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Editorial Reviews
The two features on this Blu-ray publication honor the extraordinary lives of filmmaking team Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack as their distant, difficult and dangerous productions evolved from pure documentary (Grass), through semi-documentary (Chang) and semi-fiction (The Four Feathers), to their fictional apogee in King Kong (1933). The Most Dangerous Game (1932, 63 min.) is a superb pre-Code action-adventure film. Based upon a famous short story by Richard Connell, it follows big game hunter, Bob Rainsford, (Joel McCrea), as he becomes quarry for another, the opulently deranged Count Zaroff (floridly played by Leslie Banks). Utilizing some of the amazing sets made for King Kong, the film is sometimes thought of as a place-holder to keep key cast and crew available during Kong s lengthy animation schedule. This included actors Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, Noble Johnson and Steve Clemento, as well as editor Archie Marshek, composer Max Steiner, sound effects expert Murray Spivak, illustrators Mario Larrinaga and Byron Crabbe, and optical effects wizards Vernon Walker and Linwood Dunn. The strong story and theme, excellent production values, vigorous action and fast pacing make The Most Dangerous Game an exciting and more than satisfying entertainment after eighty years. Both picture and sound are scrupulously restored in high definition by Lobster Films from the original 35mm studio fine grain master positive, and there is a full-length optional audio essay by Rick Jewell, Professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and author of RKO Radio Pictures: A Titan Is Born (University of California Press, 2012). GOW (1931, 61 min.) is not only a true curiosity but also in many ways a key influence on later Cooper and Schoedsack productions including King Kong. The footage in Gow was produced by Edward A. Salisbury, a wealthy British adventurer, who in 1920 set sail in an 80-ton yacht equipped with a motion picture laboratory to, in his words, catch and hold for history a photo record of the fast-disappearing races of the South Seas Islands. Cooper and Schoedsack were among the cameramen on this two-year expedition that documented genuine head-hunters and cannibals along its route. The material was originally released as four separate films in the silent era and was consolidated as the film Gow, The Headhunter for an illustrated lecture by expedition member William Peck. Peck recorded his own cringe-inducing commentary in 1931. Gow was reissued as an exploitation film into the 1950s under the title Cannibal Island, but it was made with a serious purpose. True to Salisbury s intent, it indeed documents vanished cultures and is brilliantly illuminated here with an exclusive audio essay by Matthew Spriggs, Professor of Archaeology at the Australian National University and author of The Island Melanesians. Gow is mastered for this edition in high definition from the original 35mm fine grain master positive BONUS FEATURES: In addition to the two full-length audio essays, this set also features a booklet containing notes by Merian C. Cooper as quoted in David O. Selznick's Hollywood by Ronald Haver; an essay by Emerson College professor, Eric Schaefer, author of Bold! Daring! Shocking! True! : A History of Exploitation Films, 1919-1959; and a slideshow with audio excerpts from an original interview with Merian C. Cooper conducted by film historian Kevin Brownlow.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
65 of 68 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray
This isn't a sales pitch even though I will benefit if you buy it. It's just that the information from amazon.com is so sparse that I think anyone potentially interested should know more before deciding whether or not to part with their hard-earned.
"The Most Dangerous Game" is obviously the engine pulling this train, and in my opinion, it's one of the outstanding action-adventure films from the early 1930s. Although it is often thought of as a place-holder for "King Kong," having been made on many of the same sets with many of the same cast and crew, it's a very notable achievement on its own. It has been available on a nice DVD from Criterion, as well as on public domain editions usually bootlegged from Criterion's copy; but the beautiful quality of Flicker Alley's Blu-Ray is likely to amaze you. We started with the original 35mm studio fine grain master, and the HD transfer was then restored from the original Radio Pictures tower to the end; not to the point where it no longer looks like it originated on nitrate film, but to the standard of a new 35mm print of the period. The sound was restored at Diapason sound services in Paris, and it came out so beautifully that they now use it as a before-and-after demonstration of what they are able to do. There is a new audio essay by Rick Jewell, author of "RKO Radio Pictures: A Titan Is Born" (University of California Press, 2012) which is packed with interesting information delivered in a comfortable, conversational style.
"Gow" is more an oddity than it is a polished film. It's the 1931 synthesis of four silent films based upon footage photographed between 1920 and 1922 in Samoa, Fiji, the Andaman Islands, the Solomon Islands and the New Hebrides; it was later retitled "Cannibal Island" and distributed as an exploitation film into the 1950s. Although the film was produced by a wealthy adventurer, Captain Salisbury, much of it was photographed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, who were responsible for "The Most Dangerous Game" and "King Kong," and before that, for the silent documentary "Grass" and the story/documentary film "Chang." "Gow" is the seed of their filmmaking ethic: distant, difficult, and dangerous. The island people of "King Kong" owe quite a lot to the Melanesians that Cooper and Schoedsack observed with Salisbury. The 1931 version has a cringe-inducing commentary by another member of the Salisbury expedition, that we have offset by a really wonderful audio essay by Matthew Spriggs, Professor of Anthropology and Archaeology at the National University of Australia and author of "The Island Melanesians." Spriggs regards "Gow" as a treasure chest of long-gone peoples and practices and in contrast to the patronizing narration of 80+ years ago, he explains what it is we're really seeing. Salisbury's footage was processed in a small laboratory on board his yacht and although our HD transfer is from the original 35mm fine grain master, for the most part the image quality falls short of the best standards even of 1920; so "Gow" hardly benefits from the superior definition of Blu-Ray. Despite its technical deficiencies, it is fascinating; and yes, you really do see cannibals although they are not eating missionaries in these pictures.
"The Most Dangerous Game" is obviously the engine pulling this train, and in my opinion, it's one of the outstanding action-adventure films from the early 1930s. Although it is often thought of as a place-holder for "King Kong," having been made on many of the same sets with many of the same cast and crew, it's a very notable achievement on its own. It has been available on a nice DVD from Criterion, as well as on public domain editions usually bootlegged from Criterion's copy; but the beautiful quality of Flicker Alley's Blu-Ray is likely to amaze you. We started with the original 35mm studio fine grain master, and the HD transfer was then restored from the original Radio Pictures tower to the end; not to the point where it no longer looks like it originated on nitrate film, but to the standard of a new 35mm print of the period. The sound was restored at Diapason sound services in Paris, and it came out so beautifully that they now use it as a before-and-after demonstration of what they are able to do. There is a new audio essay by Rick Jewell, author of "RKO Radio Pictures: A Titan Is Born" (University of California Press, 2012) which is packed with interesting information delivered in a comfortable, conversational style.
"Gow" is more an oddity than it is a polished film. It's the 1931 synthesis of four silent films based upon footage photographed between 1920 and 1922 in Samoa, Fiji, the Andaman Islands, the Solomon Islands and the New Hebrides; it was later retitled "Cannibal Island" and distributed as an exploitation film into the 1950s. Although the film was produced by a wealthy adventurer, Captain Salisbury, much of it was photographed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, who were responsible for "The Most Dangerous Game" and "King Kong," and before that, for the silent documentary "Grass" and the story/documentary film "Chang." "Gow" is the seed of their filmmaking ethic: distant, difficult, and dangerous. The island people of "King Kong" owe quite a lot to the Melanesians that Cooper and Schoedsack observed with Salisbury. The 1931 version has a cringe-inducing commentary by another member of the Salisbury expedition, that we have offset by a really wonderful audio essay by Matthew Spriggs, Professor of Anthropology and Archaeology at the National University of Australia and author of "The Island Melanesians." Spriggs regards "Gow" as a treasure chest of long-gone peoples and practices and in contrast to the patronizing narration of 80+ years ago, he explains what it is we're really seeing. Salisbury's footage was processed in a small laboratory on board his yacht and although our HD transfer is from the original 35mm fine grain master, for the most part the image quality falls short of the best standards even of 1920; so "Gow" hardly benefits from the superior definition of Blu-Ray. Despite its technical deficiencies, it is fascinating; and yes, you really do see cannibals although they are not eating missionaries in these pictures.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By killer b
Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase
David Shepard told you this looks good. Ah, what a load of crap. IT LOOKS FABULOUS! Buy it now! Because you don't need me to tell you what this is about; end of review.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase
First of all,in my review of the Flicker Alley Blu-ray,I will skip commenting on the second feature on this disc:"Gow the Headhunter(Cannibal Island)--I'm more interested in the primary feature:"The Most Dangerous Game".This pre-Code version of Richard Connell's often filmed and ripped-off story is the best here.But before you check out the homages and imitators like "Surviving the Game" or "Game of Death",be sure you check this one out first.I'll skip the synopsis for the sake of all who are already familiar with the storyline of the megalomaniacal Count Zaroff(wildly played by Leslie Banks with deranged flair)hunting Human quarry played by Joel McCrae and Fay Wray.The restoration of this film by Lobster Films is superb.The large absence of flecks and artifacts make the legacy of this film after more than 80 years,that much more great.Comparing this to the Criterion Collection DVD previously available,I would give a slight edge to this version.Go watch this movie and prepare to be wowed.Finally,for an even more fun-filled evening of classic movie viewing,may I also suggest watching the remake,"Run For the Sun" with Richard Widmark,Jane Greer and Trevor Howard and the Get Smart episode spoof,"The Island of the Darned" with Harold Gould as Hans Hunter.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful Blu-Ray picture, great movie.
AS ENTERTAINMENT: Eighty years old, this is still an engrossing movie to watch. It was made at the same time as King Kong, with many of the same sets, actors, and crew. Read more
Published 22 days ago by Long Beach Native
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent
Always a great movie but wait until you see this Flicker Alley version. It looks like a brand new 35mm print. Absolutely stunning and well worth the price.
Published 3 months ago by Valmore P. Boily
5.0 out of 5 stars
ONE OF THE GREATEST '30'S ACTION THRILLERS
Based on the prize winning short story by Richard Connell, THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME (RKO, 1932) is about a mad, Russian aristocrat who hunts humans on his remote island. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Anthony Crnkovich
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Most Dangerous Game, US Blu-ray from Flicker Alley
First of all, this Blu-ray does the trick. I had goose bumps during the whole movie experience. The restoration is impressive but it is also limited.
Image 1. Read more
Image 1. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Sicé
