Kino Lorber presents on 4K UHD director Blake Edwards’ quintet of Pink Panther films starring Peter Sellers as the iconic Inspector Jacques Clouseau. The first film in the series is The Pink Panther (1963), which is more of a heist movie than a comedy as the story is focused on a jewel robbery and Clouseau is a supporting character.
Buy The Pink PantherThe prologue introduces the Pink Panther diamond, named as such because a flaw in this large jewel resembles a leaping panther, as it is given to a young Princess Dala. That animal is seen in the credits as an animated character, created by legendary animator Friz Freleng, as the groovy theme by composer Henry Mancini plays. As I mentioned in my review of The Pink Panther Cartoon Collection: Volume 1 (1964-1966), although “intended solely as a character for the title sequence…the feline was such a sensation it was spun off into his own series of over 100 cartoons.”
At a ski resort in Cortina d’Ampezzo 20 years later, Dala (Claudia Cardinale) is in exile after her father’s death and the new regime wants the diamond. Sir Charles Lytton (David Niven) is there as well, hoping to get the jewel as he is also the famed jewel thief known as the Phantom. Charles’ nephew George (Robert Wagner) comes to visit after rushing out of Hollywood due to gambling debts. Also arriving is Inspector Clouseau who suspects Charles of being the Phantom. What Clouseau doesn’t suspect is his wife Simone (Capucine) is having an affair with Charles and fences jewels he has stolen.
As Charles pursues the Princess, Simone seems rather calm about the lengths he has to go to, although she does have her hands full keeping her husband distracted and rebuffing George’s advances. This culminates is an especially silly scene as Clouseau tries to romance Simone, while both Charles and George hide in their room.
Moving to Rome, Dala throws a costume party. During the festive affair, Charles and George, each dressed like gorillas, attempt to steal the Pink Panther diamond, but before they can find, they found by Clouseau, which leads to a silly car chase as all roads seem to return to the same spot. During the trial of Charles and George, Dala, who has grown fond of Charles agrees to help get them free.
It’s easy to see why Clouseau is the standout in the movie. Sellers plays Clouseau as a sweet man whose clumsiness makes him more endearing. The jewel thieves comes off like greedy jerks, and it’s hard to believe Niven in his 50s could be such a playboy, especially to the 20-something Cardinale. Simone comes across even worse with the level of disrespect she shows her husband. And the plot twist in court, while clever and funny, brings even more sympathy to Clouseau and disdain to the others.
A brand new HDR/Dolby Vision Master was created from a 4K Scan of the 35mm original Technirama camera negative and is displayed at an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. Colors appear in rich hues and in a variety of shades. Blacks are inky and whites are bright and accurate. The latter seen in the snow-covered Italian mountains, and that location also showcases very fine texture details in the mountain faces and in the disturbed snow. The picture is clean, free from dirt or defect.
The audio is available in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0. Dialogue is clear, although the vocals for “Meglio stasera (It Had Better Be Tonight)” sung in the ski lodge sounded too loud. Mancini’s score fills the surrounds as do ambient effects like fireworks. The track has a wide dynamic range, from the soft sound of a key landing on snow to a loud, multiple-car crash.
The Special Features include
- Audio Commentary with Director/Co-Writer Blake Edwards on both discs
On the Blu-ray, the Special Features (in SD) are
- The Pink Panther Story: Documentary (29 min)
- Behind the Feline – The Cartoon Phenomenon: Featurette (11 min)
- The Coolest Cat in Cortina – A Conversation with Robert Wagner: Featurette (11 min)
- An Italian Indian – The Pink Panther Princess with Claudia Cardinale: Featurette (11 min)
- Diamonds – Beyond the Sparkle: Featurette (7 min)
- The Tip Toe Life of a Cat Burglar – A Conversation with Former Jewel Thief Bill Mason: Featurette (10 min)
The Pink Panther is an amusing farce that serves as a launching pad for a number of laughs for years to come in movies and cartoons. The high-definition presentation delivers impressive video and quality audio along with archival features to provide insight to the making of the movie.
