Rating: 
Summary: No! Not The Stradivarius!
Review: This, the first of the exquisite Pink Panther series, is an amazing film. To know that originally Peter Ustinov was cast to play Jacques Clouseau as a straight, inept French detective is a sobering thought. After Ustinov dropped out, of course, Peter Sellers got the role and after consultation with Blake Edwards, decided to make him not only inept, but also bumbling and accident prone, a characterization that defines how we think of Clouseau today. This film is interesting in that since it is the first of the series it is interesting to see the origins of the character, and how different he is here than in later 'Panther' films. Here is clumsy and prone to pratfalls, but is less flamboyantly slapstick than in the later films. The film also stars the wonderful David Niven, who plays the perfect suave English thief, and a very young Robert Wagner as his equally debonair nephew. Female stars are the beautiful Claudia Cardinale and Capucine, two of the top European actresses and models from the era. The movie is a bit more sedate than the later films in the series, but still is one of the funniest movies of the sixties. 'A Shot In The Dark', also released in 1964, as the first sequel, began the transformation to the later formulas with additions such as the wonderful Herbert Lom. 'The Pink Panther' does introduce the animated 'Pink Panther' short for the first time, as well as the often imitated, never duplicated title theme. Other viewers will have their own favorite scenes, and the costume party is surely one of the highlights of the film, but for my money the best scenes in the film revolve around Clouseau trying to woo his wife by playing his Stradivarius violin, over many protestations. The look of pain on David Niven's face during his playing is worth the price of the film alone If I were doing it today, I would buy this DVD as part of the multi DVD 'Pink Panther' set, where it also includes a few interesting bonuses such as a 'trivia track', which adds great tidbits about the film. Peter Sellers was a comic genius, and the world still waits for another genius of his stature. I think we will be waiting a long, long time.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie! One of the best!
Review: I am a Peter Sellers fan and LOVE the whole Pink Panther series. Even the newer films (made after his death) are fun, but no one matches the comedy of Sellers. For a long time this was probably my least favorite of the Panther films, simply because Sellers is not in it quite as much as the others (and Clouseau is my favorite character of all time); however, in recent months it has become my favorite (to my most pleasant surprise). This movie has a brilliant story and wonderful characters. The movie also just has a certain feel to it; an atmosphere (if you will) that is just grand. When Peter does pop his head in it is pure comic genius and adds the perfect element to the movie. When I watched it again for the first time in years I laughed so hard it was actually like it was the first time. Now the movie is my favorite of the series.
This title is a must watch because it sets the stage for all the rest and introduces many details of the Clouseau character that will be referenced in other films but which may not be always acted upon. All the characters in this movie are great!
One of my favorite scenes is of the beautiful Fran Jeffries who sings the Italian version of the song Meglio Stasera (or It Had Better Be Tonight) in a ski lodge amidst a small crowd of people, including Sellers. Great scene! Beautiful song! And Seller's brief comic interchange with Jeffries is perfect. A delightful musical scene that had me rewinding a couple of times. Unfortunately, the musical number was never included on any of the soundtrack albums (the albums only included the instrumental and choral vocal arrangement in English), so I made my own copy direct off the DVD and burned it to a CD-R and love to play it in my car now, but I would still love to find a professional quality recording of this song. It is the best version I've ever heard of it and my current favorite song!
This is a great movie! It's quite lengthy too, but just perfect! Sellers is amazing, as usual and all of the characters just lovely! For those of you not familiar with this title in the series, it does NOT contain appearances by Clouseau's superior, Chief Insp. Charles Dreyfus (played by Herbert Lom) or Clouseau's faithful man-servant, Cato Fong (played by Burt Kwouk). Some of the other favorites of later films are also not in the first installment (like Professor Auguste Balls, played by Graham Stark - who also played the role of Hercule Lajoy, Clouseau's assistant at the office). Still, the first movie is great and worth watching or adding to your Seller's collection.
I must note that all of the Pink Panther movies that feature Sellers are magnificent! The only title in the series that is a bit less than spectacular is Trail of the Pink Panther. This was shot after Seller's death and includes mostly flashbacks of older films. There is some new footage in that picture not seen in other films that is just brilliant, but those are shown first and the rest of movie is pieced together with flashbacks so it's not like watching a new movie. It's also, sadly, the first of the series that contained blatant (although very brief) nudity (two topless giggling girls in an old-fashioned wine press); this, in my opinion, degraded the film from it's original family-comedy nature, but what are ya gonna do? Still worth having in the collection (for the first quarter of the film, which features original Sellers material), but not the best of the bunch.
The movies that were made following Peter's death were mostly funny (and had that Blake Edwards touch to them) but lacked Peter's style and feel, which only he could bring to the picture. It just wasn't the same without him. Now Steve Martin is going to attempt the role of Clouseau in a new Pink Panther film. We'll see how it goes. Martin is a very funny and talented guy, though his French accent is not like Sellers'. Peter had a unique French accent that was as funny as the character itself. Martin's accent is too much like ordinary French. Unfortunately (though I truly hope I am wrong), I expect it will probably be the dud that the (non-Panther) movie "Inspector Clouseau" was when Alan Arkin tried to claim the role and, in my opinion, failed.
Rating: 
Summary: Poor Inspector Clouseau in Ruthless Slapstick Comedy...
Review: The Pink Panther is Blake Edwards' first film a series of films depicting the sharp, as he is thick, Inspector Jacques Clouseau's adventures. What Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers) tends to do the most is put his hands and feet where they do not belong, which frequently ends up being severely amusing as he makes a fool out of himself. In this first installment Inspector Clouseau attempts to snare the infamous cat-burglar, The Phantom.
The film begins with the child, Princess Dala, receiving an enormous diamond from her father who is a rich and powerful king. Years later when the grown Princess Dala (Claudia Cardinale) is on a ski vacation in the Italian Alps she is approached by Sir Charles Lytton (David Niven) who has planned to get close to the Princess in order to steal the precious gem. The legendary Inspector Clouseau is called upon to help guard the stone, but what he is not aware of is that his wife is secretively working for Sir Charles, also known to a few as the Phantom.
The two main characters, Inspector Clouseau and Sir Charles, are from opposite sides in many aspects, which provides attention-grabbing situations. For example, the film depicts a battle between the criminal element versus the law as the law is portrayed as feeble, clumsy, poor, tacky, and in many instances the looser while the criminal is strong, smart, elegant, attractive, and rich. The humor that this provides is straight up slap-stick, which occasionally provides sympathy for the hard-working Inspector Clouseau whose wife is cheating on him while leading him in the wrong direction.
The story is well-made and it provides much situational comedy as Inspector Clouseau tends to be in the middle of all farce. Peter Sellers does a brilliant job performing as the clumsy Inspector Clouseau as he tactfully displays an exaggerated level of clumsiness. The animated body language of Sellers is slick in an outmost awkward manner, which comes across as very natural and real. Edwards' first Pink Panther film is a truly amusing and intriguing tale that offers a wonderful cinematic experience that is insightful and clever.
Rating:
Summary: Still funny slapstick, also a very interesting cultural trip
Review: When viewing movies from one's youth, there is always the danger that your responses are conditioned by your memories of how funny it was rather than how funny the movie is. "The Pink Panther" is now forty years old and the culture has changed a great deal. As one example, you see women wearing pants in this movie. Few today can recall how challenging that seemed at the time. Today, women and girls notice all the dresses being worn and wonder why.
Anyway, is it a funny movie? Remember, this Pink Panther movie was not about Clouseau. The Pink Panther is the name of a diamond that the jewel thief, David Niven as Sir Charles Lytton who is the Phantom. Clouseau is a cuckold and being made a fool by his wife, Sir Charles, and even the ostensible victim of the theft, the Princess.
And it is funny in a slapstick and ridiculous way. The indoor fireworks, the car chase, the gorilla suits, the zebra suit, and so forth. It is a movie worth seeing, but for me the Clouseau series (how ever much Sellers hated it) really begins with the next movie, "A Shot in the Dark".
Rating:
Summary: SELERS IS FUNNY BUT NIVEN IS IN IT MORE?
Review: We have all come to know the likeable "Pink Panther" cartoons. This is the first film that started it all. Inspector Clouseau is in search of the Phantom. The Phantom always leaves behind a monogrammed white glove.
Robert Wagner, David Niven and Claudia Cardinale co-star.
Lots of snickers and giggles for adults. The Inspector is a bubble-head and clumsy, but he manages to solve his case.
This film includes the memorable gorillas looking through the safe and wild goose car chase. This film was made in 1964. May seem very boring, but trust me, every Pink Panther film gets more interesting, funnier and wilder. In the next film, A SHOT IN THE DARK (1964), Herbert Lom and Burt Kwouk debut and Clouseau must visit a nudist colony in the buff.
The films in the series are: The Pink Panther (1964), A Shot In The Dark (1964), Inspector Clouseau (1968), The Return of the Pink Panther (1975), The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976), Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978), Trail of the Pink Panther (1982), Curse of the Pink Panther (1983), Son of the Pink Panther (1993). A new "Pink Panther" film starring Steve Martin will be released July 22, 2005.
Rating: 
Summary: Suprisingly the weakest of the Pink Panther movies
Review: I have seen all the Pink Panther movies and this (the first and most admired by many) is the weakist one. It's good but nothing compared to the other ones
Rating:
Summary: First Pink Panther sets the stage, but pales besides others
Review: Inspector Jacques Clouseau is hot on the trail of the Phantom, a jewel thief whom he describes as "the shrewdest, cleverest, most ingenious criminal in all the world." And he's never seen him. Clouseau thinks that his next target is the Pink Panther diamond belonging to Princess Dalla, ruler of an unspecified country near India. Yet at very extraverted socialite Angela Dunning's party in the snowswept mountainside in Cortina D'Ampezzo in Northern Italy, he believes that one of her guests is the Phantom. He is totally devoted to his wife Simone, but that isn't reciprocated. Behind his back, she is having an affair with the famed middle-aged debonair playboy, Sir Charles Lytton, and due to a misunderstanding, manipulating his nephew George, a college graduate from America. However, Sir Charles is up to some machinations, as he has an accomplice steal Princess Dalla's dog, only to get into a skiing accident, and he's very keen on gaining the Princess's confidence, who has the reputation of being the "virgin queen." However, some bubbly loosens her up, and the pretty Claudia Cardinale does a good job in portraying her in that state. Other funny scenes involve Simone trying to hide both Lyttons in her hotel room while Jacques is in the bathroom. Both Lyttons' attempts to escape are foiled by room service or Jacques emerging from the bathroom. And the bewildered old man trying to cross the street, only to have cars zipping past him every other step, including two driven by men dressed in gorilla costumes, Clouseau shouting instructions, and even a pantomime zebra (don't ask!), has got to be a classic. As a pilot movie for the character of Inspector Clouseau, it's not bad, but compared to the later entries, where the slapstick, silly French mispronunciations of English words, pain and destruction gags, and unexpected comical kung-fu fighting made the series a laugh riot, this pales considerably. Yes, Clouseau is a bumbler, clumsily stepping on feet, tripping over objects, getting his hand caught in something, etc. but the scenes with David Niven (Sir Charles), Robert Wagner (George), Capucine (Simone), and the princess outweighs Peter Sellers presence in this movie. Hence a change in formula and cast, with Herbert Lom, Burt Kwouk, Andre Maranne, and Graham Stark in A Shot In The Dark, also shot and released the same year, where Peter Sellers and his antics took center stage, resulting in a marked improvement and a classic comedy. The animated opening titles are amusing, featuring the famed cartoon character and Henry Mancini's immortal theme. And Fran Jeffries singing an Italian version of "It Had Better Be Right" is a musical highlight in the movie. As for where they got the name the Pink Panther, it's because of a flaw in the diamond, a tiny discolouration that resembled a leaping pink panther--hence the name.
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