Bilangin ang Bituin sa Langit is a 1989

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by Elwood Perez and produced by

Lily Monteverde Lily Yu Monteverde, nicknamed Mother Lily (born August 19, 1938), is a Filipina film producer and businesswoman. She is the first and many Filipina Movie producers who produced the boom of blockbuster films in different genres in the 70s and 80 ...

. The film stars

Nora Aunor Nora Cabaltera Villamayor (born May 21, 1953), professionally known as Nora Aunor (), is a Filipino actress, recording artist, and film producer. Aunor has also appeared in several stage plays, television shows and concerts. She is known as P ...

and

Tirso Cruz III Tirso Silvano Cruz III (born April 1, 1952) is a Filipino actor, comedian, and singer. He currently serves as the Chairperson of the Film Development Council of the Philippines. Regarded as a "matinee idol", Cruz is a FAMAS Award and Gawad Ur ...

and it chronicles the turbulent life-long relationship between Noli (Aunor), a poor and hard-working barrio lass, and Anselmo (Cruz), her childhood sweetheart. ''Bilangin ang Bituin sa Langit'' won both the

FAMAS Award The Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences Awards (also known as the FAMAS Awards) are the annual honors given by the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS), an organization composed of award-winning writers and movie columni ...

for

Best Picture This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

and the FAP Award for Best Picture. Nora won Best Actress for this film in Urian, FAMAS, and FAP while Tirso won Best Actor in PMPC Star, FAMAS, and FAP.

Cast

as Doña Magnolia "Noli" Dela Cruz vda. de Zulueta and Maggie Zulueta *

as Dr. Anselmo Santos and Anselmo Santos Jr. * Gloria Romero as Doña Martina Santos * Miguel Rodriguez as Señor Arturo Zulueta *Ana Margarita Gonzales as Margot Zulueta *

Perla Bautista Perla Marcial Bautista (born February 18, 1940) is a multi-awarded actress in the Philippines. She acted in more than 250 movies and television shows. She won the Best Actress FAMAS Award for ''Markang Rehas'' (1962). She also won Gawad Urian ...

as Cedes Santos *Vangie Labalan as Matilde *Beverly Salviejo as Connie *

Rolando Tinio Rolando Santos Tinio (March 5, 1937 – July 7, 1997) was a Filipino poet, dramatist, director, actor, critic, essayist and educator."Philippine Theater", Nicanor G. Tiongson (ed.), CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art, Volume VII, 1994 Biography ...

as the principal *Manjo del Mundo as Noli's Brother

Production

The production of ''Bilangin ang Bituin sa Langit'' lasted nearly three years, with

Regal Films Regal Entertainment, Inc. (formerly and more commonly known as Regal Films) is a Philippine film production company based in Pasig. It was founded by Lily Monteverde on August 19, 1962. It has produced movies of all genres; and is the oldest ...

announcing its completion on August 12, 1989.

Release

''Bilangin ang Bituin sa Langit'' was released in the Philippines on August 17, 1989.

Critical response

Mario A. Hernando of ''Malaya Newspaper'' said that the film was "the quintessential" and "a loving tribute to the 'Golden Age of Philippine Cinema'" while Melissa G. Contreras of ''

Manila Chronicle The ''Manila Chronicle'' was a newspaper in the Philippines founded in 1945. Its founding newspapermen sold it to Eugenio López, Sr. It was closed down when martial law was imposed by Ferdinand Marcos in 1972. It was published daily by the Man ...

'' said that Aunor is a "prime mover in the movie" due to the emotions she showed in her character.

Awards and recognition

TV adaptation

In 2020,

GMA Network GMA Network (Global Media Arts or simply GMA) is a Philippine free-to-air television and radio network. It is the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network, Inc. Its first broadcast on television was on October 29, 1961. GMA Network ( ...

remade the film into a TV series. It stars

who is also part of the original film as Cedes,

Mylene Dizon Mylene Dizon (; born September 6, 1974) is a Filipino actress and model. Dizon has established herself as one of the most renowned actresses in Philippine cinema with an astounding 30 films and nearly 50 television roles to her credit, as wel ...

as Magnolia "Nolie" and

Kyline Alcantara Kyline Nicole Aquino Alcantara Manga (; born September 3, 2002) is a Filipina singer, actress, dancer, host, and podcaster. Born in Ocampo, Camarines Sur, Alcantara began acting at age seven and made her television debut in '' Star Circle Qu ...

as Margarita "Maggie".

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0125009, Bilangin mo ang bituin sa langit 1989 films Filipino-language films Films set in the Philippines Philippine drama films Regal Entertainment films