John Huston’s The African Queen, starring Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart, is heading to 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray this October.
Ah, now here’s a flat out classic vintage movie that’s now been confirmed for its 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray debut. From director John Huston comes the joyful The African Queen, a 1951 movie that paired up Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart.
Robert Morley co-stars, and the film itself is a rollicking action adventure. I’ve said this before talking about movies like North By Northwest in the past, but The African Queen is the kind of movie that I wonder gets overlooked by some because it’s a) old and b) acclaimed. In this case, it’s as fun as a summer blockbuster movie, and few people get to the end and think they’ve wasted 105 minutes of their life.
Anyway, back to the 4K release, that had been rumoured for some time. It’s going to be landing on Studiocanal’s Vintage Classics label, with the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray set for 21st October 2024. You can find more information on the release, and order yourself a copy, right here.
The release comes with a fair amount of extra features too. Some of them have come across from the previous Blu-ray release of the film, but we’re seeing a brand new audio commentary from script supervisor Angela Allen with Ian Christie listed. Quite the set, this.
It’s up for preorder now, and for the moment, we’ll leave you with the film’s synopsis…
Adapted from the novel by C.S. Forester, The African Queen (1951) directed by John Huston stars Humphrey Bogart in his Academy Award-winning portrayal of Charlie Allnut, the slovenly, gin-swilling captain of a tramp steamer called the African Queen, which ships supplies to small EastAfrican villages during World War I. Katharine Hepburn plays Rose Sayer, the maiden-lady sister of a prim British missionary (Robert Morley).
When invading Germans kill the missionary and level the village, Allnut offers to take Rose back to civilization. She can’t tolerate his drinking or bad manners; he isn’t crazy about her imperious, judgmental attitude. However, it does not take long before their passionate dislike turns to love. Together the disparate duo work to ensure their survival on the treacherous waters and devise an ingenious way to destroy a German gunboat. Along with masterful direction from John Huston, the wonderful script makes this a rare treat indeed.
