| Dawn of Freedom | |
| Native Name: | |
| Director: | Yutaka Abe Gerardo de León |
| Starring: | Denjirō Ōkōchi, Seizaburo Kawazu, Ichiro Tsukida, Heihachiro Okawa, Fernando Poe, Leopoldo Salcedo |
| Music: | Toshiharu Ichikawa (billed as “Kunio Kasuga”) and Fumio Hayasaka (overseas version) |
| Cinematography: | Yoshio Miyajima[1] |
| Studio: | Toho, Tagalog Pictures |
| Runtime: | 108 minutes |
| Country: | Japan |
| Language: | Japanese Tagalog English |
(Filipino: Liwayway ng Kalayaan) also known as Dawn of Freedom,[2] and Shoot That Flag: The End of Corregidor[3] is a 1943 black-and-white Japanese film directed by Yutaka Abe and Gerardo de León.
The opening credits start as the narrator speaks about Japan accepting the challenge of the Western powers' arms build-up after having had to stand by for years watching rapacious America and Britain tread upon the enslaved peoples of East Asia. Japan expeditionary forces are rushed to various places in the vast areas of Greater East Asia in order to drive out the Western powers. The first blow in the Philippines is death when Nippon warplanes raid Clark Air Base and Iba airfield on December 8, 1941.
The story of the Japanese victory at the Battle of Corregidor and the U.S. military's hasty retreat from the islands. The film presented the Japanese as Asian liberators who came to free the Filipinos from decades of colonial oppression. Sub-Corporal Ikejima (Heihachiro Okawa) helps a young boy named Toni (Ricardo Pasion), the younger brother of Capt. Garcia (Fernando Poe Sr.), to walk again after a car accident.
The film premiered in Tokyo on February 5, 1944. Originally entitled Hitō sakusen (比島作戰) or Philippine Operation, it was changed to Ano hate o ute (literally "Shoot That Flag"). For the Philippines it was decided to use Liwayway ng Kalayaan ("Dawn of Freedom").
The use of Filipino and American prisoners of war as extras in the film became a matter of controversy after the end of the war.[4]
Staff[5]
Cast
Japanese soldiers[5]
Filipino soldiers and civilians
US Army and officers
Dawn of Freedom was released in DVD on January 20, 2015, by Deagostini.