It would become a travesty if future generations will never get to see a Dolphy film, or least if the local film industry did not do anything about it.
I was fortunate enough to catch Home Along Da Riles on its final years very young. I was never told who the lead man on that show was, but for a second, you knew he is inherently funny. Funny enough to not be called a comedian, but a real entertainer.
To me, Dolphy was a father figure I can only imagine on-screen. He was the personification of a Filipino father who despite the wacky conflicts, finds the most absurd way, to prevent his family from eventual failure. Truly, the quintessential representation of what it takes to become a father in the Philippines.
Which is why when ABS-CBN Film Restoration invited me for a screening of John &Marsha ‘85 sa Probinsya at Cinema Centennario, it's just something I could not easily pass on. The restoration team’s head Leo Katigbak revealed that a lot of Dolphy films are non-existent due to either broken condition or lost. The film we watched was the first one he promised to revive from the film prints to a remastered digital format, and it was glorious.
In a rare case, I watched the film without the intention to pinpoint flaws. Instead, I decided to be careless about what it is and just laugh on naturally. Can’t tell more about how they were able to restore the film, but I can say that it made me remember a lot of things, looking back on the more peaceful years watching Dolphy in a non-re-run sitcom. It’s fascinating how today’s technology can put really give new birth to forgotten works. And in the process of gaining media literacy, it’s mandatory that we get to where a lot of today’s laughs got its roots.
I am not the most literate of Dolphy’s works. With such an enormous filmography, I can only tell you what’s available online for the most part. (because what choice do I have, right?) I laughed hysterically at Darna, Kuno and devastated on his dramatic turn at Tatay Kong Nanay. I am saddened by the fact that we might just be counting the days wherein a Dolphy movie dies with an existing copy one by one. Our technology can only do so much, but would it be nice if we get to see the smiles our “king of comedy” could’ve offered in all its decades-long entirety.
Photo credits: ABS-CBN Film Restoration
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