Review of The African Queen (1952) by Tara O — 22 Aug 2008
I just re-watched this last night for the first time in ages, and once again what a wonderful film it is. Bogie is so good in this, very different to anything he'd done before (and very deserving of his Oscar) and Katharine Hepburn was just as good. I'm also surprised at how charming the film is. John Huston was not really known for making charming films.
My only gripe is the DVD. It has no special features (I even have a book by Hepburn on the making of this film) and the film is in Pan and Scan (argh! The outrage!). Some of the special effects look a bit strange (lots of green outline around Bogie and Hepburn, one scene in the rapids seems to turn black and white, and there's some scratches on the film). But some of these may just be on the original print. I'm not sure if the film can be restored. There is a Special Edition available overseas. I wonder if that's better than this one I own. I hope so. This film deserves a better DVD.
PS: The fact that Bogart is supposed to be Canadian is irrelevant, and I'm very glad he doesn't put on any accents. His performance is perfect. Why would you want him to do a silly accent?
This review of The African Queen (1952) was written by Tara O on 22 Aug 2008.
The African Queen has generally received very positive reviews.
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