil sa Isang Bulaklak (1967) and  Kasal-kasalan Bahay-bahayan, Bloodfist 2050 (2005). During his first visit to the Philippines last year, Tarantino sought a meeting with his "idol" Santiago, noting that he had based some of his characters in the cult flick Kill Bill on those in Santiago's earlier films, says Cruz.

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