The Pink Panther [DVD]

Peter Sellers at his best!! Very funny indeed.

great film

This is the first of what became Peter Sellers' long-running series of `Clouseau' films. It was intended to be a one-off vehicle for David Niven and Sellers role was secondary, which is why this film, in comparison to those later in the series, seems restrained.Niven plays suave, genial Sir Charles Litton, a Raffles-type figure who relieves the well-heeled of their jewels and leaves behind a monogrammed glove to boast of his deed. He has his sights on the Pink Panther diamond owned by Princess Dala.The lovely Capucine is his covert assistant who is also the wife of well-meaning, bumbling Inspector Clouseau and she runs elegant rings around him to protect the identity of her lover.Sellers' portrayal of his character is different to his later interpretations, though the basics are there; clumsy, suspicious, naïve and slightly self-important, traits which he would build to immense proportions in later years.A commentary is provided by the late Blake Edwards which is, to put it mildly, lacking in dynamism, but does impart a few interesting tit-bits, such as Brenda de Banzie's chastening experience after being rude to Italian rail attendants and the surprising info that Claudia Cardinale's voice was entirely dubbed.This film is essentially a classy farce and very much of its time, but it has a chicness and charm which was about to disappear from movies and will be of interest to Sellers fans who want to see his Clouseau character in its earliest incarnation. Although a couple of scenes are overlong (an early Cardinale/Niven scene runs over 9 minutes) it's a pleasant, undemanding film punctuated with moments of slapstick and lunacy.

This was more of a star vehicle for David Niven than Peter Sellers and it shows. It isn't nearly as funny as the later films where Sellers stars and Herbert Lom is the perfect foil for his Clouseau antics. There's some very funny stuff with swinging doors and hiding in cupboards but not enough to carry the whole film.However, some of the women's clothes were provided by Yves St Laurent and are drop dead gorgeous.

This film Pink Panther 1963 is the original. There are some lovely colourful European scenes in the story and great to see the cast of actors including Peter Sellers and David Niven. The action seems to slow to a crawl at times but picks up towards the end and was still funny even today in 2022. Four stars from me.

The four stars are for the picture quality, 4/5. Surprising choice to shoot a knockabout comedy in the more expensive large format 35mm Technirama. Other films shot in this format include Spartacus, El Cid and Zulu. But that choice has yielded a good transfer here. The aspect ratio is 2.35:1, which leads me to believe the element used for the scan was a 35mm reduction, rather than an original 35mm Technirama, which would have been 2.2:1. However, that doesn't really matter, as it looks very good. Starting out with a Technirama negative means the 35mm reductions look better than they otherwise would have done, which 50 years later, means we get a nicer looking blu-ray. Only some minor flickering here and there.Shame about the film though, as it's rubbish overall. Sellers in isolation is good, but he's wasted here. There's an extended 'farce' type sequence that takes place in and around Clouseau's hotel room, and it just bogs the whole thing down and goes nowhere. The follow ups, A Shot In The Dark, and The Return of The Pink Panther, are much better films that are able to stand up around Sellers.

Really worth watching, for some 1960's film nostalgia or a take on how the comedy evolved or simply to escape from reality for a hour or so.Marvellously done and with the ensuing hilarious chaos caused by the usual suspect himself and his marvellously cast companions.What i see as brilliant in these older films is their not so 'in your face' over acting trap that so many contemporary films fall in to so whether your watch for the laughs of the really charming characters or some of the scenery from the 60s and imagination of the more gentlemanly playboy era that seems to be around back the.its an excellent film.

All the characters are of an era. Was so much more fun than I thought it would be, now I'm aged... much older!! Used to be taken to the cinema en famille, and being the youngest I'd fall asleep after the intro - which I l always loved. Always held fond, nostalgic memories of Peter Sellers and this doesn't disappoint. Will now work through every PP film!