Best Filipino history movies
A curated collection of popular history movies from Philippines.
Baler (2008)
Baler (2008)
In 1898, a band of Spanish soldiers heroically defended Baler against Filipino forces for 337 long and grueling days. The battle, now referred to as the Siege of Baler, is the setting of a forbidden love between a Mestizo soldier and a Filipina lass who lived at the end of the 19th century.
Felix Manalo (2015)
Felix Manalo (2015)
Felix Yzagun Manalo is a sprawling historical epic that traces the origin of Iglesia Ni Cristo (The Church of Christ) which is established in the Philippines from its humble beginnings in 1914 through the present day.
Sakay (1993)
Sakay (1993)
Sakay is a 1993 Filipino historical drama film directed by Raymond Red. The film stars Julio Diaz, Tetchie Agbayani, and Leopoldo Salcedo. The film covers the life of Filipino patriot and hero Macario Sakay, who was declared an outlaw and a criminal for continuing hostilities against the United States after the "official" end of the Philippine Insurrection.
El Presidente (2012)
El Presidente (2012)
The film begins with his capture by Philippine and US forces under Frederick Funston's command in 1901, then flashes back to 1886, when an old woman gives Aguinaldo and his childhood friend Candido Tirona cryptic prophecies. Ten years later, Aguinaldo is inducted into the Katipunan and later assumes leadership of its Cavite chapter while becoming mayor of Cavite El Viejo. When the trouble breaks out in Manila in late August 1896, Aguinaldo tries to assure the Spanish provincial government of non-interference and covertly marshals his forces despite a lack of weapons. Learning that the Spanish mostly put their forces in Manila, Aguinaldo finally mobilizes his troops and take the command of the Katipunan forces in Cavite
Tirad Pass: The Story of Gen. Gregorio del Pilar (1996)
Tirad Pass: The Story of Gen. Gregorio del Pilar (1996)
The Battle of Tirad Pass was fought between Filipino revolutionary forces and Americans of the 33rd Infantry Regiment in Ilocos Sur. Brigadier General Gregorio del Pilar led the Filipinos, while Major Peyton March led the Americans. The battle resulted in the death of Del Pilar, along with 51 Filipino soldiers.
Markova: Comfort Gay (2001)
Markova: Comfort Gay (2001)
Based on the life of Walter Dempsey Jr., also known as Markova, this film sees his journey from adolescence to adulthood as a female impersonator during the Japanese occupation, then shows his struggles as an elderly gay man in the present.
Manila, Open City (1968)
Manila, Open City (1968)
War drama set in the closing stages of World War Two. As Allied Forces are nearing the defeat of the Japanese Army in Manila, the Japanese Empire's soldiers begin attacking innocent civilians. A brutal month-long battle ensues.
Lapu-Lapu (1955)
Lapu-Lapu (1955)
Lapu-Lapu who defeated Spanish invaders on then land of Mactan.
Korea (1952)
Korea (1952)
Korea is a 1952 Philippine war film about the Korean War directed by Lamberto V. Avellana. Produced by LVN Pictures, the film is considered to be lost. Benigno Aquino Jr. wrote the script who based it on his experiences in the war as a correspondent.
Woman of the Ruins (2013)
Woman of the Ruins (2013)
On a storm-ravaged island that has seen its share of tragedy, a person who had been assumed dead reappears and ignites a frenzy of reactions, ranging from ecstatic religious fervor to fear.
Tanabata's Wife (2018)
Lapulapu, Ang Datu ng Mactan (2021)
Lapulapu, Ang Datu ng Mactan (2021)
This play unpacks many events chronicling the Victory at Mactan in 1521.
Concerto (2008)
Concerto (2008)
Concerto is about how, in the last part of World War II, a special piano concert is held in the forest outside Davao City, in Mindanao. In these boondocks, a displaced Filipino family, lead by Military Commander Ricardo and his wife Julia, become acquainted with a group of Japanese officers, similarly camped nearby. Their son Joselito, a Japanese speaker, becomes the conduit with the neighboring Japanese. Their daughters Niña, an aspiring concert pianist and the musically gifted, Maria, who is able to play by ear, are alternately repulsed and intrigued by the officers. Family values are questioned as the family treads the thin line between enmity and friendship with the occupying Japanese. Based on true stories from the director's own family history, Concerto celebrates a family whose reverence for life, expressed through their love of music and friendship, can survive even war, and shows how beauty and compassion does grow in even the harshest of conditions. - Written by anonymous
Goyo: The Boy General (2018)
Goyo: The Boy General (2018)
With this film (the second war trilogy set during the Filipino-American war in the early 1900s), the revolution marches on against the Americans after the bloody death of General Antonio Luna. The conflicted philosophies behind the heroic struggle continue and become personified in the colorful character of General Gregorio "Goyo" del Pilar.
The Agony and Fury of Hermano Puli (2016)
The Agony and Fury of Hermano Puli (2016)
Decades before the rise of liberalism in Spanish-era colonial Philippines, a young charismatic preacher leads a movement for equality and religious freedom for his fellow native Filipinos. He is hailed as the Christ of the Tagalogs, but is sentenced to death for heresy by both Church and State.
Bonifacio: Ang Unang Pangulo (2014)
Bonifacio: Ang Unang Pangulo (2014)
The true story of Andres Bonifacio, a man who rose as a leader in the fight against the Spanish oppressors, and would gain the enmity of even those fighting for the same cause.
Angelito (2017)
Angelito (2017)
A short film about Antonio Luna’s aides-de-camp Jose and Manuel Bernal during the aftermath of Luna’s assassination.
Heneral Rizal (2020)
Heneral Rizal (2020)
Heneral Rizal uncovers the story of Paciano Rizal, usually regarded as the ever-supportive elder brother of the Filipino National Hero, Dr. Jose Rizal. Unknown to many, Paciano was a proficient general who fought the colonizers, together with Andres Bonifacio and Emilio Jacinto. He was instrumental in liberating Calamba during the Philippine Revolution.
The Woman in the Septic Tank 3: The Real Untold Story of Josephine Bracken (2019)
The Woman in the Septic Tank 3: The Real Untold Story of Josephine Bracken (2019)
“Sequel na, series pa? It’s just a suggestion.” Watch as Eugene Domingo comes full circle as she completes the saga in this third installment of Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank. Witness her in a new light as she tells the real untold story of Josephine Bracken in this iWant original series.
Kung Ika'y Makapili (2025)
Kung Ika'y Makapili (2025)
In the final days of the Japanese occupation in the Philippines, a young Filipino seeking to provide for his family by identifying traitors, finds a young insurgent living in his home, leaving him to choose between his family or dignity to survive the Second World War.
Gravity (2016)
Gravity (2016)
After surviving the Death March, Martial Law and the loss of his legs, Justino became an atheist. But when his wife dies, a part of him is yearning to believe in life beyond death; just for a chance to be with her again. Searching for parts of her he can still hold on to, he devours her diaries for information into their past --opening a Pandora's Box of secrets.
Quezon's Game (2019)
Martyr or Murderer (2023)
Martyr or Murderer (2023)
A sequel to Maid in Malacañang. The film explores the assassination of Ninoy Aquino on August 21, 1983, three years before the events of Maid in Malacañang, and how the Marcoses were accused of as those responsible for killing him.
A Short Film About the Indio Nacional (2005)
A Short Film About the Indio Nacional (2005)
What follows is a black-and-white silent film set in the 1890s during the brewing Filipino revolution against Spanish colonialism. A series of tragic and comic sequences tells the Three Ages of an Indio (“common man”) as he progresses from boy bell ringer in a village church to teenage revolutionary to adult theater actor rehearsing a popular Spanish play.
Jesus the Revolutionary (2002)
Jesus the Revolutionary (2002)
A man named Jesus takes on the ruling military junta.
Ang Paglilitis ni Andres Bonifacio (2010)
Ang Paglilitis ni Andres Bonifacio (2010)
Ang Paglilitis ni Andres Bonifacio is the untold story of the trial of Andres Bonifacio under the Revolutionary Government of Pres. Emilio Aguinaldo. Two leaders, Andres Bonifacio, Supremo of the Katipuneros, and Emilio Aguinaldo, president of the Revolutionary Government, made their way to fight for freedom for the Filipinos against the dominant rule, fought for a cause and for a reason to be one nation. Yet only one should rule. This was the start of Philippine politics. Ang Paglilitis ni Andres Bonifacio is a film documentation of Philippine history put to screen and megged by Mario O’Hara. And now, let the people be the judge whether Andres Bonifacio is guilty or not guilty of treason
Third World Hero (2000)
Third World Hero (2000)
Two filmmakers try to create a film venturing on the life of Jose Rizal. Before they do that, they try to investigate on the heroism of the Philippine national hero. Of particular focus is his supposed retraction of his views against the Roman Catholic Church during the Spanish regime in the Philippines which he expressed primarily through his two novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. The investigation was done mainly by "interviewing" key individuals in the life of Rizal such as his mother Teodora Alonso, his siblings Paciano, Trinidad, and Narcisa, his love interest and supposed wife Josephine Bracken, and the Jesuit priest who supposedly witnessed Rizal's retraction, Fr. Balaguer. Eventually, the two filmmakers would end up "interviewing" Rizal himself to get to the bottom of the issue.
Nardong Putik (Kilabot ng Cavite) Version II (1984)
Nardong Putik (Kilabot ng Cavite) Version II (1984)
The untold true to life story of Leonardo M. Manecio of Malagasang, Imus, Cavite, who possesses an amulet which renders him invisible whenever he is in the mud, as well as the modern day Robin Hood of Cavite
Sisa (1951)
Sisa (1951)
Gerardo de Leon's great revisionist film about one of Jose Rizal's most memorable characters, Sisa.
Rizal in Dapitan (1997)
Rizal in Dapitan (1997)
Dr. Jose Rizal was exiled in Dapitan from 1892-1896. These were his last four years. Dapitan served as his prison cell. He always compared it to “a beautiful cage” where he is imprisoned. This was the longest imprisonment Rizal ever had. He became so lost by those times, but still he did not lose his mind. Even there, he continued studying and discovering things. He continued his conversation with his friends, scientists and doctors outside the country.