The Most Dangerous Game Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

The Most Dangerous Game Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 28, 2023

Irving Pichel and Ernest B. Schoedsack's "The Most Dangerous Game" (1932) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentary by critics Stephen Jones and Kim Newman; new program with critic Stephen Thrower; vintage radio adaptations; original German trailer for the film; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Richard Connell’s classic story The Most Dangerous Game has spawned so many different cinematic adaptations and copycats that it would be meaningless to list them all. The most recent cinematic adaptation, for instance, was completed less than a year ago. In previous decades, various films retold the same story without even acknowledging its existence. Do you remember Ernest R. Dickerson’s Surviving the Game? John Woo’s Hard Target? How about Don Medford’s The Hunting Party? Joseph Losey’s Figures in a Landscape? And how about Cornel Wilde’s The Naked Prey? These films tell modified versions of the same story, which is Connell’s classic story.

Irving Pichel and Ernest B. Schoedsack’s film is the shortest cinematic adaptation of Connell’s story and in some ways arguably the most satisfying one. Indeed, it is only sixty-three minutes long and feels every bit as pragmatic as Connell’s story -- it takes its action very seriously but does not overuse it and never becomes distracted by the personalities of its characters. Interestingly, describing it as a pure action-adventure film does not seem right because the dark atmosphere that materializes in it is of the kind that the big Gothic horror films are remembered for.

A ship sinks and the only survivor, an American hunter named Bob Rainsford (Joel McCrea), barely reaches a remote island. Much to his surprise, Rainsford discovers a lavish mansion whose owner, Count Zaroff (Leslie Banks), welcomes him with open arms. While regaining his strength, Riansford is introduced to two other survivors, Eve Townbridge (Fay Wray) and her brother Martin (Robert Armstrong), who have been enjoying Count Zaroff’s most generous hospitality for weeks. However, by the time Rainsford realizes that they have been forced to do so, it becomes crystal clear that Count Zaroff enjoys welcoming strangers at his lavish mansion even more because he uses them as prey in a terrifyingly cruel hunting game.

The overlapping of action-adventure and horror material is very organic and this is the main reason the film does not leave the impression that it rehashes cliches, even though it incorporates a rather substantial amount of them. But why does the overlapping work? It works because Pichel and Schoedsack move very quickly from one situation to another and the usual genre tricks that tend to hurt the authenticity of these types of early films lose their efficacy. As a result, what should be an utterly unbelievable story easily begins to look like a very believable story.

The most attractive cinematic quality of this believable story is its eeriness. It feeds the film’s dark atmosphere and defines the hunting game in much the same way a contemporary psychological thriller would reconstruct a chilling case at the center of which is a dangerous psychopath. Can you imagine the effect this approach must have had on viewers that saw the film in the 1930s? As good as Connell’s story is, reading it is a completely different experience.

RKO Pictures did not break the bank to ensure that the film looks as good as it could, but different parts of it are rather striking. For example, the basement where the human trophies are kept is stunning. Virtually all panoramic shots are marvelous too, though it is quite easy to tell that various decors benefit a great deal from the careful lighting. This lighting is so effective that it should be praised each time the film is mentioned.

*Eureka Entertainment’s Blu-ray release is sourced from a 2K master that was prepared after The Most Dangerous Game was restored from a 35mm studio fine grain master positive. In the United States, The Most Dangerous Game is available on Blu-ray courtesy of Flicker Alley. You can see our listing of this release here.

The Most Dangerous Game Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Most Dangerous Game arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.

The film has been fully restored and looks quite wonderful now. However, you need to keep in mind that time has left its mark and as a result there are still various surface imperfections that affect delineation, clarity, and depth. Also, it appears that some bits of footage come from multiple sources, so the final restoration is a reconstruction as well. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections, though for the reasons specified above grain fluctuations are often easy to spot. The grayscale is convincing. A few areas have slightly elevated contrast levels that affect brighter whites and grays, but the overall appearance of the visuals remains pleasing. Image stability is good. Minor unevenness is still noticeable in a few transitions, but this is to be expected as well. All in all, I think that this release offers a very fine organic presentation of The Most Dangerous Game that will likely remain the definitive presentation of the film on the home video market. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Most Dangerous Game Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0 (Restored Audio) and English LPCM 2.0 (Unrestored Audio). Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I viewed the entire film with the Restored Audio and was quite surprised to hear how nicely rounded and even it sounded on my system. In some areas, I thought that it was as good as a recent studio recording. Obviously, the basic limitations of the original soundtrack are retained, so your expectations should be appropriately adjusted because dynamic intensity is still very modest. The dialog is clear, stable, and always easy to follow. I did not encounter any audio dropouts or distortions to report in our review.

The Most Dangerous Game Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critic Stephen Jones and Kim Newman. The most interesting comments address Richard Connell's classic story and its tremendous influence and the cinematic style, tempo, and ambience of Irving Pichel and Ernest B. Schoedsack's film.

• Kim Newman on The Most Dangerous Game - in this exclusive new program, Kim Newman discusses Richard Connell's classic story and the production and genre identity of The Most Dangerous Game. In English, not subtitled. (19 min).

• Stephen Thrower on The Most Dangerous Game - in this exclusive new program, critic Stephen Thrower also discusses the production of The Most Dangerous Game and the film's genre personality. Also, there are some good comments about the characterizations in the film and the fact that they are not identical to those of Richard Connell's classic story. In English, not subtitled. (20 min).

• Merian C. Cooper: Reminisces - presented here are excerpts from an audio interview conducted by Kevin Brownlow in July 1971. In these excerpts, Merian C. Cooper discusses his background, early years as a filmmaker, and relationship with Ernest B. Schoedsack. In English, not subtitled. (8 min).

• Adaptations: - presented here are three vintage radio adaptations of The Most Dangerous Game.
  
  1. Suspense (1943). In English, not subtitled. (30 min).
  2. Suspense (1945). In English, not subtitled. (30 min).
  3. Escape (1947). In English, subtitled. (31 min).

• Trailer - presented here is an original German trailer for The Most Dangerous Game. In German, with English subtitles. (1 min).

• Booklet - a collector's booklet featuring a new essay by critic Craig Ian Mann illustrated with archival imagery as well as technical credits.

The Most Dangerous Game Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

While it is the shortest cinematic adaptation of Richard Connell's classic story The Most Dangerous Game, Irving Pichel and Ernest B. Schoedsack's film remains the most satisfying one. Why? Because it has a very unique genre personality and produces a dark atmosphere that remains remarkably effective. Eureka Entertainment's release offers a very nice organic presentation of The Most Dangerous Game with a solid selection of exclusive new and archival bonus features. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.