The African Queen

The African Queen (1951)
This review pertains to the Korean release DVD itself. We already know that this movie is a flawless classic. No need for a review.

Until the U.S. release this title domesticly, this officially licensed Korean release is the one to get. The cover is white with red and blue artwork.

The picture is sharp. The sound is clear. And the best part is it plays in the U.S. DVD machines. Yes, there is Korean subtitle. But all I had to do is turn it off. No problem.

Don't hold your breath on the U.S. release. It may be years before someone wakes up and smells the coffee. I bought a copy of this release, and I'm happy I did. I've watched it twice now.

some helpful info about this release
I'll spare the review of the movie itself. If you're reading this, you probably already know this movie is an absolute classic.

There's been some confusion about this release, so let me clear things up.

Because of some of the things I read, I waited for a long time before finally ordering one of these for myself. Now I see there was no reason to hesitate.

This is a "just fine" print of the movie. There's nothing "wrong" with the picture or sound--aside from simply being a dated production that has not been "remastered" in any way.

It's basically the same thing you would get if you carefully dubbed a very good copy of the VHS tape to DVD (which may actually be what they did!).

The picture and sound are basically as good as what you would have seen on your TV set back when this was first broadcast on network television. In other words, there are no "flaws" that would in any way distract from the enjoyment of the drama...

One Of The Very Best
Bogart and Hepburn play two diametrically opposed personalities in this classic film set during World War I. She is a prim and proper, middle-aged English missionary. He is a gin-soaked river rat living by trading up and down the Congo River from a ramshackle old steamboat named The African Queen. They are thrown together by a German offensive that leaves them isolated and in danger of being captured and held as prisoners of war (or worse, they could be shot as spies). To escape, they must travel down the river past the Germans. What follows is part comedy, part tense drama, and part high adventure. The river and its wildlife pose as much of an obstacle as the Germans, and Bogart and Hepburn must not only learn to get along, but to trust in, and rely on, each other to survive.

This is a wonderful movie. The acting is superb (Bogie got an Oscar for "Best Actor"), the story is excellent, and the scenery is beautiful (it was shot on location). They just don't make make them...

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