''Maharlika'' (; also known as ''Guerilla Strike Force'') is a 1987 Filipino war film directed by Jerr Hopper and starring Paul Burke,

Dovie Beams Dovie Beams Villagran (born Dovie Leona Osborne,Hermie Rotea, ''Marcos' Lovey Dovie'', Liberty Pub. Co., 1983, 5 August 1932 – 30 December 2017) was an American actress, best known for having an illicit sexual affair with former Filipino Preside ...

Farley Granger Farley Earle Granger Jr. (July 1, 1925 – March 27, 2011) was an American actor, best known for his two collaborations with director Alfred Hitchcock: ''Rope'' in 1948 and '' Strangers on a Train'' in 1951. Granger was first noticed in a small ...

Vic Diaz Victor Sunico Diaz'', popularly known as Vic Diaz, (July 29, 1932 – September 15, 2006) was a Filipino character actor who mostly portrayed villains. He was also the father of Teddy Diaz, the founding guitarist of the Filipino Rock band The ...

Vic Silayan Victor Payumo Silayan (January 31, 1929 – August 30, 1987), commonly known as Vic Silayan, was a Filipino actor who is best known for his roles in ''Kisapmata'' (1981) and ''Karnal'' (1983). Personal life He was born in Gapan, Nueva Ecija, ...

, and

Broderick Crawford William Broderick Crawford (December 9, 1911 – April 26, 1986) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actor, often cast in tough-guy roles and best known for his Oscar- and Golden Globe-winning portrayal of Willie Stark in ''All t ...

. Produced by Nepomuceno Productions, it is loosely based on the alleged wartime exploits of

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...

, the 10th

President of the Philippines The president of the Philippines ( fil, Pangulo ng Pilipinas, sometimes referred to as ''Presidente ng Pilipinas'') is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of t ...

, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

; the film was commissioned by Marcos himself in 1968. Though ''Maharlika'' was completed by 1970, the film was banned by Marcos' wife Imelda from theatrical exhibition in 1971 due to Beams alleging that she had an affair with the president. Imelda then instructed production head Luis Nepomuceno to safeguard the film's elements, which were thus sent abroad, while Nepomuceno Productions was later closed down. After the Marcoses were deposed in 1986 through the

People Power Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, was a series of popular Demonstration (people), demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a ...

, the film was publicly exhibited for the first time at the

Rizal Theater Rizal, officially the Province of Rizal ( fil, Lalawigan ng Rizal), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Its capital is the city of Antipolo. It is about east of Manila. The p ...

Makati Makati ( ), officially the City of Makati ( fil, Lungsod ng Makati), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. Makati is the financial center of the Philippines; it has the highest concentration ...

on February 20, 1987. Later, it was given a general release in Philippine theaters on April 9, 1987. Critic Ernie M. Hizon of the ''

Manila Standard The ''Manila Standard'' is a broadsheet newspaper in the Philippines. , it is owned by the Romualdez family. The Romualdezes, through incumbent speaker of the House Martin Romualdez, also own Journal Publications, Inc., the owner of tabloid pap ...

'' gave the film an extremely negative review for its unremarkable quality and

white savior narrative The term white savior is a critical description of a White people, white person who is depicted as liberating, rescuing or uplifting Person of color, non-white people; it is critical in the sense that it describes a pattern in which people of colo ...

Cast

* Paul Burke as Bob Reynolds *

as Isabella, a Filipina *

as Santos *

as Colonel Murai (

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

: 陸軍大佐村井, ''Rikugun-Taisa Murai'') *

as General Hadley *

Rosa Mia Rosita Quinto Stecza (1925 – November 28, 2006), known by her screen name Rosa Mia, was an award-winning actress and one of the few female directors in the Philippines. She was known as the "Queen of Tearjerker Movies" for her work mostly on the ...

*Dindo Fernando *

Romeo Rivera Romeo Rivera (born September 27, 1946) is a Filipino actor. He appeared in more than 95 movies and television shows. Career In 1963, Sampaguita Pictures introduced him with a bunch of young teenage stars which they called the Sampaguita-Vera-Pere ...

*Ernesto La Guardia *Vero Perfecto *Ed Murphy *Linda Martin

Critical response

Ernie M. Hizon of the ''

'' gave ''Maharlika'' an extremely negative review, calling it an "inert, grade D movie" that is "bereft of any aesthetic and historical value". Hizon was also critical of the casting of

, an American, in the role of an innocent native Filipina, while he considered the film's

to be its worst issue. Hizon concluded that ''Maharlika'' is a cheap film that "peddles a gross distortion of our history."

References

External links

* 1987 films 1980s war films Japanese occupation of the Philippines films Pacific War films Philippine war films {{War-film-stub

Cast

Critical response

See also

References

External links