The African Queen 4K UHD (1951)

[Dubliner1]

...review is up here...

https://www.avforums.com/reviews/the...-review.22193/

[tama]

This title doesn't seem to be available anywhere 😕

[Number_6]

Orbit has the 4K and Blu-ray up for sale now.

[Ruined]

ATOMIC stated they are not going to get stock from SC of this. If you ordered and definitely want the slip they recommended ordering from ORBITDVD

[PissedOffPeoN]

oh wow.. orbit wins something for once .

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by PissedOffPeoN

oh wow.. orbit wins something for once .

Yeah orbits support kinda sucks compared to diabolic/atomic

[PissedOffPeoN]

There prices kinda high but they shipped stuff out really quick with nice box and bubble wrap.

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by PissedOffPeoN

There prices kinda high but they shipped stuff out really quick with nice box and bubble wrap.

Yeah its just their order support policies are poor compared to Diabolik/Atomic. If there isnt a problem with your order though, they are as good as the rest of them.

[tama]

Originally Posted by Number_6

Orbit has the 4K and Blu-ray up for sale now.

Darnit. Missed it earlier as it says sold-out for now. Will check again in a few days.

[Nitroes]

eBay

Very strange seeing StudioCanal controlling this film.

I hope it's found a happy home.

[Nitroes]

Dr. Svet's review of the UK release https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-A...369747/#Review

[BXR 1138]

Originally Posted by Nitroes

Very strange seeing StudioCanal controlling this film.

Not really.

https://deadline.com/2021/04/studioc...ge-1234728360/

[nicwood]

I received my copy today. This is a UHD-100 and indeed with Dolby Vision for the feature. Audio is PCM 2.0, commentary audio DTS 2.0, which is the first sign that Fidelity in Motion did not do the encode and rather VDMS.

I’ve only sampled a couple of sections and am very happy with what I’ve seen. The 2010 restoration is fantastic and has significantly tighter grain than people might expect but this is solely due to elder releases (most likely) resolving the grain less perfectly and if something like low-pass filtering is added, it obviously affects detail as well. I only have the Eureka Blu-ray and was never really happy with its encode. Grain is quite noisy, sometimes entirely frozen and weirdly color-pixelated while frozen. The Eureka doesn’t look filtered but far from crisp and tight.

The new UHD is a winner for that aspect alone. It’s a beautiful encode with tight grain and no visible issues (other than a tiny, tiny touch of chroma noise that’s noticeable in still frames but not in motion). However, the big novelty for me was a change in color timing. This new UHD presents the film in a yellower and green-ish grade but hear me out before shrugging it off. It’s a tasteful look, NO blanket tint and nothing that looks overtly revisionist because it’s a grade that looks fine-tuned depending on the scene and light instead of a global adjustment.

As mentioned, I only have the Eureka disc and the film looks more "natural" in certain segments but not all of it. It’s as if they did a partial re-grade to get rid of some semi-turquoise skies and Technicolor yellows in the original SDR grade on which the UHD is also based. The "semi-" really needs emphasis as the "teal" is not an in-your-face atrocity like the Violent City remaster. While Eureka managed to achieve a partial reduction quite well, after comparing I still wouldn’t want to go back to that BD simply because the 4K feels consistent in its approach and presents the film most likely as intended by Jack Cardiff when he did the color timing compared to a more inconsistently re-balanced look of the BD. The film now looks properly filmic and appropriate for its setting. Can’t comment on how the other BDs look as I’ve never owned / seen them.

Regarding HDR/DV: Exquisite and beautifully done. Very carefully, not exaggerated and gently enhancing when it makes sense to. The way they applied it here is comparable to how Criterion did it for The Red Shoes when they put out the 2009 restoration in 4K.

This is a fantastic UHD and I think the wait was more than worth it.

Audio is difficult for me to judge. I felt it sounded good but the upper register is a bit tinny. Either they filtered it or that’s the way it was recorded - I really don’t know.

[rickardl]

Originally Posted by nicwood

I received my copy today. This is a UHD-100 and indeed with Dolby Vision for the feature. Audio is PCM 2.0, commentary audio DTS 2.0, which is the first sign that Fidelity in Motion did not do the encode and rather VDMS.

I’ve only sampled a couple of sections and am very happy with what I’ve seen. The 2010 restoration is fantastic and has significantly tighter grain than people might expect but this is solely due to elder releases (most likely) resolving the grain less perfectly and if something like low-pass filtering is added, it obviously affects detail as well. I only have the Eureka Blu-ray and was never really happy with its encode. Grain is quite noisy, sometimes entirely frozen and weirdly color-pixelated while frozen. The Eureka doesn’t look filtered but far from crisp and tight.

The new UHD is a winner for that aspect alone. It’s a beautiful encode with tight grain and no visible issues (other than a tiny, tiny touch of chroma noise that’s noticeable in still frames but not in motion). However, the big novelty for me was a change in color timing. This new UHD presents the film in a yellower and green-ish grade but hear me out before shrugging it off. It’s a tasteful look, NO blanket tint and nothing that looks overtly revisionist because it’s a grade that looks fine-tuned depending on the scene and light instead of a global adjustment.

As mentioned, I only have the Eureka disc and the film looks more "natural" in certain segments but not all of it. It’s as if they did a partial re-grade to get rid of some semi-turquoise skies and Technicolor yellows in the original SDR grade on which the UHD is also based. The "semi-" really needs emphasis as the "teal" is not an in-your-face atrocity like the Violent City remaster. While Eureka managed to achieve a partial reduction quite well, after comparing I still wouldn’t want to go back to that BD simply because the 4K feels consistent in its approach and presents the film most likely as intended by Jack Cardiff when he did the color timing compared to a more inconsistently re-balanced look of the BD. The film now looks properly filmic and appropriate for its setting. Can’t comment on how the other BDs look as I’ve never owned / seen them.

Regarding HDR/DV: Exquisite and beautifully done. Very carefully, not exaggerated and gently enhancing when it makes sense to. The way they applied it here is comparable to how Criterion did it for The Red Shoes when they put out the 2009 restoration in 4K.

This is a fantastic UHD and I think the wait was more than worth it.

Audio is difficult for me to judge. I felt it sounded good but the upper register is a bit tinny. Either they filtered it or that’s the way it was recorded - I really don’t know.

How does this look on the new 4K UHD? https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=3&x...1&l=1&i=6&go=1
Still yellow shimmer on top and blue shimmer on the bottom?

[Alhlan Ain Ajeeba]

African queen,now we are sharing bogarts dream,and hepburns heart ❤️ just beats as one. No more love for bogart on the run.

[nicwood]

Originally Posted by rickardl

How does this look on the new 4K UHD? https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=3&x...1&l=1&i=6&go=1
Still yellow shimmer on top and blue shimmer on the bottom?

I’ll need an approximate time stamp please.

[rickardl]

Originally Posted by nicwood

I’ll need an approximate time stamp please.

I don't have that... guessing around 45-50 minutes in based on that it is cap#7 out of #15 and the movie is 105 minutes...?

[cgurley]

Originally Posted by Ruined

Yeah orbits support kinda sucks compared to diabolic/atomic

I myself, have had great support from Orbit the time or two I had an issue.

In fact, I have have great support from Orbit, Atomic and Diabolik.

[skedush]

The review mentions a booklet - but I haven't seen any details about that posted anywhere else. Can anyone confirm a booklet?

[nicwood]

Originally Posted by skedush

The review mentions a booklet - but I haven't seen any details about that posted anywhere else. Can anyone confirm a booklet?

Yes.