Some Notes on the Restored and Remastered DVD Version of "Kung Mangarap Ka't Magising" (1977)
KMKM's original screen title design
KMKM's iconic walk-in-the-rain sceneKung Mangarap Ka't Magising ("KMKM") is one of the most anticipated film restoration projects of ABS-CBN's Sagip Pelikula. Central Digital Lab, Inc., ABS-CBN's partner in the said projects, worked on KMKM for about 1,000 hours of manual digital restoration, done locally from 2K quality scans by Italy’s
L’Immagine Ritrovata film restoration lab. Ritrovata, by the way, is known worldwide as a topnotch film preservation company. Music and audio restoration was supervised by Director Mike De Leon himself. Special cinema screenings for the restored film premiered in early 2016. The DVD version I obtained recently, part of the triple-disc set collectively packaged as
The Films of Mike De Leon, was released in May 2017, marking a four-decade milestone for KMKM.
KMKM original 1977 movie poster
A "new" poster for the restored versionVIDEO QUALITYTechnically, KMKM is not a Full HD 1080p presentation, considering the inherent limitation of the DVD format. Picture size and pixel aspect ratio of the DVD format max out at 720x480 and 720x576 for NTSC and PAL, respectively. That said, the restored version of KMKM on a dual-layer DVD is decently upscaled on my 65"
4K TV without black bars.
Comparing it with my old DVD version of the movie (full of specks, lines, discoloration, poor contrast and brightness levels), the restored version practically shows a night-and-day difference. Wow, talk about details that are not visible in the old copy!
Take a look at the following before-and-after screengrab samples from one of KMKM's highlights, i.e., the picnic scene:
Visual improvements in color grading, contrast and brightness are commendable. Thank you, Central Digital Lab, Inc., viewers can now better appreciate De Leon’s original intention, which was to create a tableau that looks and feels like a dream. A perfect backdrop for the film's mood and storyline.
Courtship (or flirting?) before the era of social media
Hilda Koronel with Laurice GuillenKMKM's soft photography is undeniably gorgeous, especially when the lovely Hilda Koronel is the camera's sole subject and focus. Perhaps there is really something in Baguio's (or Sagada's) atmosphere which helps to bring this cinematic intention to full fruition.
AUDIO QUALITYThe restored sound is very clear, in stereo format. Dialogs are no longer muffled. Neither is
Joey's Theme tinny and scratchy. For the first time, I even distinctly heard the sound of fireplace embers inside the house of Ana (played by Hilda Koronel)! Alright, no multichannel 5.1 magic here, but the sonic improvement easily trumps my old copy's audio which suffered from drop-outs and constant noise. I have no complaints about KMKM being played through my A/V receiver's virtual surround mode to compensate for the lack of 5.1 audio.
SPECIAL FEATURESI am very particular with special features, precisely the reason why I prefer owning the discs over streaming a movie. I usually go for the director's audio commentary with some of my Hollywood DVDs and BDs. It is a separate audio track that can be played simultaneously with the movie. Apparently, this particular DVD release has a "missing" audio commentary. Strange, because the packaging clearly indicates information that there are two (2) commentaries, one for audio and another for video. So what happened? Was it intentionally removed before the DVD's release? Was it possibly a planned director's commentary that didn't materialize just in time for the DVD's pressing? Or was it simply a printing error in the packaging?
Here is the DVD packaging information showing "Special Features" with the (highlighted) audio commentary:
And here is the actual onscreen DVD menu which omits a selection for that audio commentary:
Nonetheless, don't let the aforesaid omission—a minor one—hold you back if you're thinking of buying the restored film on DVD. It's a steal for PHP900 (roughly the equivalent of US$18.00) because it is bundled together with the restored and remastered versions of De Leon's
Kakabakaba Ka Ba? and
Hindi Nahahati Ang Langit. Plus, the set contains other extras such as poster designs, trailers, stills and Kakabakaba Ka Ba? scanned original script. A pretty good deal.
I would highly recommend it, although I am not a fan of the set's packaging. Kakabakaba Ka Ba? didn't come with its own disc cradle, just a cardboard cut-out which puts the disc's reflective side at risk of scratches. The other two DVDs came with disc cradles.
Cardboard cut-out for Kakabakaba Ka Ba? Disc
Only two disc cradles for the triple-disc setAlthough I wish they could have included the 20-minute behind-the-scenes documentary which was featured at its premiere screening at the Power Plant Cinema in early 2016,
KMKM's video commentary is an exceptional and welcome bonus for a Filipino film restoration project. Thumbs up for that! Two of KMKM's original supporting casts,
Bibeth Orteza and
Boboy Garovillo, sat down with
Manet Dayrit (CEO of Central Digital Lab, Inc.) and
Jun Latonio (the movie's musical director) for this purpose. The split-screen video commentary for the entire movie reveals surprising information—both serious and funny—which otherwise would not have been easily known by the viewers. For example, in some scenes where Christopher De Leon was shown deftly playing the piano, it was actually Jun Latonio on the keyboard doing a "hand double" for Christopher's. Another example is the revelation that the existing prints of KMKM sustained heavy damage from molds, making the restoration a difficult process.
Some screengrabs from KMKM's video commentary:
Bibeth Orteza and Manet Dayrit
Boboy Garovillo and Jun LatonioIn this beautifully-photographed film now in its restored and remastered splendor, Baguio—at least as I fondly remember it back in the day—has never appeared more idyllic. In Mike De Leon's rom-com film 40 years later, we get to see a young Hilda Koronel in her prime, whose angelic beauty has never been more ethereal, and whose silver-screen presence is once more immortalized on digital format.
Hilda Koronel on the set of KMKM, 1977(Photo by Pablito Ibañez)
Topic: Mike De Leon Set: Kung Mangarap Ka't Magising, Kakabakaba Ka Ba?, Hindi Nahahati (Read 7809 times)