The African Queen
Filled with adventure, drama, humour and romance, the epic and enduring cinematic classic The African Queen will finally make its way home when its restoration Edition debuts on DVD, Blu-ray and digital download for the first time ever on 14 June 2010 from ITV Studios Home Entertainment.
The release will follow the world premiere as part of Cannes Classics at the Cannes Film festival on 19 may and will receive a special screening at the BFI on 27 May to be introduced by renowned actress Anjelica Huston, daughter of the late film's director John Huston.
Meticulously restored using state of the art 4K digital technology The African Queen will now be available for a new generation to appreciate and for long time fans to see again, as if for the first time.
legendary director John Huston's treasured romantic adventure stars the incomparable Humphrey Bogart as hard drinking boat captain Charlie Allnut - a role that won him his only Academy Award and renowned actress Katharine Hepburn as missionary Rose Sayer in a tale of two disparate people thrown together by fate and drawn together by love.
A six year journey filled with challenges nearly as difficult as those faced by rose and Charlie, the restoration process began at the source: 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 digitalized.
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, the film's original cinematographer, Acadmey Award winner Jack Cardiff attended a screening of an MPAA archive print where his comments were recorded live.