Five Pink Panther Films Are the Picks of the Week

When I was a little kid, I loved the animated sequences featuring the Pink Panther character that ran during the opening credits of the Pink Panther movies starring Peter Sellers. I thought they were wonderfully clever, and I was always disappointed when they ended and the live-action movie began. As I grew older, I actually started to watch the movies. If I’m being honest, I found most of the talking bits to be dull, but I loved Inspector Clouseau’s bumbling about and especially enjoyed his chaotic fights with his manservant Cato. It wasn’t until years after that that I actually sat down and watched the movies all the way through.

I still own the DVDs somewhere, but I haven’t watched them in ages. Kino Lorber is giving them new 4K UHD transfers, and that seems like the perfect time to upgrade and then watch them all again. As far as I can tell, they are not creating a boxed set of these films, but selling all five original films (The Pink Panther, A Shot in the Arm, The Return of the Pink Panther, The Pink Panther Strikes Back, and Revenge of the Pink Panther) separately. The UHD transfers are new, but none of the extras are. Each film is loaded with a variety of archival extras, including audio commentaries and making-of featurettes.

Still, I’m excited these are all getting new transfers, which will be a massive upgrade over my old DVDs.
Also out this week that looks interesting:

Bringing Out the Dead 4K UHD: Martin Scorsese’s excellent and harrowing drama follows Nic Cage’s burned-out ambulance driver through a series of long nights through the mean streets of New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen.

Thunderheart 4K UHD: Val Kilmer stars as a hotshot FBI agent sent to solve a murder on an Indian reservation and winds up finding more than he expected. Graham Greene and Sam Shepard co-star.

Yi Yi 4K UHD: Criterion presents this film from Taipei that follows a family (and alternates from their various perspectives) as they face a myriad of day-to-day challenges.

Evil Dead Rise 4K Blu-ray: I’m not really down with these ultra-serious, ultra-violent Evil Dead revivals. This one’s about two sisters who discover a mysterious book that unleashes a bunch of flesh-eating demons. Arrow Video has the release.

Babe 30th Anniversary Edition 4K UHD: Kino Lorber presents this heartwarming tale of a very good pig and his very kind owner with a new UHD transfer with some new extras, including commentaries and interviews.