African Queen, The (DVD)

Connect to Facebook/Twitter, recommend via email and much more.

---

Video:
I gave up waiting for an American studio to release "The African Queen" on DVD and ordered what was advertised on Amazon.com as a region-free Hong Kong import from Castaways. What came was a region-free import from Cine Korea, a company of which I knew nothing. Suspicious, I looked up Cine Korea on Google and found their Web site, where they seem to be a legitimate studio. But I didn't see "The African Queen" listed, nor any other American products, only Asian films.

The DVD video quality is definitely superior to Fox's old VHS tape--better defined, a little brighter, more colorful--and the print that Cine Korea obtained (authorized or otherwise) was clearly in better condition than the one Fox used for their tape. The DVD shows no flecks, lines, or scratches anywhere. But I couldn't help noticing some small jerkiness to the motion video at times, almost as though it were not being played back at quite the correct speed or hadn't been transferred at quite the proper frame rate. Still, the jerkiness is not at all noticeable most of the time, except in the first reel, and to confuse matters further it's even present to some degree on the prerecorded VHS tape, so maybe it's a quality inherent to the original film; I don't know.

In any case, the DVD video is acceptable, if not exactly what you might expect from a fully restored, Hollywood-studio transfer. Although the bit rate measures above average (sometimes well above), and although the colors are deeper than on the Fox VHS tape, the disc does not display as much detail or color depth as one finds in the best DVD products. What's more, the hues fluctuate very lightly throughout the film, mainly noticeable in facial close-ups. Oh well; I suppose beggars can't be choosy.

Audio:
The sound on this DVD is tonally quite different from that found on the Fox tape. The DVD's audio comes in Dolby Digital 2.0 monaural, and it's somewhat edgy, pinched, and nasal, lacking much in the way of bass or lower midrange warmth. There is also a bit of background hiss audible during quieter passages. If you use your receiver's tone controls to turn down the treble and raise the bass, you'll find it's not half bad.

Extras:
For those of you concerned about this import having a foreign language and subtitles, not to worry. The only spoken language is English, and while the DVD for reasons unknown defaults to English subtitles, you can turn them off at start-up. (I wonder, did Cine Korea intend the English subtitles for people who are hearing impaired? If so, why use them as a default setting? Maybe Cine Korea thinks everybody is hard of hearing. Huh? Eh? What's that you say?)

The extras are actually rather extensive and appear to mirror the British Region 2 import. First, there is an audio commentary by the film's cinematographer, Jack Cardiff, which is well informed and entirely entertaining. Next is a series of text notes for the production, story line, and cast and crew, all in Korean. Bring a translator. However, the stills and poster galleries need no translations and include several dozen items.

Things conclude with fifteen scene selections, but no chapter insert; an original theatrical trailer, done up at a lower bit rate than the feature film and looking it; English as the only spoken language; and
English and Korean subtitles for the movie, with Korean subtitles for Mr. Cardiff's commentary.

Parting Thoughts:
"The African Queen" is a totally delightful and entirely engrossing romance, filled with comedy, action, and adventure. That it was able to accomplish so much with essentially two mis-matched characters and a decrepit little riverboat is one of filmdom's major accomplishments, proving once again the power of pictures to move us in unexpected ways.

"By the authority vested in me by Kaiser Wilhelm II, I pronounce you man and wife. Proceed with the execution."