'Jose Rizal' restored, remastered: 5 highlights from the film's Cinemalaya screening

The digitally restored and remastered version of the 1998 film "Jose Rizal" was screened on Wednesday as part of this year's Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival.

The event held at the Manila Metropolitan Theater was graced by some of the cast, headed by the film's lead star, Cesar Montano, as well as the family of its late director, Marilou Diaz-Abaya.

"Jose Rizal" was an entry to the Metro Manila Film Festival in 1998, winning 17 trophies including Best Picture, Best Screenplay, and Best Cinematography.

Aside from Cesar, its cast members include Jaime Fabregas, Chin Chin Gutierrez, Mickey Ferriols, Ronnie Lazaro, Gloria Diaz, Pen Medina, Gina Alajar, Tony Mabesa, Jhong Hilario, and more.

Here are five highlights from the screening on Wednesday, which introduced the historical film to a new generation of audiences.

1. Restored masterpiece's enhanced visuals, audio

It took GMA Pictures a total of 1,600 hours to restore the award-winning film.

Aside from addressing the visual impairments such as missing frames, burn marks, and camera dirt, the team also fixed audio impairments, including distortion and clicks, and adjusted the dialogue levels.

The post-production team also improved the subtitles so viewers could follow the Spanish dialogues better.

2. Cesar Montano on his Spanish-speaking skills

Speaking of Spanish dialogues, Cesar shared that the film's late director instructed him to learn the language for seven months.

Aside from the lessons, he also tuned in to Spanish channels on their television and even placed photos of the Filipino hero on his walls.

"[Ang] ginawa ko, lahat ng picture ni Jose Rizal na matitisod ko'y pina-print ko nang malaki at dinikit ko sa lahat ng pader ng bahay namin," he said, making the crowd laugh.

3. Ricky Lee on researching and scriptwriting for the film

Also present at the screening was National Artist for Film and Broadcast Ricky Lee, who was one of those behind the film's screenplay.

In his speech, he quipped that Direk Marilou forced them to do months of research for the project.

"It took us three months na research, to prepare. Pwinersa kami ni Marilou, 'di naman," he said, adding that they were assigned to read lots of books, including Spanish versions of Rizal's works.

"It took us three months to do research, and another three months para matapos 'yung script," he said.

4. Marc Abaya on making his mother's film accessible to future generations

Direk Marilou's son, Marc Abaya, also graced the screening and expressed gratitude to GMA Pictures.

According to the musician and actor, a good story is a good story.

"A good story can become a great story depending on how you tell the story. Sa case na 'to ay sa larangan ng pelikula driven by the passion, the devotion, the hard work of the filmmakers, the actors, everybody that is part of the filmmaking process. And technology," he said.

"I am grateful to GMA Films for making one of my mother's greatest films accessible to this generation and to future generations," he added.

5. Applause for the masterpiece, 26 years later

After the screening, the theater was filled with applause from guests, expressing their admiration for the award-winning film's enhanced version.

"It was a very powerful experience na nakakaiyak din. Naiyak pa rin ako sa latter part. Si Cesar is so good all the way, hanggang huli," Ricky said.

—MGP, GMA Integrated News