6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Abbott and Costello pass themselves off as safari hunters and unwittingly get caught up in a web of diamond thieves.
Starring: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Clyde Beatty, Max Baer, Buddy BaerComedy | 100% |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.36:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Abbott and Costello entered the annals of all time great comedy duos at least in part for their now iconic “Who’s on first?” routine, but circa 1948-49, they might have more saliently questioned “Who’s on third?”, since according to some online data, the pair was the third most popular boxoffice attraction at the movies during those years, after having claimed the vaunted Number One position in 1942. The two comedians had in fact fell somewhat in popularity rankings in the interim, but as commentator Ron Palumbo gets into in one of the supplements on this disc, they started enjoying a career renaissance of sorts after the perhaps unexpected success of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (the link points to a now pretty pricey edition I reviewed years ago, but there’s also this release which is considerably less expensive). Part of that success may be indicated by the fact that their home studio, Universal, gave them the ability to make one independent feature a year as part of a renegotiated contract, which led first to The Noose Hangs High and then this particular film. Africa Screams is probably more consistently funny than The Noose Hangs High, but it does contain some questionable representations that may raise a few hackles in some viewers, specifically with regard to a cannibal tribe the two encounter when they trek to an obviously backlot “Dark Continent”.
Africa Screams is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of ClassicFlix and 3-D Archive with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.36:1. As regular
visitors to our forum may already know, 3-D Archive's Bob Furmanek posted a
thread here some time ago announcing a Kickstarter campaign to help save
Africa Screams, and from the looks of some of the responses, several of our members contributed to the effort. My hunch is those who helped
ClassicFlix and 3-D Archive preserve and restore this title will be well pleased with their "investment". Aside from just a very few little specks that only
a curmudgeon would mention (hey, it's in my job description to be a curmudgeon), this is pretty gorgeously damage free, with really solid blacks and
well
modulated gray scale. There are occasional signs of very softness, often toward the sides of the frame for what that's worth, but as can
hopefully be seen pretty easily in many of the screenshots accompanying this review, this is a generally very sharp and well detailed looking
presentation. There's a healthy and organic looking grain field throughout this presentation.
Note: A propos of nothing other than a personal observation/experience, while the 3D content played perfectly on my 3D TV and
standalone player, I didn't get an independent "alert" that 3D content was available. When I put this disc into my PC drive with the ever unpredictable
PowerDVD, I got a pop up warning me that I didn't have a 3D monitor.
Africa Screams features a spry sounding DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono mix. Some of the "jungle" sound effects, which I assume were ported in from some library back in the day, can sound a little boxy or thin on occasion, as do a few of the music cues (as in the kind of hilariously grandiose Nassour Films masthead accompaniment), but on the whole the track sounds full bodied without any major damage. Dialogue is presented cleanly and clearly and I noticed no issues with dropouts or distortion.
ClassicFlix hasn't always offered a ton of supplements on their releases, but Africa Screams has some interesting and maybe even quirky bonus features:
- The Rubdown Sketch (restored Abbott and Costello comedy sketch from live TV in 1953) (1080i; 10:07)
- Abbott and Costello Radio Show with Bela Lugosi features the original un-edited recording and then the final broadcast version, both playing under explanatory text and stills:
- Original un-edited show as recorded on February 23, 1948 (1080p; 40:44)
- Final broadcast master of May 5, 1948 (1080p; 29:48)
- Lou Costello filmed interview with Max Baer and Joe Louis on July 2, 1940 following Baer's fight with Tony "Two Ton" Galento in Jersey City (1080p; 1:54)
- Clyde Beatty's Animal Thrills - A short film released by Catle Films in November 1943 (1080p; 9:48)
- Selected outtakes/bloopers taken on set during production (1080p; 7:31)
- Behind the scenes photos taken during production (1080p; 7:12)
- Promotion, publicity and ballyhoo (1080p; 13:46) allows for Manual advance, but is authored to advance automatically at a pretty brisk clip.
While I'm giving Africa Screams the same overall 3.5 rating I gave to Abbott and Costello's previous independent film (also released by ClassicFlix), The Noose Hangs High, I personally think the comedy in this film is more consistent and laugh out loud worthy, though I'm certainly not immune to what are some antiquated depictions in this story. There's quite a bit of schtick laden physical comedy in this film, which tends to highlight Lou more than Bud, and the kind of wacky and wonderful supporting cast is a lot of fun. ClassicFlix and 3-D Archive have done a commendable job restoring this title, offering secure technical merits, and the supplemental package is also very enjoyable. Recommended.
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