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The Pink Panther Film Collection (The Pink Panther / A Shot in the Dark / Strikes Again / Revenge of / Trail)Rating:
Release Date: 06 April, 2004 Retail Price: $69.96 OUR Price: $52.47 You SAVE: $17.49! Cast: |
The Pink Panther Film Collection (The Pink Panther / A Shot in the Dark / Strikes Again / Revenge of / Trail) Reviews
Like Old Friends, They're Always Great To See!
Having been a fan of "The Pink Panther" series from childhood, I was ecstatic that this set was being released, as the films are otherwise out of print on DVD (although luckily I still have my trusty VHS copies in reserve). I am tempted to give the set five stars simply because it is a wonderful day to see these films back in print, but realistically I had to take it down a notch as there a couple of negative considerations, the most obvious of which, of course, is the absence of "Return of the Pink Panther" from the collection, ostensibly because of legal hang-ups. Whatever the cause, the absence of the first of the 1970s-era "Panthers" is sorely missed. The other minor negative is the relative absence of special features on the movie DVDs, although the original "Pink Panther" has a wonderful trivia track. I would have really loved commentary tracks with Blake Edwards and some of the actors. I am somewhat ambivalent on the extremely unusual packaging the set comes in. It is hard to adequately describe the case, but suffice it to say that removing half of the DVDs is annoyingly difficult, although it looks very stylish.
On the positive end, you get four great "Panther" movies and the bodged-together "Trail of the Pink Panther", plus a disk of extras. Some people have dismissed the extras disk as inconsequential, but I rather enjoyed it. I particularly liked the documentary "The Pink Panther Story" which was heavy on interviews and insight. I had no idea that Sellers hated "A Shot in the Dark", whereas I (and many others) think it is a perfect movie in every way. I knew that Sellers could be somewhat Mercurial to work with, but I had no idea, for instance, that he had certain colors that he would not tolerate around him, and in fact made the producers of one of the movies once repaint a train because he couldn't stand the color! Also on the disk is a documentary about the animated Panther, which is quite interesting, as well as several of the short subject cartoons, which seem selected at random. They did include the Oscar winning "Pink Phink", the first cartoon short of the Pink Panther, which was an excellent choice. "Psychedelic Pink" included an annoying laugh track, and "Pinkfinger" was one of the weaker of the cartoons, which I have great recollection of from childhood. Interestingly enough, there are two related subject cartoons, one each of the Ant and the Aardvark, and The Inspector (in a fairly weak episode) to round out the extra disk.
This is a great set overall, with just a couple of things bringing it down to a four rating. I recommend it to all "Panther" fans everywhere, and to anyone who loves to laugh.
Fabulous Value, Great Films, Mediocre Extras
The Pink Panther Film Collection consists of 5 Panther films and 1 bonus disc. Only 4 of the films are worthy ('Trail of the Pink Panther' is a train wreck of a film - it's a film made of outtakes and clips from previous films tacked together two years after Peter Seller's death), and it's also missing a major Panther film ('Return of the Pink Panther') which was the first Sellers-Edwards collaboration immediately following the hiatus after 'Shot in the Dark'.
The 4 worthy films, though, shine as comedy classics, fully display Sellers' genius, witness the evolution of the Clouseau character, and feature the talents of Seller's surroundings casts and Edwards' direction. Many can argue which is the best film; I personally prefer 'The Pink Panther' followed by 'Revenge of the Pink Panther'.
The bonus disc has one documentary about the Panther films, one documentary about the Panther animation, and 6 Pink Panther cartoons. The main documentary has some good info about the Panther series, but is not nearly as comprehensive as it could be. There is no mention of the thought process behind 'Trail' and scant detail about the other films.
'The Pink Panther' has audio commentary by Blake Edwards, a trivia feature, a photo gallery, and the original trailer. The other films have only the photo galleries and trailers.
Deep insight into the Pink Panther series is missing in this collection, but it's also an excellent value for four great comedies.
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