The African Queen - Blu-ray Forum

pro-bassoonist · 02-10-2010, 03:21 AM

John Huston's The African Queen has received a preliminary release date: June 4th.

PRE-ORDER/Review:

Pro-B

AnimeOnBlu · 02-10-2010, 03:55 AM

http://www.amazon.co.uk/African-Quee...777682&sr=8-15

Release is by ITV. Wonder if it will differ from the US version.

The Driver · 02-11-2010, 04:29 AM

Big Bogart fan. I think he's the only 'star' from this period of Hollywood where I can watch almost anything he did.

Definite purchase, thanks for the news.

McCrutchy · 02-11-2010, 04:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnimeOnBlu

http://www.amazon.co.uk/African-Quee...777682&sr=8-15

Release is by ITV. Wonder if it will differ from the US version.

Unless they licensed the Paramount transfer, I would think that it will be a comparable disappointment. ITV seem big on throwing anything available on Blu-ray and not worrying too much about its restoration.

#Darren · 02-14-2010, 12:40 PM

The UK DVD released by Carlton had a cinematographers commentary (by Jack Cardiff)- and I am HOPING this BD has it as well!

Douglas R · 02-14-2010, 01:39 PM

I love that poster which bears absolutely no relation to the film! And is that supposed to be prim and proper Katharine Hepburn?

#Darren · 05-16-2010, 02:52 PM

We are getting the audio commentary and other unique features (which were on the Carlton DVD) included:

Special Features
Feature Commentary with Jack Cardiff
Embracing Chaos: Making of African Queen
Written star Profiles on:
Humphrey Bogart
Katherine Hepburn
John Huston
Jack Cardiff
Picture Galleries of:
Poster & Lobby Cards
Behind The Scenes
Trailer

http://hmv.com/hmvweb/simpleMultiSea...mitSearch.y=20

manicsounds · 09-13-2010, 01:47 PM

...and no one's gotten it yet?

The Driver · 09-13-2010, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by manicsounds

...and no one's gotten it yet?

Price is dropping too. Where's the promotion? Screeners or review discs?

They deserve not to sell any.

**** 'em.

McCrutchy · 09-13-2010, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iDarren

We are getting the audio commentary and other unique features (which were on the Carlton DVD) included:

Special Features
Feature Commentary with Jack Cardiff
Embracing Chaos: Making of African Queen
Written star Profiles on:
Humphrey Bogart
Katherine Hepburn
John Huston
Jack Cardiff
Picture Galleries of:
Poster & Lobby Cards
Behind The Scenes
Trailer

http://hmv.com/hmvweb/simpleMultiSea...mitSearch.y=20

If the UK edition has LPCM Mono and is a BD-50, it would be the clear winner over the USA release with lossy audio...

Pyoko · 09-13-2010, 10:12 PM

ITV haven't exactly impressed me with their encoding though, with both Black Narcissus and The Red Shoes having compression artifacts where the Criterion releases had none.

I think I'll go for the Paramount disc as it has a nearly 40 Mbps average video bitrate, and considering the fantastic restoration I'd rather have a perfect image, than extras and lossless audio.

The Driver · 09-14-2010, 06:04 AM

ITV Studios? LOL at these names they come up with. Last I looked ITV were essentially bankrupt and were going to the British government with a begging bowl asking for money to keep the news "local".

The sooner ITV loose these old catalogue rights (they do own quite a bit -3000 titles, maybe 400 films, dunno) the better. They have done some nice DVD releases to be fair but overall very lacklustre but I suppose that fits in well with almost all other UK distributors. I bet they have some good staff too so it's a shame the owners don't have the money or foresight to invest.

We need someone who's interested in making money and selling stuff to buy the back catalogue. Sounds obvious I know but there you go!

We want the finest Blu-rays available to humanity. And we want them here, and we want them now!

McCrutchy · 09-14-2010, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Driver

ITV Studios? LOL at these names they come up with. Last I looked ITV were essentially bankrupt and were going to the British government with a begging bowl asking for money to keep the news "local".

The sooner ITV loose these old catalogue rights (they do own quite a bit -3000 titles, maybe 400 films, dunno) the better. They have done some nice DVD releases to be fair but overall very lacklustre but I suppose that fits in well with almost all other UK distributors. I bet they have some good staff too so it's a shame the owners don't have the money or foresight to invest.

We need someone who's interested in making money and selling stuff to buy the back catalogue. Sounds obvious I know but there you go!

We want the finest Blu-rays available to humanity. And we want them here, and we want them now!

Now that I see the two-disc label I'm thinking BD-25 with the extras on a DVD...

The Driver · 09-14-2010, 08:33 AM

There you go, very nice. They even have "DVD Extras" department: http://www.itvstudios.com/sf/asp/con...&section_id=30 They must only do a 2-day week though cos there's **** all on most of their own discs.

Just a pity they don't actually sell anything. Yeah, lots for sale but being for sale ain't the same as selling.

I suppose the money they get from Susan Boyle and Simon Cowell is all they want. I heard ITV actually bought Susan's left leg.

That's what I heard.

John Hodson · 09-14-2010, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

Now that I see the two-disc label I'm thinking BD-25 with the extras on a DVD...

...or maybe not...

BigNickUK · 09-14-2010, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

Unless they licensed the Paramount transfer, I would think that it will be a comparable disappointment. ITV seem big on throwing anything available on Blu-ray and not worrying too much about its restoration.

ITV and Paramount are using the same transfer

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/video...-african-queen

Douglas R · 09-15-2010, 08:26 AM

The ITV Blu-ray disc (and yes, it is just 1 disc) is excellent. The picture looks wonderful. It's also good to have Jack Cardiff's commentary retained from the DVD, which makes it much more worthwhile than the Paramount version.

4LOM · 09-15-2010, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Douglas R

The ITV Blu-ray disc (and yes, it is just 1 disc) is excellent. The picture looks wonderful. It's also good to have Jack Cardiff's commentary retained from the DVD, which makes it much more worthwhile than the Paramount version.

The ITV disc only uses 68 percent of disc space whil the Paramount BD uses 93,3 percent resulting in a bitrate of 23,22 Mbps (ITV) vs. 38,80 Mpbs (Paramount). In some scenes the ITV Blu-ray shows compression artifacts.

Pyoko · 09-15-2010, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4LOM

The ITV disc only uses 68 percent of disc space whil the Paramount BD uses 93,3 percent resulting in a bitrate of 23,22 Mbps (ITV) vs. 38,80 Mpbs (Paramount). In some scenes the ITV Blu-ray shows compression artifacts.

Thanks, that's what I was afraid of. I'm going with the Paramount disc.

AnimeOnBlu · 09-21-2010, 04:12 AM

Screenshot comparisons of the US and UK:
http://www.dvduell.de/artikel/screen...1-john-huston/

UK release does have a PCM track, but the PQ is not nearly as good as the US version.

02-10-2010, 03:21 AM	#1
pro-bassoonist Blu-ray reviewer Top contributor Member since:Jul 2007 Location:X Home Theater Gallery:47 4K collection:- Blu-ray collection:- DVD collection:- Blu-ray reviews: 31 Trading Score:23	The African Queen John Huston's The African Queen has received a preliminary release date: June 4th. PRE-ORDER/Review: Pro-B Last edited by pro-bassoonist; 04-23-2011 at 07:22 PM.

02-14-2010, 01:39 PM	#6
Douglas R Expert Member Member since:Sep 2008 Location:London, UK Blu-ray collection:197	I love that poster which bears absolutely no relation to the film! And is that supposed to be prim and proper Katharine Hepburn? Last edited by Douglas R; 02-14-2010 at 01:41 PM.

05-16-2010, 02:52 PM	#7
#Darren Blu-ray Ninja Top contributor Member since:Feb 2008 Blu-ray collection:1471 Blu-ray reviews: 62	The African Queen - GREAT news for region B people We are getting the audio commentary and other unique features (which were on the Carlton DVD) included: Special Features Feature Commentary with Jack Cardiff Embracing Chaos: Making of African Queen Written star Profiles on: Humphrey Bogart Katherine Hepburn John Huston Jack Cardiff Picture Galleries of: Poster & Lobby Cards Behind The Scenes Trailer http://hmv.com/hmvweb/simpleMultiSea...mitSearch.y=20

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02-10-2010, 03:55 AM	#2
AnimeOnBlu Contributor Top contributor Member since:Aug 2007 Location:USA Trading Score:1	http://www.amazon.co.uk/African-Quee...777682&sr=8-15 Release is by ITV. Wonder if it will differ from the US version.

02-11-2010, 04:29 AM	#3
The Driver Blu-ray Guru Member since:Feb 2009 Location:UK Trading Score:1	Big Bogart fan. I think he's the only 'star' from this period of Hollywood where I can watch almost anything he did. Definite purchase, thanks for the news.

02-14-2010, 12:40 PM	#5
#Darren Blu-ray Ninja Top contributor Member since:Feb 2008 Blu-ray collection:1471 Blu-ray reviews: 62	The UK DVD released by Carlton had a cinematographers commentary (by Jack Cardiff)- and I am HOPING this BD has it as well!

09-13-2010, 01:47 PM	#8
manicsounds Blu-ray Samurai Top contributor Member since:Oct 2009 Location:Tokyo 4K collection:227 Blu-ray collection:4992 Blu-ray reviews: 99	...and no one's gotten it yet?

09-13-2010, 10:12 PM	#11
Pyoko Blu-ray Guru Top contributor Member since:Apr 2008 4K collection:151 Blu-ray collection:722	ITV haven't exactly impressed me with their encoding though, with both Black Narcissus and The Red Shoes having compression artifacts where the Criterion releases had none. I think I'll go for the Paramount disc as it has a nearly 40 Mbps average video bitrate, and considering the fantastic restoration I'd rather have a perfect image, than extras and lossless audio.

09-14-2010, 06:04 AM	#12
The Driver Blu-ray Guru Member since:Feb 2009 Location:UK Trading Score:1	ITV Studios? LOL at these names they come up with. Last I looked ITV were essentially bankrupt and were going to the British government with a begging bowl asking for money to keep the news "local". The sooner ITV loose these old catalogue rights (they do own quite a bit -3000 titles, maybe 400 films, dunno) the better. They have done some nice DVD releases to be fair but overall very lacklustre but I suppose that fits in well with almost all other UK distributors. I bet they have some good staff too so it's a shame the owners don't have the money or foresight to invest. We need someone who's interested in making money and selling stuff to buy the back catalogue. Sounds obvious I know but there you go! We want the finest Blu-rays available to humanity. And we want them here, and we want them now!

09-14-2010, 08:33 AM	#14
The Driver Blu-ray Guru Member since:Feb 2009 Location:UK Trading Score:1	There you go, very nice. They even have "DVD Extras" department: http://www.itvstudios.com/sf/asp/con...&section_id=30 They must only do a 2-day week though cos there's **** all on most of their own discs. Just a pity they don't actually sell anything. Yeah, lots for sale but being for sale ain't the same as selling. I suppose the money they get from Susan Boyle and Simon Cowell is all they want. I heard ITV actually bought Susan's left leg. That's what I heard.

09-15-2010, 08:26 AM	#17
Douglas R Expert Member Member since:Sep 2008 Location:London, UK Blu-ray collection:197	The ITV Blu-ray disc (and yes, it is just 1 disc) is excellent. The picture looks wonderful. It's also good to have Jack Cardiff's commentary retained from the DVD, which makes it much more worthwhile than the Paramount version.

09-21-2010, 04:12 AM	#20
AnimeOnBlu Contributor Top contributor Member since:Aug 2007 Location:USA Trading Score:1	Screenshot comparisons of the US and UK: http://www.dvduell.de/artikel/screen...1-john-huston/ UK release does have a PCM track, but the PQ is not nearly as good as the US version.

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