Man's Favorite Sport? Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Man's Favorite Sport? Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 9, 2023

Howard Hawks' "Man's Favorite Sport?" (1964) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include new audio commentary by filmmaker/historian Michael Schlesinger with select remarks by co-star Paula Prentiss and actor/director Richard Benjamin; and vintage trailer for the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Apparently, Howard Hawks was quite serious about reuniting Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn in Man’s Favorite Sport?. I do not think it was a good idea because both actors would not have had the energy that fueled their performances in Bringing Up Baby more than twenty-five years earlier. So, Hawks, or someone else that he trusted, made the smart decision to cast Rock Hudson and Paula Prentiss. However, when you sit down to view Man’s Favorite Sport?, it will take you approximately ten minutes to figure out exactly why Hawks had contemplated working with Grant and Hepburn again. Man’s Favorite Sport? uses the same blueprint to impress, and Hudson and Prentiss are replicating virtually everything that Grant and Hepburn did together, starting with the same energy that gives Bringing Up Baby its identity. Needless to say, Man’s Favorite Sport? absolutely looks and feels like a sequel, but without the characters from the original film and the actors that played them. (Are there any such sequels that drop all characters from the original films and the actors that played them? I cannot think of any right now).

Roger Willoughby (Hudson) is a living, breathing encyclopedia of everything that has something to do with fishing, which is why he is the most important employee at the sporting goods department of Abercrombie and Fitch. Also, Willoughby’s book on fishing has become a massive bestseller, so it seems like it is only a matter of time before he becomes an international sensation, too. Willoughby is enormously pleased with his success and enjoys the perks that come with it, but constantly lives in fear. Why? Because he is a liar. Well, sort of. Even though all of Willoughby’s fishing information is legit, he has never fished. So, where does Willoughby get his fishing information from? Old friends that have fished for years and various printed publications.

When Willoughby’s boss (John McGiver) decides to enroll his most valuable employee at the annual fishing contest at Lake Wakapoogee, it begins to look like a dream career is doomed to be destroyed in the most humiliating way imaginable. To make the end extra special, Willoughby is also forced to endure the company of two young women who always get what they want -- Abigail Page (Prentiss) and Easy Muller (Maria Perschy) -- one of which senses that he is vulnerable and unexpectedly falls in love with him.

Man’s Favorite Sport? is just as silly as Bringing Up Baby. This is very important to underscore because all of the humor and lightness that are supposed to make Man’s Favorite Sport? attractive emerge from the silly. The progression of the relationship between Hudson and Prentiss, for instance, is practically irrelevant because it is immediately obvious that before the final credits appear they will be madly in love. The fishing contest is nothing but a necessary distraction that provides Hudson and Prentiss with a few opportunities to reveal how they feel about each other as well. The colorful ramblings of McGiver, Roscoe Karns, Norman Alden, and a few others are decorative work, too.

Hawks knew how to make these types of silly films work well. But in Man’s Favorite Sport? it all comes down to the chemistry between the leads again, and the one that materializes between Hudson and Prentiss is pretty special. Over the weekend, I watched Man’s Favorite Sport? twice, once alone and then with a friend, and the second time I was even more forgiving of certain parts that do not work very well because of this special chemistry. It makes Man’s Favorite Sport? very, very enjoyable and a perfect film to end an exhausting day with.

Man’s Favorite Sport? has an outstanding soundtrack that was created by the great Henri Mancini. (The Pink Panther Film).

Man's Favorite Sport? Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Man's Favorite Sport? arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from an older master that was supplied by Universal Pictures. While there is room for meaningful improvements, this master is quite good. Generally speaking, delineation, clarity, and depth are always pleasing. In some areas with controlled lighting, you may be fooled to assume that there is edge-enhancement that was introduced by digital work, but it is just the master not handling well nuances. On the other hand, darker areas with similar ranges of nuances look surprisingly good. Color balance is excellent. However, saturation levels can be improved, and if they are, depth/the perception of depth would be more convincing as well. Image stability is very good. I noticed a few blemishes, but there are no large cuts, debris, warped or torn frames to repot. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Man's Favorite Sport? Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I thought that the audio track was outstanding. I had the volume of my system turned up quite a bit -- I thought that Henri Mancini's soundtrack and the title song were fantastic -- and did not notice any traces of age-related imperfections. Clarity, sharpness, and balance were as good as I thought they can be.

Man's Favorite Sport? Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by filmmaker/historian Michael Schlesinger with select remarks by co-star Paula Prentiss and actor/director Richard Benjamin. I listened to the entire commentary and thought that it was very interesting. It covers a lot of ground, and the recollections were exactly the type of material I hoped to get.

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage theatrical trailer for Man's Favorite Sport?. In English, not subtitled (3 min).

Man's Favorite Sport? Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Which is the better film, Man's Favorite Sport? or Bringing Up Baby? Well, for what it's worth, I enjoyed the former quite a bit more because there is some tremendous chemistry on display in it that makes its silliness more effective. I think that it is a perfect film to see at the end of a long and exhausting day. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from an older but solid organic master that was supplied by Universal Pictures. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.