A Dangerous Life
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' dictatorship 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, Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne, 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. Production. 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. By December, the title was changed to "The Four Day Revolution", and the fictitious character of Ben Ayala was renamed Ben Balano. 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. 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. 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 . 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. 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." 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." 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. The Aquino assassination scene was filmed on the actual location where the assassination occurred. To replicate the event, the production leased a China Airlines Boeing 767 with the registration B-1836, the same aircraft that carried Ninoy, for filming. The plane was later retired from China Airlines when 747-400's were ordered and delivered. Some scenes were shot in Australia. The scene of the late Butz Aquino calling from Camp Crame was shot in Sydney. Release. 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". "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. 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. 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]."