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A Dangerous Life

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A Dangerous Life
Directed byRobert Markowitz
Written byDavid Williamson
Produced byHal McElroy
Starring
CinematographyJames Bartle
Edited byMichael Honey and Tony Kavanagh
Music byBrian May
Production
company
Distributed by
Release date
  • 27 November 1988 (1988-11-27)
Running time
6 hours (HBO cable tv); 162 minutes (television)
CountryAustralia
LanguagesEnglish
Filipino

A Dangerous Life is a 1988 Australian television film directed by Robert Markowitz and written by David Williamson. The story is about a love affair and the journey of a foreign correspondent set during the final years of Ferdinand Marcos' presidency in the Philippines, from the assassination of Benigno Aquino Jr. in 1983 to the People Power Revolution in 1986, as well as other key events that led to the ouster of Marcos.

The film stars Gary Busey as American news correspondent Tony O'Neill, and Rebecca Gilling as his estranged journalist wife Angie. It also stars Tessie Tomas as Imelda Marcos and Laurice Guillen as Corazon Aquino, whose performances received critical acclaim. It was shot on location in Manila, Philippines, Colombo, Sri Lanka and Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne in Australia.

Plot

After being informed by Fabian Ver of Senator Ninoy Aquino's arrival, Imelda Marcos tells her husband Ferdinand about her warning to Ninoy about not returning to the Philippines due to dangers to his life.

American news correspondent and journalist Tony O'Neill, who has just been flown to the Philippines, is driving with his cameraman and technical operator Ramon to Manila International Airport to cover the arrival of Senator Aquino from the United States. At a nearby hotel, Rolando Galman is handed a Philippine Airlines maintenance engineer's uniform by colleagues before they leave. Inside the airport's two-year old modern terminal, he and other journalists witness the arrival of the aircraft, a China Airlines Boeing 767 and enter the airbridge to await the senator's entry. Seconds later, Ninoy is shot along with Galman and several other gunshots force Tony and the other journalists to leave the scene as Ninoy's body is loaded to a van. Fleeing to the arrival concourse, O'Neill asks Ramon if he filmed the entire incident, wherein the latter only responds that he failed to do so as everything "happened too fast".

Meanwhile in Boston, a telephone call awakens Corazon Aquino. The caller tells of her husband's death and asks her to confirm it to which she states that she never received such news. She and her family fly home from the United States and during the wake of Ninoy, she tells her two daughters that they shall vow to avenge his death and identify the perpetrators. The day after the assassination, Marcos and Olivas preside over the initial investigation of Aquino's assassination. After answering the questions of the journalists, Marcos condemns the previous day's incident and warns everyone not to make any dangerous assumptions.

O'Neill covers Aquino's funeral and calls it as "larger than that of Gandhi's". At a phone call in his residence, he asks his superior Alex to allow him to stay longer in Manila due to the recent events, to which Alex agrees.

Cast

Fictional characters

  • Gary Busey as Tony O'Neil, an American 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 as Angie Fox, the estranged wife of Tony O'Neill. Prior to the ending, during the Malacañang Palace riot scene, she and Tony reconcile and later return to the United States.
  • James Handy as Mike Heseltine
  • Roy Alvarez as 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 him in the film but the producers felt he was better suited as Angie's love interest.
  • Guy Stone as Peter
  • Alexander Cortez as Raoul
  • Jaime Fabregas as 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 during a press conference with Marcos on Aquino's assassination in Malacanang. With the help of one of Marcos' men, he and his family flees for the United States.
  • Dina Bonnevie as Celie Balamo, the niece of Ben Balamo whom Tony becomes attracted to and falls in love with. She later joins the New People's Army but later leaves. She is then abducted from Tony's home and killed by one of Marcos' henchmen; her corpse is then dumped in Tondo's Smokey Mountain site. After Tony finds her body, he works to find ways to reconcile with his wife Rebecca. Though uncredited in the film, her performance was highly praised by Philippine media.
  • Spanky Manikan as Ramon, Tony's Filipino cameraman, assistant, and friend
  • Grace Parr as New York Times secretary
  • Arthur Sherman as Alex, the president and chief broadcaster of the news company Tony works for.
  • Betty Mae Piccio as a computer operator

Historical figures

Production

Production credits

On November 18, 1987, producer Hal McElroy sent a letter to President Corazon Aquino informing her of his and director Robert Markowitz's intention to film a miniseries in the Philippines the following year titled A Dangerous Life, about the People Power Revolution. The planned budget would be $11 million, and the completion date in August 1988.[1] By December, the title was changed to The Four Day Revolution, and the fictitious character of Ben Ayala was renamed Ben Balano.[1][2] McElroy was advised by the local producer Lope V. Juban to first consult with the major figures to be depicted, such as Fidel V. Ramos and Juan Ponce Enrile.[2]

After McElroy sent a letter to Enrile on December 16 informing him of the miniseries and its details, Enrile sent a letter back to McElroy five days later, alerting him that he will not approve of any screen depiction of him or his family. Respecting Enrile's wish, the filmmakers subsequently removed his character from the script as well as any references to him and proceeded with the production.[2]

Lawsuit

On February 23, 1988, Enrile filed a complaint to the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Makati, alleging that the continued production of the miniseries without his consent is a violation of his right to privacy, with the court issuing a temporary restraining order on the filmmakers a day later.[2][3] By March 9, McElroy filed a motion to dismiss the complaint, arguing that the miniseries will not feature Enrile as a character, but a week later the RTC nevertheless went forth and issued a writ of preliminary injunction halting its production.[2]

After the case was brought the Supreme Court, a decision was reached on April 29 to allow production to continue, for the reason that Enrile, a senator, is a public figure and thus his right to privacy is more narrow, and cannot be used to override the "publication and dissemination of matters of public interest."[2] Colonel Gregorio Honasan, a former military aide to Enrile, also filed a similar complaint in court against the miniseries' production company, but it was eventually waived due to his being a "fugitive of justice."[2]

Filming locations

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 also appreciated the film but did not like the way he was represented (albeit as a fictional version as portrayed by Joonee Gamboa). Other reasons were that the producers had experienced similar conflicts when filming a similar film, The Year of Living Dangerously in 1981 in Manila.

Some scenes were shot in Australia. The scene of the late Butz Aquino calling from Camp Crame was shot in Sydney.

Release

  •  Australia – ABC, one of the companies who helped in producing the film, broadcast the film in 1989 under the title, The Four-Day Revolution. The film was released on home video in the country though CIC-Taft Home Video.
  •  Spain – the film was once shown in Spain under the title, Una Vida Peligrosa.
  •  Canada – the movie was released on home video in Canada in 1989 through Nova Home Video.
  •  Finland – the film was once shown in Finland under the title, Vaarallista elämää.
  •  South Korea – the film was once shown in South Korea under the title, wiheomhan saenghwal (Korean: 위험한 생활).
  •  Philippines – ABS-CBN first broadcast the film from 11 until 13 December 1988 and the network's first marathon broadcast via satellite and was also the first major Australian production to air on the network. ABS-CBN re-aired the film during Holy Week 2010. Both stations aired the film during the 25th and 30th anniversaries of the Ninoy Aquino assassination and EDSA 1986.
  •  United States – HBO broadcast the film on 27 November 1988. The film was released on home video in the country by ITC Home Video (distributed by J2 Communications).
  •  West Germany – the film was once shown in Germany under the title, Ein gefährliches Leben.
  •  Japan – the film was once shown in Japan under the title, Kiken'na seikatsu (Japanese: 危険な生活).

Critical response

Howard Rosenberg of the L.A. Times gave A Dangerous Life a positive review, stating that it is "masterful, simply mesmerizing", and noted that though it takes some artistic license with history, "As drama, [...] “A Dangerous Life” is irresistible, six hours of tingly, high-charged TV that are as volatile, ironic and suspenseful as the history they purport to re-enact". He otherwise griped about romantic subplot of Tony as "lack[ing] validity and occasionally slow[ing] the story".[4]

Manila Standard columnist Emil P. Jurado disparaged A Dangerous Life, calling it an "insult to the Filipino people... and to the heroes of EDSA in particular" for its poor acting, conspicuously Sri Lankan extras, and treatment of foreigners as the main heroes. Jurado, however, noted "flashes of brilliance" from the performances of Laurice Guillen and Tessie Tomas as Corazon Aquino and Imelda Marcos respectively.[5] Karla Delgado, also of the Manila Standard, gave a negative review to the miniseries, deeming it "misfocused" due to the inclusion of an fictional romantic subplot, which she thought was less interesting than the real events depicted. Nevertheless, Delgado praised Tomas' "dramatic" performance as Imelda and Ruben Rustia's "perfected" mannerisms and voice of Ferdinand.[6] Actress Armida Siguion Reyna found the miniseries "boring", expressing that it is likely due to the story being "recent Philippine history" and lacking any new insight. She also stated that the miniseries "is unkind to Juan Ponce-Enrile who is portrayed as almost a coward," while giving praise to the performance of Tomas, whom she considered "so believable in the role [of Imelda]."[7]

References

  1. ^ a b Soriano, Luciano E. (30 November 1987). "Australian tv outfit to film EDSA miniseries". Manila Standard. Standard Publications, Inc. p. 15. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Ayer Productions Pty. Ltd. v. Ignacio M. Capulong, The Lawphil Project (April 29, 1988).
  3. ^ "Court halts filming of EDSA revolt". Manila Standard. Standard Publications, Inc. 25 February 1988. p. 2. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  4. ^ Rosenberg, Howard (25 November 1988). "The 'Dangerous Life' of Imelda and Ferdinand". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times Communications LLC. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  5. ^ Jurado, Emil (30 November 1988). "Comedy of errors". Manila Standard. Manila Standard News, Inc. p. 10. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  6. ^ Delgado, Karla (26 November 1988). "Misfocused". Manila Standard. Manila Standard News, Inc. p. 14. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  7. ^ Reyna, Armida Siguion (21 November 1988). "Boring". Manila Standard. Manila Standard News, Inc. p. 14. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
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