The African Queen (1951) DVD
So, as you've probably figured out, The African Queen was released on DVD and Blu-ray today for the first time. I've had a tattered ancient VHS copy that I've hauled to college all four years (complete with massive VCR) I love it so much, and I particularly made a special trip to go get it today at (what I consider) full price--meaning I didn't wait for it to get marked down to five or ten bucks.
There's a box set that looks amazing--I may ask for it on Blu-ray in the box set for Christmas or something. But I got the simple one-disc normal DVD, because it was there and because I--uh--don't have a Blu-ray player.
The picture is gorgeous. I already had fun switching back and forth between my VHS copy and my new DVD going "ooo, aaah!" Everything is crystal clear, the images are sharp, the colors are gorgeous. It made me want to cry it was so beautiful. It was like rediscovering the film all over again. As if a hazy sheet had been lifted from my perception of it. I noticed so many tiny things that I never had before, or that I had simply not paid attention to.
The movie itself--well, it's undoubtedly one of my favorite movies of all time. And you all know how many movies I watch (and how many movies I say that about). This is the film that Humphrey Bogart won his only Academy Award for. And he definitely deserved it. It's also the movie that... shall we say... once again restarted Katharine Hepburn's career, and got her typecast as the quintessential spinster. I feel like this is the way she's been passed down to my generation, and yet I was introduced to her as a glamorous 1930s feminist. Not going into Hepburn right now. (I will briefly note that Audrey Hepburn and Katharine Hepburn--Katharine--are not the same person.)
The only other tidbit on this one-disc edition (aside from the marvelous movie--not many tidbits are needed) is a documentary on the making of the film called Embracing Chaos. It was a very well put together and informative documentary that made me love the film even more than I already did (and that's saying quite a bit). It went through not just the actors and the location shooting like most of the mythology about this film does but it also detailed the crew, writing (of both the novel and the screenplay), casting, financing--everything fun and essential to making a movie. Great piece and I'm glad it was thrown in. It sort of reminded me of the awesome documentaries that are on my Vertigo and Rear Window DVDs. They tell you something about the movie that you didn't know before and that makes you appreciate it in a different way.
Basically, I'm going to go watch it again now. I cannot even begin to describe how much I love this movie. The only other DVD I ever paid this much for was The Third Man--and that's a Criterion Collection release. I also have an irresistable urge to go watch To Have and Have Not--when I get tired of watching my shiny new movie. That's thirty-seven years older than I am.
I'm not a special features hound--they gave me a personal favorite beautifully restored. A+ from me, and I'll probably double-dip for the HD and the special features later. I just wanted it in my clutches today.
Brief note: when I was little we lived in Cypress, CA which is about ten minutes from Disneyland. My favorite ride was, what I called, "the hippo ride" which I think is actually called The Jungle Cruise. That very ride in that very park was heavily inspired by this film. And so it sort of makes sense to me on a strange childlike level why I love it so. It's a fun adventure story with an amazing amazing romance thrown in. I'm thinking about tricking one of my friends into watching it by telling him it's a World War I movie. Also, the Forester book is spectacular and a treat to read. I read it in high school and should do so again.
I can't believe I just posted that publicly.
There's a box set that looks amazing--I may ask for it on Blu-ray in the box set for Christmas or something. But I got the simple one-disc normal DVD, because it was there and because I--uh--don't have a Blu-ray player.
The picture is gorgeous. I already had fun switching back and forth between my VHS copy and my new DVD going "ooo, aaah!" Everything is crystal clear, the images are sharp, the colors are gorgeous. It made me want to cry it was so beautiful. It was like rediscovering the film all over again. As if a hazy sheet had been lifted from my perception of it. I noticed so many tiny things that I never had before, or that I had simply not paid attention to.
The movie itself--well, it's undoubtedly one of my favorite movies of all time. And you all know how many movies I watch (and how many movies I say that about). This is the film that Humphrey Bogart won his only Academy Award for. And he definitely deserved it. It's also the movie that... shall we say... once again restarted Katharine Hepburn's career, and got her typecast as the quintessential spinster. I feel like this is the way she's been passed down to my generation, and yet I was introduced to her as a glamorous 1930s feminist. Not going into Hepburn right now. (I will briefly note that Audrey Hepburn and Katharine Hepburn--Katharine--are not the same person.)
The only other tidbit on this one-disc edition (aside from the marvelous movie--not many tidbits are needed) is a documentary on the making of the film called Embracing Chaos. It was a very well put together and informative documentary that made me love the film even more than I already did (and that's saying quite a bit). It went through not just the actors and the location shooting like most of the mythology about this film does but it also detailed the crew, writing (of both the novel and the screenplay), casting, financing--everything fun and essential to making a movie. Great piece and I'm glad it was thrown in. It sort of reminded me of the awesome documentaries that are on my Vertigo and Rear Window DVDs. They tell you something about the movie that you didn't know before and that makes you appreciate it in a different way.
Basically, I'm going to go watch it again now. I cannot even begin to describe how much I love this movie. The only other DVD I ever paid this much for was The Third Man--and that's a Criterion Collection release. I also have an irresistable urge to go watch To Have and Have Not--when I get tired of watching my shiny new movie. That's thirty-seven years older than I am.
I'm not a special features hound--they gave me a personal favorite beautifully restored. A+ from me, and I'll probably double-dip for the HD and the special features later. I just wanted it in my clutches today.
Brief note: when I was little we lived in Cypress, CA which is about ten minutes from Disneyland. My favorite ride was, what I called, "the hippo ride" which I think is actually called The Jungle Cruise. That very ride in that very park was heavily inspired by this film. And so it sort of makes sense to me on a strange childlike level why I love it so. It's a fun adventure story with an amazing amazing romance thrown in. I'm thinking about tricking one of my friends into watching it by telling him it's a World War I movie. Also, the Forester book is spectacular and a treat to read. I read it in high school and should do so again.
I can't believe I just posted that publicly.