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The Pink Panther Strikes Again

The Pink Panther Strikes Again

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great Film!
Review: Peter Sellers returns in this classic comedy. Dreyfus is more insane than ever! Considering the fact that he just got out of the insane asylum! The fight with Cato and Clouseau is the funniest Clouseau fight I've seen yet! But there is a few problems, in the near end Dreyfus disappers into thin air, yet he returns in "Revenge of the Pink Panther," alive and well! The movie also drags in the middle, then it picks up again. If you forget those parts you'll rate it 5 stars. I also thought the scene with the President was hilarious. The line he said was, "Call the FBI, the CIA, and the pentagon! Find out who won the game!"

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: By Far the Best in the Series
Review: Since there have been other reviewers here who have taken the time to write in detail why this movie was so good, I will just agree in saying that it is indeed an excellent film! It is by far the best in the entire Pink Panther series and will have you laughing the entire time. If you enjoy this film, be sure to check out the rest of the series.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Peter Sellers Strikes Again
Review: The fourth installment in the immensely popular "Pink Panther" series is definitely one of the funniest. It also shows just how talented the great Peter Sellers is. Sellers is a comic genius, talented not just in physical comedy but verbal as well (one of the best examples of this is his "interrogation" of the staff at the professors home). He excells in his portrayal of Clouseau and his ability to always maintain a high level of dignity no matter how silly he looks (after falling down the stairs he gets up and exclaims "That felt good"). Everything from his goofy accent to his hilarious interactions with the other character's (especially Kato and his "former chief inspector") are enjoyable. Any fan of the series will love this installment.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Slap Stick at It's GREATEST!
Review: The hilarious antics of Inspector Cluseo create light-hearted, laugh till you cry entertainment. Inspector Cluseo, a "famous" French detective with no common sense and terrible luck doesn't stop until "the case is solved". With only one or two slow spots, the movie has a great pace and fantastic characters! Recommended for everyone who loves a good comedy! (The more you watch, the funnier it gets)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The funniest "Panther"
Review: The inimitable Peter Sellers strikes again as Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau, in this fourth installment of the classic "Pink Panther" series, "The Pink Panther Strikes Again," directed by Blake Edwards. Given the fact that the assessment of comedy is intrinsically subjective, this film is arguably laugh for laugh and sight gag for sight gag the funniest of the five (followed closely by the second of the series, the hilarious farce, "A Shot In The Dark). In this one, former Chief Inspector Dreyfus (Herbert Lom) is about to be released from the mental hospital-- in which he has resided since being driven crazy by Clouseau-- when on the very afternoon of his hearing he is visited by none other than Clouseau himself, who has come to speak on behalf of his former boss. Suffice to say that by the time Clouseau is through "helping," he is driven from the premises by the relapsed, raving madman, Dreyfus. And it's only the beginning of the inept French Inspector's antics that, before it is over, will include a trip to the Ocktoberfest, encounters with a dozen hit-men from around the world, a beautiful Russian spy named Olga (Lesley-Anne Down), a surprise Egyptian spy (who will remain nameless) and a one-man assault on a castle. As Laurel and Hardy proved so many times before, for every action there is a reaction; a theorem of which proof is unequivocally provided here by the relationship between Sellers and Lom. This was the film in which Edwards and his stars not only further devised, but honed to perfection, their foolproof formula for laughs: After the "first wave" of hilarity provided by Sellers, it is followed up-- in just enough instances to be totally effective-- by Lom's reaction to 1.) Sellers directly (as in the first, classic scene at the mental hospital), or 2.) Lom's reaction to Seller's antics as they are related to him by a third party. It's a one-two punch that never fails and which, in effect, derives twice the fun from a single gag. And it's brilliant. But at the end of the day, it must be noted that there is one element above all else that accounts for the success of this film, and that, of course, is the Man himself, Peter Sellers. Sellers must be regarded as-- if not "the," then at least one of the-- funniest actors ever to grace the silver screen. There was no end to the ways he could make you laugh; from the subtlest expression-- an eye averted or perhaps the slight raising of an eyebrow-- to the broadest slapstick, it was all within his personal domain, and he was the Master. Physically, practically all he had to do to get a laugh was show up; consider the scene in which he arrives at the hospital to visit Dreyfus: As he saunters across the lawn of the vast grounds surrounding the buildings, a croquet mallet and ball lying to one side catches his eye; there is just the slightest hesitation in his step, the subtlest change of expression in his eyes and the merest inclination of the head. And there, in that briefest of moments upon the screen, you know-- beyond the shadow of a doubt-- what is about to transpire. And you're right; a moment later Clouseau has the mallet in his hand and his foot on the ball, and even as it's happening-- just as you knew it would in that split second before it did-- he has you on the floor laughing. That was the gift-- and the genius-- of Peter Sellers. Was every film he made a classic? A great film? Of course not; but you would be hard put to find a single performance of his, even in a bad film (Like 1970's "There's A Girl In My Soup"), that did not embody that unique spark that defined him. It was certainly alive in his portrayal of Clouseau (possibly the definitive Seller's character), and in retrospect, what a shame it seems that there were only five "Panther" movies ever made. But so it is, and shall ever be. The supporting cast includes Burt Kwouk (as the ever faithful and attacking manservant, Cato), Andre Maranne (Francois), Colin Blakely (Alec Drummond), Leonard Rossiter (Inspector Quinlan), Richard Vernon (Dr. Fassbender), Briony McRoberts (Margo) and Michael Robbins (Jarvis). A funny movie that showcases one of Cinema's truly unique and funny actors, "The Pink Panther Strikes Again" is a side-splitting, fun movie you can watch over and over and never grow tired of. The best of the series, it stands as a glowing tribute to the comedic genius of Peter Sellers.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The best of the series
Review: The opening scene is one of the funniest I have ever seen

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The best of an excellent breed
Review: The Pink Panther series is one that is well worth collecting for those gems that you just can't help watching time and again. This movie features classic scenes such as the parallel bars stunt "Nothing like a good warm up, when you're on the case you know", the superb priceless Steinway interrogation and lines such as "Does your dog bite?...".

A little predictable? Yes.
Laugh-out-loud funny? Yes.
Worth adding to your collection? Definitely.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Get ready to fall out of your chairs
Review: This hysterical romp is the funniest of the funniest movies made. Ten stars for Inspecteur Clouseau.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Best of the series
Review: This is by far the best of the Pink Panther series of movies. Sellers is a comedic genius and the funniest Clousseau scenes are in this film. I saw this on the big screen while in grade school and vividly remember my friend and I bowled over in tears laughing so hard. This is the movie with such memorable scenes as: "Does your dog bite?...No....(dog bites Clousseau)...I thought you said your doig does not bite?....That is not my dog" and the famous "Blemish? But that's a priceless Steinway!...Not anymore" as well as Clousseau's visit to the Octoberfest where two assailants both miss Clousseau and kill each other in the bathroom. Every supporting actor (the guys who played President Gerald Ford and Henry Kissinger were superb) was believable and set up the scenes so well for the bumbling Clousseau. If you only get one of the Sellers' Pink Panther movies, this is THE ONE to have because I believe you will tearfully laugh every time you watch it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "The Phone Is Ringing....Relax, I'll Get It."
Review: This is my all time favorite Pink Panther film. I think that I like it the best of the series as is dwells so totally on Herbert Lom's madness, which is, of course, entirely caused by Clouseau. The opening scene of the film sets the pace, with the brilliant slapstick 'Dreyfus in the lake' segment (I am particularly fond of the role of the rake in that scene.)

The characterizations of Dreyfus and Clouseau are totally wonderful in this film. Watching Dreyfus descend into total madness is one of the all time greatest comic performances. Sellers as Clouseau is wonderful playing off of Lom, in such great segments as the 'hallucinatory dentist' and the 'hunchback and the bomber' scenes. This film is much less subtle than my other favorite from the series "A Shot in the Dark", but what it loses in subtlety, it gains in situational humor unrivalled in any other comedy ("Does your dog bite?"..."No."..."I thought you said your dog did not bite."..."That is not my dog.") Only Sellers could make these scenes work, and work they do, brilliantly so.

There are so many great scenes and lines that I couldn't possibly list them. Some of the best lines ever written for a comedy are in this film. To go with the brilliance of the script, the excellent direction from Blake Edwards, the always entertaining animated credits, the beautiful sets, the acting from everyone, led, of course, by Sellers and Lom, is letter perfect.

The DVD is an excellent transfer, and very pleasant to watch. The only real options are language and subtitle related, though there is an original trailer. I would have loved to have seen some outtakes as extras. Reportedly the cast frequently broke up laughing during the filming of this movie, and there is no wonder, given how funny the material is.

I first saw this in the theater when I was a kid. I loved it so much then that I went back several more times, and never tired of it. Now, almost thirty years later, I still never tire of this film. If you haven't seen "The Pink Panther Strikes Again", by all means do so at once. If you have, it's time to get reacquainted with a brilliant old friend!


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