But the sad fact is that in hindsight, the forthcoming remake - much less the tireless sequels - were not as much tributes to the lasting charms of the original, but desperate attempts to right its wrongs; because The Pink Panther unfortunately is an outdated, unfunny model of an ensemble comedy that has since been far eclipsed by faster and far more enjoyable films.
Two years after triumphing with the Audrey Hepburn masterpiece Breakfast at Tiffany's, Blake Edwards directs this crossed-wires ensemble caper, which stars David Niven as Sir Charles Lytton, a lothario and master criminal pursued by the bumbling Inspector Clouseau (played by Sellers). Lytton has his sights set on the Pink Panther, a legendary diamond owned by Princess Dala (Claudia Cardinale); enlisting his mistress Simone (Caupcine), who also happens to be Clouseau's wife, Lytton slowly but surely seduces Dala and sets up an opportunity to steal the rock.
CLICK HERE to read the full The Pink Panther review by Todd Gilchrist.
Score: 6 out of 10
Video and Presentation
The Pink Panther is presented in 2.35:1 widescreen using the AVC MPEG-4 codec on a dual-layered BD50 disc. The film itself takes up 36 gigs of the disc. While this is an older film, Fox/MGM has done a fantastic job restoring the print to its original glory. In fact, I suspect that this presentation looks better than the original theatrical print, barring a few mistakes here and there. I was stunned by how sharp the transfer looked. It's not quite as sharp as films today, but it does have a very crisp, finely detailed look to it. Colors are both vibrant and well tuned. The film has a very solid, bright palette. Black levels are also deep and rich, well tuned with very little bleed.
I did notice a few hiccups, however. The film has a very noticeable amount of grain on the print. It adds some unnecessary grit to the feature, which could distract some viewers, though I'm glad DNR was not applied to tone it down. I also noticed spots of dust and white specks during a few scenes, particularly in the opening scenes. I imagine they were just missed in the remastering process, or the print was way too damaged. Admittedly, these minor faults didn't really sway my opinion that this is easily the best this film has ever looked on home video.
Score: 8 out of 10
Languages and Audio
Audio choices are English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English Mono, Spanish and French and Portuguese DTS 5.1. Cantonese, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese and Spanish subtitles options as well as English captions for the hearing impaired.
While the disc boasts a high-res lossless mix, don't expect to be wowed by anything this mix has to offer. The lossless track only sounds a little more vibrant than the original mono mix. Dialogue is wonky and monotone. The film's awesome score from Henry Mancini only resonates through the front surrounds, but rarely the rears. Other effects are mostly crammed into the busy -- and hollow -- center channel. Basically, this is a glorified mono track that's been redesigned to be a modest 5.1 mix.
Score: 6 out of 10
Extras and Packaging
This collector's edition comes in a standard blue BD case. Most of the bonus materials are presented in high definition. Unlike many of Fox/MGM's early BD releases, where most, if not all, special features were dropped from their DVD counterparts, this release is the same booming special edition that was released to DVD a few years back, with only the needless trivia track missing! Even better, Fox/MGM has added a few additional goodies to sweeten the pot. Extras include:
- Commentary by Writer/Director Blake Edwards
- The Pink Panther Story Featurette (29 minutes, SD)
- Beyond the Feline: The Cartoon Phenomenon Featurette (11 minutes, HD)
- The Coolest Cat in Cortina: Robert Wagner (11 minutes, HD)
- The Tip Toe Life of a Cat Burglar: A Conversation with Former Jewel Thief Bill Mason (10 minutes, HD)
- Diamonds: Beyond the Sparkle (7 minutes, HD)
- Trailers
Starting out this disc is Edwards' engaging commentary, which reveals additional details about the performers, his choices when making the movie, and other information about the production. Unfortunately, it also proves to be a modest distraction, especially for first-time viewers because the dialogue levels fluctuate to accommodate for Edwards' observations.
Next up, we're treated to the same featurette found on "Pink Panther Peter Sellers Collection" DVD box set released about four or five years back. It's called "The Pink Panther Story." It's basically an overview of the production and its genesis from script-to-screen, as well as a look at the many sequels that followed. Of course, just about everyone fawns over Seller's dazzling work.
The next set of featurettes are brand-new, and presented in HD! The first two are directly related to the film, with Robert Wagner discussing his role in the picture in "The Coolest Cat in Cortina." He's a pretty cool guy, full of trivia and warm heartfelt memories. The second featurette, like "The Pink Panther Story," is more or less an overview examination of the phenomenon behind Pink Panther, in this case it's the cartoon character, who to this day is still quite popular.
The final two featurettes are somewhat informative, but they have less to do with the series. The first is an incredibly informative, but way too short, conversation with real jewel thief Bill Mason, who talks about his high-stakes life, swerving in and out of the lives of various debutants, stealing them blind, that is, until he was caught. The second featurette is a pretty mundane look at diamonds. It has nothing to do with the film and isn't really worth looking at.
Fox's usual standard set of trailers are also present.
Score: 7 out of 10
The Bottom Line
While not the best film in the Pink Panther collection, you've got to start somewhere, right? And what better place to begin than the one that started it all. This Blu-ray release presents the best presentation this film has seen on home video.
