NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (February 2024): Kino have transferred Byron Haskin's Man-Eater of Kumaon to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "2019 HD Master by Paramount Pictures". The image, on a single-layered disc, has a max'ed out bitrate and look quite strong with various marks and light damage sprinkled throughout. Contrast and detail are pleasing enough and there are sequences of depth. Stock jungle footage and certain animal footage (crocs, monkeys etc.) is used that is of, predictably lesser quality. We've added screen captures below to give you and idea of the 1080P transfer.

NOTE: We have added 44 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master dual-mono track (24-bit) in the original English language. Man-Eater of Kumaon has aggressive scenes with the tiger attacking people and rifle shots to subdue the animal. The bass is unremarkable. The score is by Hans J. Salter (Scarlet Street, The Female Animal, Naked Alibi, Pittsburgh, Man Without a Star, The Killer that Stalked New York, The Strange Door, Cover Up, Man Without a Star, Step Down to Terror, The Land Unknown, The War Lord, The Mole People, The Strange Case of Doctor Rx.) adding an adventurous spirit through the film. Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray offers a new commentary by film historian David Del Valle and film historian/producer Daniel Marino (son of NFL legend.) Daniel has read many of, fervent conservationist, Jim Corbett's books and they discussed the 1996 film The Ghost and the Darkness which was a fictionalized account of the 1898 Tsavo man-eaters that killed 135 people. They were two male lions that attacked and often devoured workers in and around Tsavo, Kenya during the building of a bridge over the river Tsavo for the Uganda-Mombasa Railway in East Africa. They talk about Byron Haskin, the small budget, Sabu, Jo Page etc. I was impressed with Daniel Marino who had a lot of knowledge on the topic - notably 'man-eaters' in nature, history, Indian society and much more. It was a very good commentary! There are also trailers for eight related films although none for Man-Eater of Kumaon. There is a reversible sleeve (see below.)

Byron Haskin's Man-Eater of Kumaon is based on the best known of Corbett's books, which was comprised of ten fascinating tales of pursuing and shooting tigers in the Indian Himalayas during the early years of this 19th Century. Corbett was an Indian-born British hunter, tracker, naturalist as well as an author. He was frequently called upon by the Government of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh to kill man-eating tigers and leopards that were attacking people in the nearby villages of the Kumaon and Garhwal Divisions. The film is only one fictional story of an incident involving a Doctor (Wendell Corey), who wounds a tiger which initiates its spree of attacking humans. The animal sequences in Man-Eater of Kumaon were adeptly done considering it was a modestly budgeted production. A neat adventure - although no The Ghost and the Darkness. The Kino Blu-ray has a solid HD presentation of the film and a rewarding commentary. Recommended to an appreciative vintage-film crowd who can enjoy a Byron Haskin-directed (The War of the Worlds) adventure.

Gary Tooze