The Most Dangerous Game (The Criterion Collection)
by Ernest B. Schoedsack, Irving Pichel
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Actor: Fay Wray, Joel McCrea, Leslie Banks, Noble Johnson, Robert ArmstrongDirector: Ernest B. Schoedsack, Irving Pichel
Brand: BANKS,LESLIE
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD, NTSC, Special Edition
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 63 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-04-03
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Criterion
DVD Reviews of The Most Dangerous Game (The Criterion Collection)
DVD Review: Gripping Tale Of Man Hunting Man With Fay Wray And Joel McCrea
Summary: 4 Stars
I think probably one of the greatest terrors you could experience would be as the prey of a hunter out to get you as a "trophy" in an isolated region far from help. As actor Joel McCrea says during the lead up to the exciting climax in "The Most Dangerous Game", "now I know how the animals feel!". RKO's film version of the short story by Richard Connell explores that chilling idea to perfection where one human being indulges in the "ultimate sport", (for lack of a better term), of hunting down and killing a fellow human being. As foreign and distasteful as that idea may be to the majority of people it makes for a fascinating story here that succeeds beautifully in keeping you on the edge of your seat for almost the entire film's running time. Fay Wray always remembered as King Kong's love interest and for possessing the best scream of any person in Hollywood in the 30's, here takes on a different kind of role which she filmed concurrently with "King Kong",on the RKO lot. Long consigned to terrible public domain copies that were almost unwatchable, Criterion here have given this fascinating movie a deluxe restoration treatment that returns it to the pristine condition it deserves to be seen in.
As the action opens we see big game hunter Bob Rainsford (Jole McCrea), who is also an author of hunting books, travelling with his group on a ship towards his next worldwide port of call. The Captain approaches a strange set of lighted markers in the water which somehow seem in the wrong spaces and very soon the boat has crashed into a reef and sunk leaving Bob the only survivor after a vicious shark attack removes all the others that survived the sinking of the boat. Making his way to the nearest shoreline he finds himself on a strange island and before long stumbles across a large fortress-like Castle which he enters. There he makes the acquaintance of the castle's owner , the mysterious Count Zaroff (Leslie Banks), a Russian nobleman who lives along on the island except for a few Russian attendants. At first Zaroff seems the perfect host and Rainsford finds out that he is not along as Zaroff's reluctant houseguest when he is introduced to two other survivors of a ship wreck. Brother and sister Eve and Martin Trowbridge (Fay Wray and Robert Armstrong). All is soon appearing not well as Eve reveals to Bob that other members of her party have already "disappeared" , and very soon Bob begins to worry about the sanity of his host when their ideas on big game humting seem to vary greatly. Exploring the castle at night Bob and Eve discover the real purpose of thir host's hospitality when firstly Martin disappears and then they dicover Count Zaroff's sinister "trophy room", which is full of human heads preserved in bottles alongside torture instruments. The prey that Zaroff likes to hunt is now revealed and when they are discovered in the room Bob and Eve become the Count's latest "sport" when he reveals that by placing the false lighted markers in the water he lures unsuspecting travellers to the island for his "sport". The pair now become the hunted and are given a head start to try and evade the insane Count Zaroff until dawn of the following day. Being pursued on the island the pair endure the terror of being hunted animals as they try to outsmart their twisted host. Only after a final confrontation with the Count's savage hunting dogs does Bob work out a plan whereby he fakes his own death and later returns to the castle to rescue Eve. The finale sees a fight to the death between Bob and the Count which ends once and for all the barbaric "sport", being practiced on the island.
Film-makers Ernest B. Schoedsack and Merian C. Cooper certainly had their work cut out for them in 1932 with their concurrent production schedules for "King Kong", and "The Most Dangerous Game". Indeed many of the sets served duty in both productions and cast members Fay Wray and Robert Armstrong worked on both films on the RKO lot at the same time. "The Most Dangerous Game", is memorable for its clear character definitions with upright and basically decent Joel McCrea drawn up to a fight to the death with the dastardly villian as seen in Leslie Bank's mysterious Count Zaroff character. Fay Wray at first glance may seem like the token love interest thrown in for good measure but she is allowed in this screenplay to show some resourcefulness when she and McCrea are being pursued through the jungle. She and McCrea team very well here but the really memorable character is of course Leslie Banks' bizzare Russian count who is seeking the ultimate 'thrill", of hunting down and killing a human being. Leslie Banks' real life injuries incurred during World War I which paralysed some of his facial muscles ironically help him in his sinister characterisation here and a huge makeup scar on his forehead also increases the sinister look of this deranged killer to great effect. Alot of the eerie feel of "The Most Dangerous Game", thus stems from his character and Banks makes the most of it. Some of his best scenes occur early in the film long before the chase sequences begin when we sense that something is very wrong on this island but are not yet totally sure of his real purpose in entertaining his "guests", on the island. Visually the film has that rich 1930's feel to it and of course because of the close relationship between the two productions, it does have a similiar look to alot of "King Kong". The set of Count Zaroff's Castle is also one of RKO's best from this time full of sinister stairways, huge rooms full of gothic furniture, with his "Trophy Room", being quite startlingly by even today's standards with severed heads preserved in jars and with horrific looking instruments of torture ready for use. The film's short (63 minute), running time also serves the story here well as character development is kept to a minimum and the action moves rapidly from such scenes as the original boat sinking, through to the introduction of Count Zaroff's character, and then on quickly to the extended chase sequence not letting up until the conclusion.
It is a pleasure to have this exciting film returned literally from the "dead" via Criterion's superb restoration for this new DVD release. For those that have only ever seen this film in fuzzy, badly copied versions on video, they would be well advised to experience this film's real qualities in this new version. It combines a first class thriller with its quite frightening theme of man's basic inhumanity towards man with fantastic visuals that belies this film's great age. Very little of the interesting work of Fay Wray and Joel McCrea is readily available for movie buffs to enjoy but "The Most Dangerous Game", is one of the best that both actors worked on and it certainly reveals Fay Wray as an actress who should be remembered for much more than simply screaming at King Kong's approach. For edge of the seat suspense set in exotic far away places "The Most Dangerous Game", makes unsurpassed entertainment that I recommend highly to you in this beautifully restored new version.
Description of The Most Dangerous Game (The Criterion Collection)
"One of the best and most literate movies from the great days of horror," The Most Dangerous Game stars Leslie Banks as a big game hunter with a taste for the world's most exotic prey-his houseguests, played by Fay Wray and Joel McCrea. Before making history with 1933's King Kong, filmmakers Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack wowed audiences with their chilling adaptation of this Richard Connell short story. Criterion is proud to present the DVD premiere of The Most Dangerous Game in a new digital transfer.The Most Dangerous Game is a classic, one of the first talkies to get pictures moving after five very static years following the birth of sound. The plot finds resourceful hero Joel McCrea and heroine Fay Wray being hunted on the island of the insane Zaroff (Leslie Banks). One of the grandfathers of the summer blockbuster, the film's setup has been reworked many times since, notably in John Woo's Hard Target (1993). By modern standards it's technically primitive, though still gripping stuff, complete with the jungle set built as a test run for King Kong (1933) and graced by Max Steiner's prototype of all Hollywood action scores. --Gary S. Dalkin
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