Mercedes-Benz in a Philippine motion picture? Are there any? A cognoscenti who's been on a hunting trip for so long will definitely ask. Most Filipinos today would probably agree that the quality of motion pictures produced in the Philippines has gone from good to mediocre and vice versa and in a see-saw trend.
But doing a write-up about Mercedes-Benz in the Philippine movies, made me realize that it will going to be a laborious task in terms of research. Not that I can not find any but it will be impossible to cover everything in one writing.
And for this first installment, our featured film is entitled Partida which means handicap if the context will refer to a one-man army against a gazillion of adversaries and this feat was done by no other than the late Fernando Poe Jr.
This movie was released in the year 1985 while I'm still in high school. Although I never saw this movie in widescreen, a Betamax or a VHS was good source of playback during that time.
I will not be discussing about the movie itself in this article as it is not in the best interest of this blog. But rather, the inclusion of the marque within the playtime of Partida. Having said that, I have embedded a video from YouTube which will take us to one of the most "spectacular" car chases in the Philippine movie history. Watch this.
Benzspotting
The car chase went around the streets of Makati from Reposo, Jupiter, Ayala Ave., Paseo de Roxas, EDSA, went around Magallanes and eventually back again. So much feast on the old Jap ricers, VWs etc. etc. it's old-school galore! One can actually see how much progress we've made today.
1:49
A W114 coming up from the EDSA duct of the Magallanes cloverleaf. During this period, the cloverleaf is a fully functional cloverleaf.
3:16
An R107 filling up at Shell Pasong Tamo(?) just taking cue from the old Aboitiz Bldg.
3:32
A stately W126 cruising along Paseo de Roxas, on board is Armida Siguion-Reyna.
3:54
Another W126 was uncovered after Armida's chauffeur guns the throttle. And eventually an "elegant" smash!
4:33
Then a funeral "march" in a location which I'm not certain whether it's Loyola or Manila Memorial Park. After the hearse, there's a W124 followed by a C123, a bimmer, then a T123 and of course, the recycled R107 from another scene.
After watching this clip, my jaw dropped and speak in my mind "They did that 23 years ago? Gosh!". I know there's more to come.
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2 comments:
Great chase scene, Jared! "Partida" is almost like the Filipino version of the milestone 1968 movie "Bullitt", starring Steve McQueen, who, admittedly was a screen legend just like our very own Fernando Poe Jr. While the decrepit Toyota Crown is a poor substitute for Bullitt's Highland Green'68 Mustang Fastback, both movies had chase scenes with no computer special effects high-tech cinematography of any kind. What we saw was the real "blood 'n guts" deal (with fake blood, of course), and that's what adds to the authentic charm of these vintage flicks. Thanks for bringing us back in time! Bravo!
Thanks for posting! Of all technophobics, you're learning fast! :))
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