THE AFRICAN QUEEN is an undeniable classic from director John Huston and starring two legendary actors Humphrey Bogart (a frequent player in John Huston movies) and Katharine Hepburn. I have seen bits of the movie, but I have never seen the full movie until now and Studio Canal presents it in a high bit rate transfer (70 to 95 MBps on average) from a new 4K restoration of the movie. The two leads have undeniable chemistry as they take on a madcap mission to destroy a German boat in an African lake. Their acting off each other lead to some comedy which John Huston just let his leads do it that way and it was the right decision for this classic John Huston film and one of Humphrey Bogart's best roles.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
Two audio commentaries including a new audio commentary with Script Supervisor Angela Allen and Ian Christies and the other commentary is with cinematographer Jack Cardiff

Sir John Woolf on the Making of the AFRICAN QUEEN
EMBRACING CHAOS: MAKING THE AFRICAN QUEEN- a comprehensive hour long retrospective documentary on the making of THE AFRICAN QUEEN from the origins of the movie to to the production of it to how it was received.

A video interview with co-screenwriter Peter Viertel
2010 NFT Q&A (audio) with Anjelica Huston and Script Supervisor Angela Allen
Guardian audio interview with director John Huston
Video interview with film critic Kim Newman
Video interview with film historian Neil Sinyard

Lux Radio Theatre adaptation from 1952 starring Humphrey Bogart and Greer Garson
Behind The Scenes still gallery
Original theatrical trailer

All extras are on the all region 4K Blu-ray and the Region B blu-ray, so you won't need an all region player to watch the extras if you want the 4K disc.

Also included in the case is a booklet on the movie with stills from the movie.

FINAL ANALYSIS: THE AFRICAN QUEEN is a great 4K UHD from Studio Canal. Fans who want this in 4K won't have to worry about having a region free player if they want to watch the extras (which are also included on the all region 4K UHD disc) and don't want to wait for the US release from Paramount Pictures (but the question is if all the extras will be included on the US release too).

His review is ©11-14-2024 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission. Send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com