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The Revenge of the Pink Panther

The Revenge of the Pink Panther

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Kinder, Gentler "Panther"
Review: "Revenge of Pink Panther" (1978) is the best of the later Inspector Clouseau comedies, with Peter Sellers and director-writer Blake Edwards providing some new wrinkles to a well-established formula. The welcome addition of Dyan Cannon as Clouseau's romantic interest, along with an expanded role for Burt Kwouk's Cato, adds to the fun. Happily, "Revenge" avoids the sadistic physical humor of the earlier sequels for a kinder, gentler comic approach. And watch for Sellers' dead-on imitation of Oliver Hardy during Clouseau's slapstick interlude with Cato.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Watchable but flawed
Review: "Revenge of the Pink Panther" is probably the weakest of the original five Panther movies. Considering it was the fifth installment in the franchise, it simply may have been too much. This time around, the story finds Inspector Clouseau in the sights of a drug lord named Philippe Douvier. Douvier wants to prove to his American counterparts how tough he still is and this is how he wants to do it: by killing Clouseau!! After several failed attempts (which include a bomb and sending out a superhuman assassin) Douvier and his goons think they have succeeded and the entire world thinks Clouseau is dead (upon hearing this news, Dreyfuss regains his sanity!!). But Clouseau is actually alive and is now sneaking around incognito in the hopes of finding his "killers" and bringing them to justice. There are quite a few problems in this film. First off, the writing in "Revenge of the Pink Panther" is inferior to the previous films. I mean, there isn't much of a plot; Douvier just wants to prove he's still strong. This wasn't a problem in the other entries which all had decent story lines that kept things a bit interesting. I think the writers would have done well to have made a better head bad guy as well; Douvier wasn't particularly engaging or interesting. And one more thing. I mentioned Dreyfuss is in the film. Wasn't he incinerated in "The Pink Panther Strikes Again"? I guess they chose to ignore that movie (makes sense considering it was so bizzare). But on comic side of things, you can still get a few decent laughs out of this one. Clouseau dons some pretty wacky disguises here, some of which include a peg-legged Swedish pirate (thar she blows!!), dwarf painter Toulouse Lautrec, and even a godfather disguise. There are some other scenes you'll like but I won't spoil them for you here. When all is said and done, "Revenge of the Pink Panther" isn't bad but it still falls short of its predecessors. I'll give this 2.5 stars. See it if you like but don't expect this reach the heights of the previous "Pink Panther" films.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Superb, just not quite that relentless
Review: "Revenge" is one of the better entries in the collection of "Pink Panther" comedies, featuring Peter Sellers as the hapless Jacques Clouseau (who we learn has survived "16 assassination attempts, including 2 from his own boss"). The plot is typically flimsy as Clouseau is apparently killed by a businessman with mafia connections, before investigating his own death and turning up in Hong Kong for the showdown. However, the plot is not the important thing here.

What is important is the quality performances given by everyone involved. Sellers is at his bumbling best, along with Kwouk as Cato (the Chinese manservant who always seems to be on the receiving end of Clouseau's slapstick). Herbert Lom's Dreyfus - apparently cured upon hearing of Clouseau's death - is not given as much airtime as he deserves, but then again he isn't the emphasis of the film either.

It is always hard to pick highlights of a "Pink Panther" film, everyone will have their own favorite pieces. Here are some of my highlights, both from the action and dialogue departments:

ACTION

Clouseau being attacked by a bondage mistress in his own home - turned into a "Chinese nookie facory" after his death.

Cato's glasses making him knock into everything possible in the hotel in Hong Kong.

Clouseau and Cato chasing each other up and down the stairs while covered in plaster and paint.

Clouseau attempting to answer the phone after this chase and falling down a hole - again.

The appearance of Clouseau - disguised as a priest - at his own funeral, making Dreyfus pitch into the grave.

The finale in Hong Kong and its aftermath.

DIALOGUE

Dyan Cannon and Sellers upon entering her apartment in the rain: "My God!", "Mine too".

Sellers to the "beautiful woman" he has just picked up: "Do you mean to say that you do carry a gurn?"

Sellers' excuse for blowing a huge trumpet at midnight: "I'm trying to save my life, madam"

"Gesundheit", "I know that, I know that"

Clouseau's ridiculous impression of a mafia don.

"Do you mean to say that he killed a roving transvestite to impress his godfather?"

"Now we are getting somewhere, who is this Phillippe" (it turns out to be the first name of the man they were talking about).

"I knew that you knew that I knew that".

"It is a little overdue for a service..."

In short, a worthy inclusion in the "Pink Panther" canon. Missing the fifth star because the humor is not quite so relentless as in the best ones - a few scenes manage to bog it down.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The craziest, wackiest and most hilarious Clouseau adventure
Review: "The Revenge of the Pink Panther" was the last Pink Panther film to star Peter Sellers, but I got the most laughs out of this one. The salty sea dog costume and inflatable parrot is extremely hilarious. "Naughty birdin afraid of the feug.", he replies. At his fake funeral, Clouseau dsguises himself as a priest, when he goes to the gathering at the churchyard, there is a 21-gun salute. When the rifles go off, he goes, "Ehh". Quite a bit of violence in this one, too. You want to laugh, go ahead and treat yourself to great comedy with this funny-bone tickler!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Superb, just not quite that relentless
Review: "Revenge" is one of the better entries in the collection of "Pink Panther" comedies, featuring Peter Sellers as the hapless Jacques Clouseau (who we learn has survived "16 assassination attempts, including 2 from his own boss"). The plot is typically flimsy as Clouseau is apparently killed by a businessman with mafia connections, before investigating his own death and turning up in Hong Kong for the showdown. However, the plot is not the important thing here.

What is important is the quality performances given by everyone involved. Sellers is at his bumbling best, along with Kwouk as Cato (the Chinese manservant who always seems to be on the receiving end of Clouseau's slapstick). Herbert Lom's Dreyfus - apparently cured upon hearing of Clouseau's death - is not given as much airtime as he deserves, but then again he isn't the emphasis of the film either.

It is always hard to pick highlights of a "Pink Panther" film, everyone will have their own favorite pieces. Here are some of my highlights, both from the action and dialogue departments:

ACTION

Clouseau being attacked by a bondage mistress in his own home - turned into a "Chinese nookie facory" after his death.

Cato's glasses making him knock into everything possible in the hotel in Hong Kong.

Clouseau and Cato chasing each other up and down the stairs while covered in plaster and paint.

Clouseau attempting to answer the phone after this chase and falling down a hole - again.

The appearance of Clouseau - disguised as a priest - at his own funeral, making Dreyfus pitch into the grave.

The finale in Hong Kong and its aftermath.

DIALOGUE

Dyan Cannon and Sellers upon entering her apartment in the rain: "My God!", "Mine too".

Sellers to the "beautiful woman" he has just picked up: "Do you mean to say that you do carry a gurn?"

Sellers' excuse for blowing a huge trumpet at midnight: "I'm trying to save my life, madam"

"Gesundheit", "I know that, I know that"

Clouseau's ridiculous impression of a mafia don.

"Do you mean to say that he killed a roving transvestite to impress his godfather?"

"Now we are getting somewhere, who is this Phillippe" (it turns out to be the first name of the man they were talking about).

"I knew that you knew that I knew that".

"It is a little overdue for a service..."

In short, a worthy inclusion in the "Pink Panther" canon. Missing the fifth star because the humor is not quite so relentless as in the best ones - a few scenes manage to bog it down.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: All Time Favorite
Review: As a child, I grew up on the Pink Panther movies and this one is my all time favorite. From the very beginning of the movie to the very end I am in constant stitches. My favorite scene has to be when Clouseau comes home from a failed attempt on his life and is looking for Kato as well as when he tries to take his car silver hornet out. I personally consider this film Peter Seller's best work in the entire Pink Panther series. I can't imagine Hollywood attempt to do a modern version of the Pink Panther. Peter Sellers was and is Inspector Clouseau.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great!
Review: As others have mentioned before, this one has one glaring logical gap: the mere presense of Chief Inspector Dreyfuss, since he was killed at the end of THE PINK PANTHER STRIKES AGAIN. Thus it would be best for a newcomer watching the series for the first time to see this one right after watching RETURN OF THE PINK PANTHER, then see THE PINK PANTHER STRIKES AGAIN, as this entry fits in nicely if veiwed as a prequel to the one where Dreyfuss threatens to destroy the world. (Also we don't see or hear about what happens to Dreyfuss after the climax in the fireworks factory, so for all we he know could well have been sent back to the institution.)

Anyway. The plot is about the mafia wanting the newly-promoted-to-Chief-Inspector Cluesoue dead. After two failed attempts, involving a bomb and a superhuman martial artist assassin, they think they've succeeded after luring Cluesoue out to a secluded area at night and ambushing his car with gunmen. Now the whole world thinks Cluesoue is dead. But as it turns out, Cluesoue had picked up a hitchhicking transvestite robber just moments earlier, who had then taken both his car and his clothes and then had fallen into the trap meant for Cluesoue. Now it's up to the bumbling detective to find out who tried to kill him and expose them. Along the way he rescues Simone, former secretary of Phillip, the mob boss who has put a contract out on her life. And, of course, former Chief Inspector Dreyfuss, seen locked away in a mental hospidal at the end of RETURN OF THE PINK PANTHER, who makes an instant recovery and is happy as a clam when he learns Cluesoue is dead, is having horrible psychological distress at seeing his hated adversary and hoping he's hallucinating, and then being told he's been assigned to catch Cluesoue's killers when he'd rather congradulate them!

Other funny moments include: Cluesoue driving out in the Silver Hornet (a car that looks like it came directly out of a comic book and is about the most inconspicuous thing you can think of, and besides which has some serious maintanence problems,) Cluesoue coming home after escaping from the loony bin (he told the cops, after being forced to put on the dress the transvestite left him with, that he was Cluesoue and they didn't belive him,) and seeing what Kato has done to the place after thinking his boss died, and Cluesoue's disguises, most notably the "old sea dog" one, complete with a blow-up rubber parrot that is so obviously fake, (particularly since he's always having to pump air into it as it keeps deflating,) he'd be better off without it! Don't miss this one!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Cato's finest hour!
Review: Cato really is the epicentre of misfortune, and it was superbly amplified in this movie:
1) Beaten up by Clouseau!
2) Crashed into the bakery twice and slammed at full bore into a rather generous wedding cake and acquired jam tart eyes along with a cream bun trodden into his face!
3) Ended up in the dock of Hong Kong harbour twice, once on a motorbike and side car and then the dynamic duo loose control and blow viciously into the stagnant water!
Priceless!!!!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: "Inflatable Goiters? Yes, The Valentine's Day Collection."
Review: I am an enormous Peter Sellers fan, and love the whole "Pink Panther" series, but while still funny, this is not one of my favorite outings. Sellers is back as Jacques Clouseau, and this time is taking on "The French Connection" crime organization in the midst of a huge heroin transaction that takes them from France to Hong Kong. Robert Webber plays Philippe Douvier, chief of the organization, and while he is smooth, the interactions are more forced and formulaic than in the other "Panther" films. This time the beautiful vixen is played by Dyan Cannon (as Simone Legree), and series stalwart Burt Kwouk returns as the always helpful Cato (who starts his own business for a new twist...)

Also returning (somehow) is the wonderful Herbert Lom as Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus, although some suspension of belief is needed for the continuity to work inasmuch as he was last seen in "Strikes Again" being atomized by the doomsday machine. Notwithstanding that continuity gaffe, Lom gives the best performance of the film, and in fact single-handedly rescues this installment from a three star rating by virtue of the sublime funeral scene in which he has to give the giggling eulogy for "Clouseau" in what must be one of the funniest scenes ever caught on film.

Here the plot seems very contrived and the screenplay devolves frequently to only modestly amusing puns. Clouseau's disguise designer, for instance, is named "Auguste Balls", and you can see the hilarity that can result. Pretty grade school level, I'm afraid. Also devolving into tedium is the seemingly eternal chase scene at the close of the film, which looks like something the Three Stooges would have done, and set to extremely repetitive, annoying, whistle-laden vaudeville slapstick music. I remember seeing this a long time ago and thinking this scene lasted too long, but this time I actually started thumbing through a magazine to pass the time until it was over.

This movie is funny, and I do recommend it, with a couple of caveats. First, it is recommended only to people who are already fans of the series, and second, it is recommended only to those with patience to muddle through a bit more tedium than is typical of the rest of the "Pink Panther" films.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: "Inflatable Goiters? Yes, The Valentine's Day Collection."
Review: I am an enormous Peter Sellers fan, and love the whole "Pink Panther" series, but while still funny, this is not one of my favorite outings. Sellers is back as Jacques Clouseau, and this time is taking on "The French Connection" crime organization in the midst of a huge heroin transaction that takes them from France to Hong Kong. Robert Webber plays Philippe Douvier, chief of the organization, and while he is smooth, the interactions are more forced and formulaic than in the other "Panther" films. This time the beautiful vixen is played by Dyan Cannon (as Simone Legree), and series stalwart Burt Kwouk returns as the always helpful Cato (who starts his own business for a new twist...)

Also returning (somehow) is the wonderful Herbert Lom as Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus, although some suspension of belief is needed for the continuity to work inasmuch as he was last seen in "Strikes Again" being atomized by the doomsday machine. Notwithstanding that continuity gaffe, Lom gives the best performance of the film, and in fact single-handedly rescues this installment from a three star rating by virtue of the sublime funeral scene in which he has to give the giggling eulogy for "Clouseau" in what must be one of the funniest scenes ever caught on film.

Here the plot seems very contrived and the screenplay devolves frequently to only modestly amusing puns. Clouseau's disguise designer, for instance, is named "Auguste Balls", and you can see the hilarity that can result. Pretty grade school level, I'm afraid. Also devolving into tedium is the seemingly eternal chase scene at the close of the film, which looks like something the Three Stooges would have done, and set to extremely repetitive, annoying, whistle-laden vaudeville slapstick music. I remember seeing this a long time ago and thinking this scene lasted too long, but this time I actually started thumbing through a magazine to pass the time until it was over.

This movie is funny, and I do recommend it, with a couple of caveats. First, it is recommended only to people who are already fans of the series, and second, it is recommended only to those with patience to muddle through a bit more tedium than is typical of the rest of the "Pink Panther" films.


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