New book maps Philippine cinema’s greatest movies
A new book gathers 127 landmark titles from 1937 to 2020 and invites readers to revisit the country’s cinematic history.
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A new book gathers 127 landmark titles from 1937 to 2020 and invites readers to revisit the country’s cinematic history.
Book cover.
Summit Media
Condensing nearly a century of Philippine cinema into one volume is no small feat. SINE. PELIKULA. FILM: The 100+ Greatest Movies of Philippine Cinema, a 300-page release from Summit Books, brings together films that have helped define the country’s cinematic and cultural landscape.
Curated by veteran publisher Jo-Ann Q. Maglipon and New York University cinema studies scholar Joel David, the book features 127 film synopses and reviews spanning 1937 to 2020, with an emphasis on films that audiences can still find and watch today.
The book took center stage on 10 August at Cinema 3 of Red Carpet Cinemas at Shangri-La Plaza, where SINE X CINEMALAYA brought together filmmakers and artists featured in the collection. The star-studded panel included actors Philip Salvador and Charo Santos, producer Joji Alonso, and directors Jose Javier Reyes, Joel Lamangan, Carlitos Siguion-Reyna, and Gerald Anderson, among others.
The selection spans genres and generations, from Lino Brocka’s Maynila sa Kuko ng Liwanag (Manila in the Claws of Light) and Ishmael Bernal’s Manila By Night to Kidlat Tahimik’s Mabababangong Bangungot (Perfumed Nightmare) and Arnel Barbarona’s Tu Pug Imatuy (The Right to Kill).
Popular films such as Ronwaldo Reyes’s Ang Panday (The Blacksmith) and Jerrold Tarog’s Heneral Luna appear alongside overlooked works such as Gerardo de Leon’s El Filibusterismo (Subversion) and Gregorio Fernandez’s Malvarosa.
Romantic comedies including Antoinette Jadaone’s That Thing Called Tadhana and Cathy Garcia-Molina’s One More Chance share space with comedies such as Mar S. Torres’s Jack and Jill and Jade Castro’s Zombadings: Patayin sa Shokot si Remington (Remington and the Curse of the Zombadings).
The book also includes profiles of National Artists for Film, including Manuel Conde, Eddie Romero, Mike de Leon, and Fernando Poe Jr.
Despite its title, the collection does not attempt to declare a definitive No. 1 film.
“If they’re great, they’re here,” the collection promises, but Maglipon says the project was never meant to become a competition.
“We committed to a Greatest Films’ List, not fully understanding that ‘greatest’ was not what we were going for,” Maglipon explains. “Certainly not, if listing the greatest meant comparing and ranking, pitting and judging, voting and awarding. We had no taste for going in that direction.”
Instead, the team sought to create a showcase of “wondrous, esteemed, and outstanding” films.
Maglipon, who spent nearly two decades at the helm of entertainment magazine YES!, formed a screening committee from her magazine staff. They spent months watching films, discussing their merits and voting on the selections.
The process also emphasized how personal film appreciation can be.
“It is taste. It is exposure. It is age. It is moral grounding. It is class background. It is education. It is time and place. It is country. It is culture. It is emotional makeup. It is IQ. It is bias,” Maglipon writes.
The team turned to David, whom Maglipon describes as a “patient guru and generous collaborator,” for his expertise in navigating the breadth of Philippine cinema.
Ultimately, SINE. PELIKULA. FILM presents its selection as a starting point for further discovery.
“With more than a bit of reverence, we present our List,” Maglipon says, “hoping to get all of you inquiring into our choices and searching them out.”
The book launched on 15 March at the Philippine Book Festival at Megatrade Hall Meeting Room B (Umpukan Mini Stage), SM Megamall. The book is available through e-commerce platforms and select bookstores nationwide for P1,799.
