Philippine Film History PDF

Most films made in the Philippines are in Tagalog. Sex and violence are major themes in films, which are often adaptations of American screen productions. American films are popular and readily available, and so high-quality Filipino films have been slow to develop. First run Hollywood films are ava...

Most films made in the Philippines are in Tagalog. Sex and violence are major themes in films, which are often adaptations of American screen productions. American films are popular and readily available, and so high-quality Filipino films have been slow to develop. First run Hollywood films are available on the streets in the form of cheap, pirated DVDs.  The first film to be shown in the Philippines was shown in 1897. Over the years, Filipino films have ranged from silent movies to talkies; black and white to color. Nationwide, there are more than 1000 movie theaters. Early in the 1980s, it was estimated in Metro Manila alone, there were around 2.5 million moviegoers. Award-winning and well-respected Filipino directors include Marilou Diaz-Abaya, Laurice Guillen, Olivia Lamasan, Carlitos Siguion-Reyna, Ishmael Bernal, Joel Lamangan, Jose Javier Reyes and Lino Brocka (deceased). The Filipino film \"100\" directed by Chris Martinez won the Audience Award at the 2008 Pusan International Film Festival. There is a strong local film production industry in the Philippines. Although very long (three hours) Marilou Abaya' \"Rizal\", made in 1998 to coincide with the Centennial celebrations of Philippines Independence is well worth watching. \"Bayan Ko (My country)\" was made by Lino Brocka, arguably the most renowned and accomplished Filipino film director. Many of the films are produced in the Filipino language and concentrate on peculiarly Filipino film genres of comedy (such as the movies of Nora Aunor or Yoyoy Villayame), stories of frustrated love and action movies a-kindred to \"Kung Fu\" movies.  Films in the Philippines are screened and censored by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB). Some of the decisions have spark controversy such as the censorship of sex scenes in three Oscar-winning films, including "Shindler's List", and the Spanish film "Belle Epoque".  Two studios before the war, namely Sampaguita Pictures and LVN, reestablished themselves. Bouncing back quickly, they churned out movie after movie to make up for the drought of films caused by the war. Another studio, Premiere Productions, was earning a reputation for "the vigor and the freshness" of some of its films. This was the period of the "Big Four" when the industry operated under the studio system. Each studio (Sampaguita, LVN, Premiere and Lebran) had its own set of stars, technicians and directors, all lined up for a sequence of movie after movie every year therefore maintaining a monopoly of the industry. The system assured moviegoers a variety of fare for a whole year and allowed stars and directors to improve their skills. This new consciousness was further developed by local and international awards that were established in that decade. Awards were first instituted that decade. First, the Manila Times Publishing Co. set up the Maria Clara Awards. In 1952, the FAMAS (Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences) Awards were handed out. More so, Filipino films started garnering awards in international film festivals. One such honor was bestowed on Manuel Conde's immortal movie Genghis Khan (1952) when it was accepted for screening at the Venice Film Festival. Other honors include awards for movies like Gerardo de Leon's Ifugao (1954) and Lamberto Avellana's Anak Dalita. This established the Philippines as a major filmmaking center in Asia. These awards also had the effect of finally garnering for Filipino films their share of attention from fellow Filipinos. The 1960s, though a time of positive changes, brought about an artistic decline in films. The notorious genre of bomba was introduced and from that day forward has been present in the Philippine film scene ever since. The studio systems came under siege from the growing labor movement which resulted in labor-management conflicts. The first studio to close was Lebran followed by Premiere Productions. Next came Sampaguita and LVN. The "Big Four" studios were replaced by new and independent producers who soon made up the rest of the film industry.  The decade also saw the emergence of the youth revolt best represented by the Beatles and the rock and roll revolution. They embodied the wanting to rebel against adult institutions and establishments. Certain new film genres were conceived just to cater to this "revolt". Fan movies such as those of the "Tita and Pancho" and "Nida and Nestor" romantic pairings of the 50s were the forerunners of a new kind of revolution -- the "teen love team" revolution. "Nora Aunor and Vilma Santos, along with Tirso Cruz III and Eddie Mortiz as their respective screen sweethearts, were callow performers during the heyday of fan movies. Young audiences made up of vociferous partisans for 'Guy and Pip' or 'Vi and Bot' were in search of role models who could take the place of elders the youth revolt had taught them to distrust" Another kind of youth revolt came in the form of the child star. Roberta (1951) of Sampaguita Pictures was the phenomenal example of the drawing power of movies featuring \[these\] child stars. In the 60s this seemed to imply rejection of "adult corruption" as exposed by childhood innocence. The film genres of the time were direct reflections of the "disaffection with the status quo" at the time. Action movies with Pinoy cowboys and secret agents as the movers of the plots depicted a "society ravaged by criminality and corruption". Movies being make-believe worlds at times connect that make-believe with the social realities. These movies suggest a search for heroes capable of delivering us from hated bureaucrats, warlords and villains of our society. The action films of the 1960s brought into the industry " a new savage rhythm that made earlier action films seem polite and stage managed." The pacing of the new action films were fast as the narrative had been pared down to the very minimum of dialogues. And in keeping up with the Hollywood tradition, the action sequences were even more realistic. Another film genre that is perhaps also a embodiment of the revolt of the time is the bomba genre. Probably the most notorious of all, this genre appeared at the close of the decade. Interestingly, it came at a time when social movement became acknowledged beyond the walls of campuses and of Manila. \[Source: aenet.org/family/filmhistory \] In rallies, demonstrations and other forms of mass action, the national democratic movement presented its analysis of the problems of Philippine society and posited that only a social revolution could bring genuine change. The bomba film was a direct challenge to the conventions and the norms of conduct of status quo, a rejection of authority of institutions in regulating the "life urge" seen as natural and its free expression "honest" and "therapeutic" Despite our completion of 100 years of cinema in the Philippines, the same problems plague us now just as it had when film was still a relatively new art form. The phrase "poorly made" is fitting to describe the quality of films being churned out by the film industry year by year. There have been few exceptions to the rule. \[Source: aenet.org/family/filmhistory \] Presently, films are primarily made for profit, lacking any qualities to redeem itself. Studies show that Hollywood films, with its high technology and subject matter, are being preferred over local films. It is no wonder -- for films now are "too profit-oriented...\[with\] corrupting morals and...dubious values...sticking with formulaic films" Genres that have been present for the past few decades are being recycled over and over again with the same stories. The teen love teams of the fan movie are still present with incarnations of love teams of yesteryears. Now instead of "Guy and Pip" are "Judy and Wowie". The bomba film is still present, now having grown more pornographic and taboo. The film Tatlo (1998) comes to mind with its subject matter of threesomes. In Filipino slapstick or komedya, Dolphy has been replaced by younger stars. But even if the films of today have not been quite up to par, "Filipino movies...wields an influence over the national imagination far more intense that all the others combined." Presently, we are seemingly engaged in a vicious cycle -- of genres, plots, characterization and cinematic styles. We are unconsciously, or rather consciously, imitating, copying from the much more popular American films. And when we are not copying, we are reverting back to the same old styles. From the massacre movies of late, the teen-oriented romantic-comedies and the anatomy-baring sex flicks which are currently so popular, it seems Philippine cinema is on a down spiral. Still, some films been successes and not only financially. Diaz-Abaya's Rizal (1998), as an example, was a success both commercially and critically. Hopefully, Philippine cinema in the new millennium would produce films as good and better than the ones before it.