MOST DANGEROUS GAME (DVD/B&W/AUDIO COMMENTARY) DVD

The Most Dangerous Game
The first of many official and unofficial screen versions of Richard Connell's The Most Dangerous Game was put together by producer Willis O'Brien and directors Ernest B. Schoedsack and Irving Pichel in 1932. Leslie Banks stars as loony Russian count Zaroff, a renowned big-game hunter who tires of stalking animals and begins hunting down the "most dangerous game"-human beings. Luring unwary victims to his remote island, Zaroff wines and dines them, gives them a few hours' head start to run into the jungle, then hunts them down with rifle and bow and arrow. As his grisly trophy room demonstrates, Zaroff hasn't missed yet. Shipwreck survivors Joel McCrea and Fay Wray are Zaroff's latest quarry. "First the hunt, then the revels!" declares Zaroff, casting a lecherous eye towards the wide-eyed Ms. Wray. The original Connell story had no heroine, but who wants to watch Joel McCrea lose most of his clothing while scurrying through the jungle? The Most Dangerous Game was filmed on RKO's standing King Kong sets during a lull in the production of that classic film, utilizing most of the Kong personnel (actors Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, Noble Johnson, Steve Clemente and Dutch Hendrian; producer O'Brien; director Schoedsack; composer Max Steiner). While the plot has been reshaped and recycled many times since 1932, RKO's only official remake of Most Dangerous Game was 1945's A Game of Death. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast Joel McCrea as Bob Rainsford Fay Wray as Eve Trowbridge Leslie Banks as Count Zaroff Robert Armstrong as Martin Trowbridge Steve Clemente as Tartar Servant Noble Johnson as Ivan

Crew Carroll Clark - Art Director Irving Pichel - Director Ernest B. Schoedsack - Director Archie Marshek - Editor David O. Selznick - Executive Producer Max Steiner - Composer (Music Score) Henry W. Gerrard - Cinematographer Merian C. Cooper - Producer Ernest B. Schoedsack - Producer Clem Portman - Sound/Sound Designer Richard Connell - Screen Story James Ashmore Creelman - Screenwriter Jane Huizenga - Production Director

The Most Dangerous Game
This classic horror film stars Leslie Banks in a tour-de-force of pure evil as the sadistic Count Zaroff, who waylays shipwrecked boats on his foggy island then unleashes his vicious dogs and hunts humans in the jungles for sport. Robert Armstrong and Fay Wray are among the prey and would be reunited the following year for co-director Ernest B. Schoedsack's wonderful King Kong, while the other co-director, Irving Pichel, would go on to act in Dracula's Daughter. The timeless adventure story has been copied many times, decades later by John Woo in Hard Target (1995), but few of the remakes compare to the somewhat tatty but effective original. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
 

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General Specifications: Language Options: English Subtitle Options: English Sound Processing: 5.1: 5 full-range channels. Includes 3 for the front speakers, 2 surround channels for rear speakers, & 1 low-frequency effects (LFE) channel to carry deep bass effects 1: PCM mono Additional Features: Commentary by film historian Bruce Eder Subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1: Pre-1954 Standard MPAA Rating: NR DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 63 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- 0. Chapters 1. Logos/Opening credits [1:36] 2. "The lights are a bit off" [3:03] 3. The tiger's place [1:45] 4. Shipwreck and sharks [2:20] 5. The island [1:23] 6. Zaroff's fortress [4:20] 7. Victims of circumstance [2:47] 8. New sensation [3:44] 9. The most dangerous game [2:23] 10. "...and then the woman" [6:01] 11. Zaroff's trophy room [4:07] 12. "I always bring them here..." [6:02] 13. Scouting the island [2:14] 14. Setting traps [3:31] 15. A man trap [3:00] 16. The chase/The log bridge [4:35] 17. Understanding the game [1:47] 18. Rainsford at the waterfall [2:08] 19. The hunt ends [5:34] 20. End Credits [:23]