"Jose Rizal" DVD Cover

One hundred and fifty-one years ago today, our national hero Jose Rizal was born in Calamba, Laguna.  Rizal's stature as the Philippines' national hero resulted in his presence in many items of daily living: matches, coins, cement, name it...


Rizal's life has been a subject in film since the inception of Philippine cinema.  The most notable of which was GMA Network Films' production in 1998.  Cesar Montano did the honor of portraying our national hero, under the direction of Marilou Diaz-Abaya.


In 2006, the movie was released in DVD format by GMA Records Home Video:

The DVD is part of a friend's movie collection.  Home-viewing only, not for rental.

An entry to the Metro Manila Film Festival that year, Jose Rizal made a killing at the box-office, while almost sweeping 16 awards at the festival.  Jose Rizal also gained worldwide acclaim, winning over 70 international awards.


Other cast members include Gloria Diaz, Joel Torre, Jaime Fabregas, Gardo Versoza, Gina Alajar, Tanya Gomez, Ronnie Lazaro, Subas Herrero, Pen Medina, Chinchin Gutierrez, Monique Wilson, Jhong Hilario, and Mickey Ferriols.


Crew include Ricardo Lee, Jun Lana, and Peter Ong Lim (Screenplay); Rody Lacap (Director of Photography); Leo Abaya (Production Designer); Jess Navaro and Manet Dayrit (Film Editors); Backroom, Inc./Carlos Agustin (Publicity & Promotions); Gregg de Guzman (Line Producer); Butch Jimenez, Jimmy Duavit, and Marilou Diaz-Abaya (Producers); Menardo R. Jimenez, Gilberto Duavit, and Felipe L. Gozon (Executive Producers)


Special DVD features include the theatrical trailer and a Probe Team-produced documentary on the making of the film. 

Some notes about the film:

* Aga Muhlach was the original choice as Jose Rizal, under the direction of Mike de Leon.

* Cesar Montano had been known for leading roles in action movies before this film.

* Scenes from Noli me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, novels by Rizal, were depicted in the film in black-and-white.

* Joel Torre who played the roles of Crisostomo Ibarra and Simoun (main characters in Noli me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, respectively) has the same date of birth as Jose Rizal.  They were born exactly a hundred years apart. Interestingly, Torre's real given name is Jose Rizalino.

* In 1999, Joel Torre portrayed Jose Rizal in the film Bayaning 3rd World, which was directed by Mike de Leon.

* The film was playing in theaters when our country commemorated the one hundred second anniversary of Rizal's martyrdom on December 30, 1998.