Macho Dancer

2026 Subscribers: This is NOT included in your Subscription. If you'd like to purchase it, you will need to login to view your special 50% off SRP pricing. This special limited edition spot gloss slipcover (designed by Tony Stella) is limited to 2,000 units and is only available on our website and at select indie retailers. Absolutely no major retailers will be stocking them. Named after Yasujiro Ozu’s custom-made, tatami-level, crab-like tripod, Kani is a new home video label dedicated to leveling the gaze and furthering the understanding of Asian cinema in North America. Focused on genre-defying films, Kani aims to expand the canon, bolster up-and-coming filmmakers and reintroduce repertory classics in context. Vinegar Syndrome’s sister company, OCN Distribution, is thrilled to be representing this diverse and unique home video line! One of Lino Brocka’s lasting successes, 1988’s Macho Dancer admirably blends the maestro’s flair for socially conscious melodrama and pulp provocation — setting the template for what would become Viva Films’ erotic niche to this day. Upon losing a reliable American client, 18-year-old gigolo Pol (Allan Paule) leaves his native province to try his luck in the soapy gay clubs of Manila. As Pol learns the ropes alongside fellow stripper Noel (Daniel Fernando) and savvy prostitute Bambi (Jaclyn Jose), he discovers more than his young mind bargained for: an underbelly of protection rackets, human trafficking and political corruption. Underlying the film’s astutely cynical outlook on systemic, class-based exploitation in the Filipino context is a neon-lit tale of sexual self-discovery gyrating between queer desire and heteronormative strictures, sensuality and grit, tenderness and violence. Heavily censored upon release and hugely successful overseas, Macho Dancer follows the recent re-discovery of Lino Brocka’s Bona and is presented here in a new 4K restoration from Viva Film’s original film elements. directed by: Lino Brocka starring: Allan Paule, Daniel Fernando, Jaclyn Jose, William Lorenzo, Princess Punzalan, Timothy Diwa, Johnny Vicar, Lucita Soriano, Joel Lamangan 1988 / 133 min / 1.37:1 / Tagalog DTS-HD MA 2.0 Additional info: 2-disc Set: 4K Ultra HD / Region A Blu-ray Interview with screenwriter Ricky Lee Interview with actor William Lorenzo Interview with actor Joel Lamangan Macho Dancer: A Critical Look (Archival Featurette) Theatrical Trailer Reversible sleeve artwork English, English SDH subtitles