The African Queen is getting a 4K UHD release

STUDIOCANAL has announced that John Huston’s classic, The African Queen (1951), will be available to own on 4K UHD for the very first time when it is released on October 21 in a Special Edition release that will include a booklet with an exclusive essay from Helen O’Hara.

Adapted from the novel by C.S. Forester, this much-loved wartime romantic adventure combines the masterful direction of John Huston (The Maltese Falcon, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre) with the indisputable chemistry of Humphrey Bogart (Casablanca, To Have and Have Not), who won a Best Actor Academy Award® for his performance, and Katharine Hepburn (The Lion in Winter, The Philadelphia Story) in their only on screen pairing.

German East Africa, 1914. Humphrey Bogart is the slovenly gin-swilling Charlie Allnut, while Katharine Hepburn portrays 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 way to destroy a German gunboat.

You can pre-order it here.

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With a supporting cast including Robert Morley (Too Many Chefs, Marie Antoinette), a screenplay penned by James Agee (All the Way Home, The Night of the Hunter) and direction from John Huston, THE AFRICAN QUEEN is one of the most treasured films in the history of cinema.

This new UHD version comes looking better than ever and complete with brand-new extras. A welcome addition to the ever-expanding Vintage Classics Collection.

EXTRAS MATERIAL

• NEW Audio Commentary with Script Supervisor Angela Allen and Ian Christie
• NEW Sir John Woolf on the Making of The African Queen
• Audio commentary by cinematographer Jack Cardiff
• Embracing Chaos: Making The African Queen, a comprehensive documentary about the making of the film (60 mins)
• A video interview with co-screenwriter Peter Viertel, produced by Eureka Entertainment
• Video interview with critic Kim Newman, produced by Eureka Entertainment
• Video interview with historian Neil Sinyard, produced by Eureka Entertainment
• 2010 NFT Q&A with Anjelica Huston and script supervisor Angela Allen ©BFI
• 1981 NFT / Guardian interview with John Huston ©BFI
• Lux Radio Theatre adaptation from 1952 with Humphrey Bogart and Greer Garson
• Behind the Scenes Stills Gallery
• Original theatrical trailer

For the 2010 4k restoration of THE AFRICAN QUEEN, Romulus Films —one of the film’s original production companies— provided access to the original three-strip negative at a London facility where the film was carefully scanned and digitized. The separate elements were then transferred to Los Angeles and painstakingly recombined and inspected frame by frame to ensure that every detail aligned and that any dirt and scratches were removed.

To ensure that the restored picture matched the filmmakers’ original vision, Paramount arranged a screening of an MPAA archive print for the film’s original cinematographer, Academy Award winner Jack Cardiff, whose comments were recorded live during the screening. That same archival print was later screened alongside the newly restored version so that the restoration team could ensure that all of Cardiff’s notes had been addressed. The result is a vibrant, warm picture that reverentially recreates the film as it was originally meant to be seen.

In 2024 a new UHD was produced from the 2010 restoration.