Cinema Tuesdays Review

Get in the Pink
By Nathan Cone

A few weeks after being mildly disappointed at the newest DVD edition of "Rock 'N' Roll High School," I found myself pleasantly surprised by "The Pink Panther" on DVD. An impulse buy at the supermarket, I discovered "The Pink Panther" on DVD is better than ever, and features more than its packaging lets on.

As a way of piggybacking on the big screen remake of "The Pink Panther" starring Steve Martin as Inspector Clouseau, MGM has released all of its theatrical "Pink Panther" films to DVD once again, with updated video and audio. Many of these DVDs were previously available in a box set last year, but are now available as stand alone editions, so if you don't really much care for Roberto Benigni as the "Son of the Pink Panther," you can save some money by cherry-picking your favorites.

And why not start at the beginning? Many aficionados of this classic series feel "A Shot in the Dark" is the best of the Panther films, but I have a soft spot for the original, "The Pink Panther," starring David Niven, Capucine, Claudia Cardinale, Robert Wagner, and of course Peter Sellers. In this film, Sellers is one of many players, rather than the star, as he would become in later Pink Panther films. David Niven is the central figure, playing the handsome devil Sir Charles Lytton, a playboy by day, jewel thief by night. Sir Charles is after the Pink Panther, a fabulously beautiful diamond that belongs to Princess Dala, played by the equally fabulous and beautiful Claudia Cardinale. As the players gather in the Italian Alps for who knows what reason, Litton makes moves on the princess, and on Simone Clouseau, who happens to be the wife of that famous French policeman, Inspector Clouseau (Sellers).

Of course, many of the best scenes involve Clouseau, which is why director Blake Edwards and MGM continued to milk the character through sequels well into the 1990s. Clouseau spills milk on the floor, trips, stumbles, and bumbles his way through the film, and in a scene that still makes me laugh out loud even when no one else is around, he takes his beloved violin in hand after it has undergone repairs, plays a dreadfully out-of-tune melody, and pronounces, "better than ever."

This may seem amazing, but Sellers actually was not the first choice to play Clouseau. Peter Ustinov was attached to the role, but pulled out nearly at the last minute. That's just one of countless facts I learned by watching the film on DVD with the "trivia track" option. With the trivia track enabled, little factoids about the film and the stars appear on screen throughout the picture's running time. It's a lot of fun to watch the film this way. Director Blake Edwards also appears on the DVD with an audio commentary, and while he has some good stories to tell, there are unfortunately long gaps of silence on this audio track where Edwards simply watches the film with the viewer. The DVD also includes a photo gallery, and the film's original theatrical trailer, which is lengthy as trailers go, but entertaining since it features the animated Pink Panther. The DVD audio is mixed for surround sound, and the video is free of scratches and generally good, though not spectacular which is suitable for a 40-year-old movie.

But here's the curious thing about this current DVD of "The Pink Panther." NOWHERE on the package are the special features identified. I looked for any mention of the commentary track and trivia track, but came up empty. So, to go back to my opening statement, I was pleasantly surprised to find these nice bonus features included on the disc when I plopped it in my player at home, especially since the DVD was priced below ten dollars. Inspector Clouseau better get after those marketing folks at MGM, for they seem to have lost the ability to properly market such a classic film at such a bargain price! "The Pink Panther," in its current DVD incarnation, is a must for any comedy lover. Don't pass it up.

2/7/06

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