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Perhaps the most fruitful comedic collaboration between an actor and a director in Hollywood history, the sublime teaming of Peter Sellers and Blake Edwards resulted in six films, five of which are collected in this superb box set. Sellers originates the Inspector Jacques Clouseau role in 1964's The Pink Panther, a film he dominates even though David Niven is arguably the lead. Niven portrays the dashing jewel thief Sir Charles Lytton, who has his eye on the titular gem and his hands on Clouseau's wife (Capucine), who tips him off when her bumbling husband is getting close. Later that same year, A Shot in the Dark established the series' focus on Sellers, introducing such Clouseau rudiments as his fractured French accent, clueless hauteur, unstable superior officer (Herbert Lom as Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus), and judo-loving houseboy, Kato (Burt Kwouk). Sellers left the role behind for a decade after A Shot…, but was convinced to don the inspector's trench coat again for the 1975 gem The Return of the Pink Panther, which couldn't be included here because of rights issues but remains available singly on DVD. The Pink Panther Strikes Again is here, though, and many fans agree that this 1976 outing may be the best of the lot. 1978's Revenge of the Pink Panther, the last Panther film Sellers completed before his death in 1980, suffers only in comparison to the earlier classics, as it remains a very funny film. In Revenge…, Clouseau turns master of disguise to track down the gangsters who think they have assassinated him. Rounding out the collection is 1982's posthumous Trail of the Pink Panther. Assembled by Edwards from unused and alternate Sellers footage, Trail may not take the series out on a high note, but it does have its charms. Most notable among these is the future Ab-Fab star Joanna Lumley as Marie Jouvet, a crusading journalist attempting to find the missing chief inspector.

All Movie Guide

The second film in the Pink Panther series was the franchise's funniest effort. Peter Sellers was relegated to a supporting role in the first film, but in Shot, his Inspector Clouseau is front and center, allowing him to develop the comic hero more fully. Every character and situation revolves around Sellers, and his remarkable sense of timing and director Blake Edwards' frantic pace ensure funny results. Despite the film's success, the director and star would not collaborate on another Pink Panther movie until 1974's The Return of the Pink Panther; the feeble Inspector Clouseau (1968) would star Alan Arkin in the title role. A Shot in the Dark also introduced two of the series' most memorable characters: the spiteful Inspector Dreyfus (Herbert Lom) and the psychotic houseboy Kato (Burt Kwouk). Brendon Hanley

All Movie Guide

One of the most successful franchises of the 1960s and 1970s, director Blake Edwards' Pink Panther movies were a hit from their first installment, in 1964. The film introduced many of the series' hallmarks: Peter Sellers' endearingly inept Inspector Clouseau; the lanky animated pink panther of the credit sequences; and Henry Mancini's instantly recognizable score. Clouseau is a more minor role here than he would be in the future. Sellers' scene-stealing work -- in a part originally intended for Peter Ustinov -- secured him starring status in the subsequent films. His sense of comic timing is unparalleled, in both dialogue delivery and physical humor. Though The Pink Panther isn't as funny as its sequel, A Shot in the Dark (also from 1964), Edwards gives the screwball humor an effortless feel. Such farce was a departure for Edwards, previously best-known for the bittersweet Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) and the somber Days of Wine and Roses (1962). The Pink Panther would be followed by eight sequels of varying casts and quality and a popular television cartoon. Brendon Hanley

All Movie Guide

Most Inspector Clouseau fans regard The Pink Panther Strikes Again as the best of the clumsy Parisian detective's "comeback" films of the 1970s. Driven insane by the stupidities of Clouseau (Peter Sellers), ex-inspector Dreyfuss (Herbert Lom) transforms into a master criminal. Kidnapping the inventor of a death ray, Dreyfuss threatens to use the demon device indiscriminately unless Clouseau is offered as a "sacrifice." A hunted man, Clouseau is forced to adopt one transparent (but hilarious) disguise after another. He is rescued from being incinerated by Dreyfuss when Soviet spy Olga (Leslie Ann Down) falls in love with him and strives to protect him. Hal Erickson

All Movie Guide

Comic genius Peter Sellers died two years after making The Revenge of the Pink Panther. But he went out with a bang -- 16 of them, in fact. That's how many times his enemies try to assassinate his character, French detective Jacques Clouseau, in this 1978 production. Clouseau's own boss, Chief Inspector Dreyfus (Herbert Lom), makes two of the attempts. Throughout the Pink Panther series of films, Clouseau's ineptitude repeatedly drives Dreyfus to the brink of insanity, and Dreyfus lies awake at night plotting Clouseau's murder. In this production, Clouseau pretends that an assassination attempt has succeeded. After he is declared dead, Dreyfus cries tears of joy as he delivers a eulogy. Meanwhile, Clouseau goes sleuthing in disguise to solve his own murder and corral drug-traffickers. From an artistic standpoint, the script of this film is inferior to the scripts of earlier Pink Panther films, for it is really a series of sketches spotlighting Sellers' talents. However, to fans of Sellers, these sketches are among the best -- or possibly even be the best -- in the entire series of Pink Panther films. In one scene, Sellers shops at a "spy store" for disguises and ends up detecting as a peg-legged sailor with an inflatable parrot, a pinstriped gangster, a priest, and dwarf painter Toulouse Lautrec. Mayhem, mishap, and destruction follow Clouseau everywhere: He explodes a bomb, accidentally sets Dreyfus's office on fire, gets his peg leg stuck in a knothole at a crucial moment, and falls through a floor after a martial-arts romp with his valet Cato (Burt Kwouk). For fans of Sellers, this is a must-have film in spite of its weaknesses. Clarke Fountain

All Movie Guide

Two years after the death of Peter Sellers, Blake Edwards tried to exhume his corpse in Trail of the Pink Panther, a pastiche of clips and out-takes from the old Pink Panther films. The plot concerns the legendary "Pink Panther" diamond which is once more stolen. Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers) is again enlisted to find the stolen bauble. When he follows the trail of the diamond to another country, he leaves on an airplane that is soon reported missing. Television reporter Marie Jouvet (Joanna Lumley) then sets out to interview old acquaintances and associates of Clouseau, including Lady Litton (Capucine), Inspector Dreyfus (Herbert Lom) and Sir Charles Litton (David Niven), who recall their experiences with the bumbling inspector. Paul Brenner

Product Details

• UPC: 027616902887
• Source: MGM (VIDEO & DVD)
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Cinemascope (2.35:1)
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital Mono, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Language: English, Français, Español
• Subtitles: English, Français, Español
• Time: 8:40:00

This set contains DVDs which may be available separately:

• The Pink Panther
• A Shot in the Dark
• The Pink Panther Strikes Again
• The Revenge of the Pink Panther
• The Trail of the Pink Panther

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