From legendary Hollywood director Howard Hawks, Man’s Favorite Sport? is a hilarious fish-out-of-water tale in the screwball style of Hawks’ classic Bringing Up Baby. Rock Hudson (Come September, Blindfold) is Roger Willoughby, happily employed as one of the world’s great angling experts. Unfortunately, even his own boss doesn’t know that Roger has never been fishing in his life. So when press agent Abigail Page (Paula Prentiss, What’s New Pussycat?, The Black Marble) arranges for Roger to participate in her resort’s upcoming fishing tournament, he’s thrown into a panic. At the resort, he and Abby commence a crash course to turn him into a genuine outdoorsman—only to have their plan riotously upset by a surprise visit from Roger’s fiancée. With a sparkling score by composer Henry Mancini (The Pink Panther), Man’s Favorite Sport? is a comedy classic you’ll fall for hook, line and sinker!
For thoughts on Man’s Favorite Sport?, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic here.
Video Quality
Man’s Favorite Sport? makes its Blu-Ray debut courtesy of Kino Classics with a digital AVC encoded 1080p transfer that appears to be derived from a really solid older master that is in great shape. The presentation is enjoyable throughout most of the runtime with image stability and delineation being handled well. This transfer maintains the natural film grain of the presentation with only minor instances of it seeming a bit thick. The picture has a few moments of noticeable softness, but colors are well saturated with the bright hues coming through. Instances of print damage such as nicks and lines occasionally pop up, but overall clarity and detail is strong. Skin tones are natural and consistent with subtle facial features easily noticeable in closeup. Black levels hold up well with very little in the way of crush. This presentation may have looked a bit better with a new master, but fans of the film will be pleased to see how good it looks.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray comes with a stellar DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that serves this film really well. Dialogue and background noises are represented in perfect harmony with all competing elements such as any outdoor sounds. This track shows no discernible age related wear and tear such as hissing or popping. One thing you are bound to notice is the vibrancy of the Henry Mancini score and the clarity of the music. Despite the strength of these elements, nothing ever overpowers the dialogue or other important information. All of the sound effects and music appear to be faithful to the intent of Hawks. There are also optional English (SDH) subtitles included for the feature film. You could not ask for better from Kino Classics.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Filmmaker/Historian Michael Schlesinger provides a really fun and fact-filled commentary track alongside Co-Star Paula Prentiss and her husband Actor/Director Richard Benjamin (Diary Of A Mad Housewife). Schlesinger is great about detailing a lot of the history of the picture and the careers of the performers involved. The elderly Prentiss has some decent anecdotes from making this picture, but she largely stays silent with more remarks actually coming from the more forthcoming Benjamin, who has been married to her since 1961. The only awkward part of this track is that Schlesinger consistently sets the pair up to offer their own insights only to be met with dead air and a quick recovery from the historian.
- Trailers: The two-minute trailer for Man’s Favorite Sport? is provided here. There are also trailers provided for A Farewell To Arms, The Tarnished Angels, Come September. and Strange Bedfellows.
Final Thoughts
Man’s Favorite Sport? is not the best picture from Hawks, but it provides a pleasant enough time to consider it a worthwhile viewing experience. While Rock Hudson always gives you a good reason to pay attention, it is the lovable turn from Paula Prentiss that you will be thinking about long after the movie ends. Howard Hawks is a master of this genre, but he made a slight error in judgement by allowing this to be two hours long. Kino Classics has released a new Blu-Ray featuring a solid A/V presentation and an informative commentary track. If you are a fan of the talent involved, you should not be disappointed with this purchase. Recommended
Man’s Favorite Sport? is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Kino Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
