A Dangerous Life
| A Dangerous Life | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Robert Markowitz |
| Produced by | Hal McElroy |
| Written by | David Williamson |
| Starring |
Gary Busey Rebecca Gilling (See Cast below) |
| Music by | Brian May |
| Cinematography | James Bartle |
| Edited by | Michael Honey and Tony Kavanagh |
| Distributed by | HBO |
Release dates | 27 November 1988 |
Running time | 6 hours (HBO cable tv); 162 minutes (television) |
| Country |
Philippines Australia |
| Language |
English Tagalog |
A Dangerous Life is a 1988 English-language Australian film about the final years of the Philippines under Ferdinand Marcos' rule, from the assassination of Benigno Aquino, Jr. in 1983 to the People Power EDSA Revolution in 1986 that ousted Marcos.
The film focuses on American TV journalist Tony O'Neil (Gary Busey), who finds himself in the middle of key events that lead to the downfall of the Marcos regime. Originally airing on television as a mini-series that ran for a total of six hours, the film was edited to 162 minutes for the home video release.[1][2]
Filming of the movie took place in Manila, Philippines, Colombo, Sri Lanka and Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne in Australia.
Cast
Fictional characters
- Gary Busey - Tony O'Neil, a television journalist and news correspondent who is sent to Manila to cover Ninoy Aquino's return and chooses to stay longer after finding himself in the midst of a revolution against Marcos and decides to cover it for the news.
- Rebecca Gilling - Angie Fox
- James Handy - Mike Heseltine
- Roy Alvarez - Col. "Tiger" Tecson, a fictional colonel who is the colleague of Lt. Col. Kapunan and Col. Honasan. In real life, Alvarez has a physical resemblance to Col. Gringo Honasan and due to this, he was supposed to play Honasan in the film but the producers felt he was better suited as Angie's love interest.
- Guy Stone - Peter
- Alexander Cortez - Raoul
- Jaime Fabregas - Ben Balamo, a Manila newspaper company owner who makes articles on what is going on after the Aquino assassination. He befriends Tony in the film after their meeting.
- Dina Bonnevie - Celie Balamo - Though uncredited in the film, her performance was highly praised by Philippine media.
- Spanky Manikan - Ramon, Tony's Filipino cameraman, assistant, and friend
- Grace Parr - New York Times secretary
- Arthur Sherman - Alex, the president of the news company Tony works for.
- Betty Mae Piccio as a computer operator
Historical characters
- Ruben Rustia - President Ferdinand Marcos, the sitting Philippine president in the film's setting. Though his attitudes in the film are similar to his real-life counterpart, his healthy living is the only inaccuracy in his portrayal than he has deteriorating health in real life.
- Laurice Guillen - Corazon Aquino, the widow of Benigno Aquino Jr. who later becomes the president in the film's few minutes to ending. Despite Guillen's portrayal of Aquino being praised by Philippine media, it was also heavily criticized due to the inaccurate design of her prosthetic nose makeup.
- Tessie Tomas - First Lady Imelda Marcos
- Cris Vertido - former Vice-Pres. Salvador "Doy" Laurel
- Robert Talabis - Joker Arroyo
- Mervyn Samson - Gen. Fabian Ver, AFP Chief 0f Staff
- Joonee Gamboa - Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile
- Ray Ventura - Gen. Fidel "Eddie" Ramos, AFP Vice Chief of Staff
- Johnny Delgado - Lt. Col. Eduardo "Red" Kapunan
- Rez Cortez - Col. Gregorio "Gringo" Honasan
- Rolando Tinio - Jaime Cardinal Sin, Archbishop of Manila
- Noel Trinidad - Jimmy Ongpin
- Tony Carreon - Ramon Mitra, Jr.
- Vic Diaz - Maj. Gen. Prospero Olivas, Chief of the Metropolitan Command (METROCOM)
- Amiel Leonardia - Peping Cojuangco, the younger brother of the Cory Aquino
- Lea Cabusi - Kris Aquino, the youngest of the Aquino's
- Freddie Santos - Butz Aquino, Ninoy's younger brother
- Michael Pate - Ambassador Stephen W. Bosworth, US ambassador to the Philippines
- Pen Medina - Col. Eduardo Doromal
- Felindo Obach - Brig. Gen. Artemio Tadiar
- Junix Inocian - Evelio Javier
- Odette Khan - June Keithley
- Mona Lisa - Francisca Monzon
- Joe Gruta - Col. Antonio Sotelo,
- Benigno Aquino, Jr. as himself (interviewed before his assassination). An uncredited actor plays him during the assassination scene
Production credits
- Robert Markowitz - director
- Brian May - composer (music score)
- James Bartle - cinematographer
Production
Although the film was shot on location in the Philippines, some scenes were shot in Sri Lanka, mostly due to political and legal pressures from Juan Ponce Enrile who did not like the way he was represented (albeit as a fictional version as portrayed by Joonee Gamboa).
References
- ↑ The New York Times - A Dangerous Life
- ↑ Ed. Scott Murray, Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995, Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p186
External links
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