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Official African Queen Paramount Question Thread (1 Viewer)

JParker

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Adam Gregorich said:
I have a few people from Paramount involved in the release of the African Queen who are willing to answer some questions about the release (including restoration).  If you have a question list it here and I will try to get it to the right person for an answer.
Here's a link on the restoration process, an Adobe flash player file; sadly, this video was not included in the Blu-ray of African Queen: http://www.movieweb.com/dvd/DVNdiSOUax28QV/exclusive-restoring-the-african-queen [From MovieWeb]
In this feature, Martin Scorsese, Nicholas Meyer, Paramount Pictures Exec VP of Worldwide Technical Services Chris Carey, Paramount Pictures VP of Restoration Ron Smith and more discuss the importance and process of restoring The African Queen.
Adam, I didn't post this on the My Fair Lady thread, but for anyone who's interested, I find this informative on how such work is done, although the issues with African Queen are unique, in some respects. I wish an Industrial Light & Magic reconstruction in CGI had been used on the lousy "process", i.e., blue screen, shots but c'est la vie! Pricey, of course, but I suspect John Huston would have agreed if something could be done to make the shots look better and not stand out as not so great special effects. I don't know whey they didn't use front or rear projection, which would have looked better, I suspect.
 

Charles Smith

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I somehow missed this thread before and just read it through. One thing that looks like it went unanswered is why no commentary...ESPECIALLY given the existence of Jack Cardiff's, of all people. When I learned about that last year I immediately ordered the UK DVD, and I really do not mind having that sitting alongside this beautiful Blu-ray. Still, I couldn't help but wonder.
 

moviepas

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The African Queen was made by British company, Romulus(Romulus & Remus) & Horizon Pictures. Romulus was controlled by John M Woolf who is a member of the Woolf(CM Woolf) family who go back to the pioneer days of Gaumont-British. Some Romulus 50s films, like Jose Ferrer's Moulin Rouge, involved MGM and were in the early MGM TV packages tightly controlled by MGM directly to TV stations, and late come to TV screenings of their archive. Most of the film was made at Shepperton Studios near London and in various parts of Africa but some scenes were filmed in LA, Arcadia & Chatsworth all around LA.


The cinematographer Jack Cardiff had a long and fruitful life and he dedicated a lot of it to Technicolor films in & around UK and did some directing. His autobiography is a great and easy read. Worth hunting out.

Warner Bros, apparently, did the major restoration work on this film and taking this into account perhaps those titles were are currently having Blu Ray restoration arguments about might have been better done there also, whatever the cost. At least for MFL which they produced and got back for the DVD versions.
 

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