Much like Kapag Tumabang ang Asin (1976), T-Bird at Ako (Film Ventures, Inc., 1982) peaks to the creative and sometimes delusional nature of desire. Director Danny L. Zialcita plays their pettiness for some great laughs but at its core, the film expresses something true about love’s power to obliterate all other considerations, including close friendship. T-Bird at Ako is a little too neatly drawn, but Zialcita's enthusiasm and vitality compensate for more than they rationally should. This is a film easier to love than to like. Zialcita has a great feel for hip sophisticates in deep conversations, he also has a great eye. With cinematographer Felizardo Bailen, they've made T-Bird at Ako into a stylish affair. There is cleverness in the film's many tight shots that do double duty, playing to the intimacy of the piece as well as eliminating the need for elaborate sets. There are risky plot choices along the way, but the risks are what keeps the pot boiling as the complexities of the relationship between lady lawyer Sylvia Salazar (Nora Aunor) and night club dancer Isabel Mongcal (Vilma Santos) heat up and cool down. It all serves to make T-Bird at Ako a delightful romance charged with fierce intelligence. As Sylvia, Aunor is the picture of watchful uncertainty whose mixture of physical presence and self-mockery contributes to the film’s quirky, offbeat mood. Her performance is the best reason to see the movie. Santos manages to convey much sensuality infusing Isabel with complexity.
This new high definition transfer reveals the movie like never before, yielding a picture so pristine that watching it is practically like seeing the film for the first time. It's clean yet filmic. Obvious elements like skin and clothing textures reveal some of the most innately complex details imaginable, down to the most nuanced fabrics. The biggest improvements however, are in the area of color reproduction. There are completely new color tonalities and saturation is far better. As a result, the entire film looks richer and lusher. Interiors are beautiful, yielding an inviting warmth that’s substantially more nuanced and exacting. Unfortunately, the film's two-channel track is woefully dull and uninspired. Dialogue is often poorly prioritized, effects are typically brazen and weak. None of it strangles the presentation, at least not completely, but it all takes a significant toll. In an earlier scene, Isabel dances to the tune of Queen's Body Language. The song was replaced with a mediocre version of the original ruining the punchline to the greatest joke near the end of the movie. The audio mix is frustrating at worst, but for the viewer who just wants to watch, it's not a bad little endeavor.
Sound Engineer: Rudy Baldovino
Director of Photography: Felizardo Bailen
Film Editor: Enrique Jarlego, Sr.
Screenplay: Portia Ilagan
Directed By: Danny L. Zialcita
