Films
/
The Most Dangerous Game (1932)
The Most Dangerous Game (1932) poster

The Most Dangerous Game (1932)

Thriller, Adventure, Horror, Action • 1h 3m

Directors: Irving Pichel & Ernest B. Schoedsack

Cast: Joel McCrea, Fay Wray, Leslie Banks, Robert Armstrong, Noble Johnson, Steve Clemente, William B. Davidson, Oscar 'Dutch' Hendrian, James Flavin, Hale Hamilton, Landers Stevens, Arnold Gray, Phil Tead

Best video release


Best audio release

MoC Blu-ray offers both restored and an unrestored tracks


About the film

When legendary hunter Bob Rainsford is shipwrecked on the perilous reefs surrounding a mysterious island, he finds himself the guest of the reclusive and eccentric Count Zaroff. While he is very gracious at first, Zaroff eventually forces Rainsford and two other shipwreck survivors, brother and sister Eve and Martin Towbridge, to participate in a sadistic game of cat and mouse in which they are the prey and he is the hunter.

Featured Lists

Featured in Pre-Code Films

See more →

Director: Ernst Lubitsch

Video Notes:

4K restoration from Original Camera Negative

Director: William Dieterle

Video Notes:

4K restoration from Original Camera Negative

Directors: Ernest B. Schoedsack & Merian C. Cooper

Best Video:

WB Blu-ray

Director: Marion Gering

Best Video:

Universal Blu-ray

Director: Leo McCarey

Best Video:

Universal DVD

Upcoming Release:

Universal Blu-ray Nov 10th

Director: Edgar Selwyn

Video Notes:

4K restoration

Director: John Ford

Sources: ibb.co (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Warner Archive Blu-ray is 4K restoration from nitrate projection elements

Germany Filmjuwelen Blu-ray is AI upscaled https://ibb.co/album/mCJ7RQ

Director: Howard Hawks

Director: Frank Capra

Best Video:

Sony Frank Capra Boxset Blu-ray

Director: William Dieterle

Best Video:

WB Forbidden Hollywood Collection: Volume 4 DVD

More from Irving Pichel

See more →

Director: Irving Pichel

Best Video:

Universal Blu-ray

Director: Irving Pichel

Best Video:

ClassicFlix Blu-ray

Director: Irving Pichel

Best Video:

Kino Lorber Barbara Stanwyck Collection Blu-ray

Director: Irving Pichel

More from Masters of Cinema

See more →

Director: Anthony Mann

Best Video & Audio:

Eureka MoC Blu-ray

Additional Info:

The film only exists in MGM letterbox masters and the HD version upgrades the DVD presentation. Sadly the film still needs a modern restoration and a better audio source. The master holds up very well today regardless and has a very natural appearance. The Eureka BD is far superior to the Kino Lorber in encode and extras making it easily the only version to consider.

Director: Elaine May

4K · Solid
Video Notes:

Cinématographe 4K Blu-ray > MoC > Olive Films. From nicolas:

The master is good but it’s not that big an upgrade from the Olive Films disc and Vinegar Syndrome’ encode has some blocky highlights. A shame that they didn’t hire David Mackenzie here.

Audio Notes:

Cinématographe has unnecessary noise gating not present on the previous releases.

Director: F. W. Murnau

Directors: Charles Reisner & Buster Keaton

Best Video:

MoC/Cohen Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

MoC 4K Blu-ray late 2027

Video Notes:

MoC/Cohen Blu-ray > Kino Lorber

Director: Buster Keaton

Best English-Friendly:

Kino Lorber new Seven Chances / Sherlock Jr. Blu-ray?

Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)

Upcoming Release:

MoC 4K Blu-ray late 2027

Video Notes:

Lobster Films (Kino Lorber?) > Cohen/Eureka https://slow.pics/c/3KWXoMyR The new Kino Lorber's Seven Chances / Sherlock Jr. might be using the same restoration as Lobster Films

Director: Hal Ashby

Director: Paul Leni

Best Video:

Theatrical/Original A negative: MoC Blu-ray

European C/D negative but better picture quality: Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray

Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

From DVDBeaver: The MoC Blu-ray is scanned from the American A negative, as opposed to the European C or D negatives used by Photoplay and others (Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray), so it is identical with the film US audiences saw in 1927

See caps for comparison

In addition, the Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray has sepia tinting throughout while the MoC Blu-ray has yellow for normal scenes, blue for night scenes, and some even green tintings.

Director: Louis Feuillade

Best Video:

UK MoC Blu-ray

Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

UK MoC Blu-ray is slightly sharper than French Gaumont Blu-ray see caps

Director: John Frankenheimer

Best Video & Audio:

UK MoC Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · caps-a-holic (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

UK MoC Blu-ray uses the same restoration as Criterion but has more natural contrast and more organic grains see caps

Audio Notes:

MoC Blu-ray has the exactly same audio as Criterion Blu-ray

Director: Josef von Sternberg

Edit history

5 edits

Researched and maintained by

vanshadyAdamA

· last reviewed 22 days ago

Every recommendation follows the same method — how these calls are made.