Film: The Philippines has an active film industry, producing mostly predictably sentimental and violent fare. Former president José Estrada started his career as a matinee idol before moving on to the political stage - it is difficult to know whether this says more about Philippine film or Philippine politics. Film buffs will always remember that Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979) was shot in the Philippines, with Marcos furnishing the helicopters for the famous 'Ride of the Valkyries' air cavalry charge. Less well known is the fact that Peter Weir's The Year of Living Dangerously (1982) used Manila for Jakarta, instead of Saigon.
Shangri-La Cinema, at the Shangri-La Plaza, on the corner of Shaw Boulevard and EDSA, Mandaluyong City (tel: (02) 633 7851), and SM Megamall, EDSA, Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong (tel: (02) 633 1901 or 632 9408), are major multiplex cinema venues. More intellectual venues can be found in Santa Cruz, around the junction of CM Recto Avenue and Rizal Avenue, or in Paco on Pedro Gil Street.