The Pink Panther (Special Edition)
|
List Price: Our Price: $9.49 You Save: $5.45 (36%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of The Pink Panther (Special Edition)
Movie Review: I was looking forward to seing this and laughing BUT...
Summary: 1 Stars
It is not funny. Horrible movie.Movie Review: Disappointing
Summary: 2 Stars
Although this production did generate a few laughs, the casting is poor, and frankly I expected better from Steve Martin. It can be summed up in the five second segment in which he noisily passes gas in what he thinks is a soundproof room--yuk!Movie Review: "Killer, I will find you because it's France!"
Summary: 3 Stars
Viewers who are after a sophisticated plot would probably do well to look elsewhere, but for those of us who like their humor sometimes silly and absurd, The Pink Panther occasionally fits the bill. The movie isn't nearly as bad as you'd think and it certainly isn't as bad as the worst of the original Peter Sellers movies.
This new updated version of the Pink Panther - starring cameos by Jason Statham and Clive Owen and featuring a lovely performance by Emily Mortimer - is rather a vehicle for showing the comedic talents of Steve Martin who talks funny with his fake French accent as he assumes the role of the bumbling Inspector Clouseau made famous by Sellers.
The story - or what there is of it - begins when Yves Gluant, (Statham) France's most famous soccer coach (and boyfriend of the beautiful pop star Xania (Beyonc? Knowles) is murdered in plain sight in front of a huge crowd after leading his team to victory against China. By the time anybody notices that Gluant is dead- the priceless Pink Panther diamond has disappeared from his finger.
Enter Chief Inspector Dreyfus (Kevin Kline) turns to Clouseau (Martin) the least competent cop in France to help solve the mystery. Dreyfus hopes that the press will devote its attention to Clouseau, thus freeing him to solve the crime in a less pressured environment. Dreyfuss has also been nominated for the Medal of Honor for the seventh time and this time he plans to win it at any cost.
Much of the movie is composed of sight gags, there are lots of people falling over and running into things and generally being stupid. Much of the witty repartee comes from the chemistry between Martin accident-prone Clouseau and the Martin as the snobbish and patronizing Dreyfuss. Both are extraordinarily vulnerable - Clouseau because of his hubris, pride and insecurity and Dreyfus chiefly because of Clouseau.
Martin embeds Clouseau with a touch of the innocent and its this innocence that lends the love story between him and his secretary, Nicole (an adorable Emily Mortimer). But the best thing about the replica is how wholeheartedly Martin throws himself into the physical comedy, which is uniformly hilarious. Most of the laughs are pretty juvenile, aimed for ten year olds, with the only really funny jokes coming from a scene involving flatulence and Viagra.
The best part of the film is when the opening titles kicks in with an animated sequence featuring a squat cartoon Clouseau and the slinky panther-playing cat and mouse to the strains of Henry Mancini's sublime burlesque theme. The rest of the film is very much direction by numbers.
Even the best Pink Panther movies were never great cinema, just great fun; the scripts were vehicles for Sellers' genius, which combined lordly timing with a gift for absurd physical comedy. He was a buffoon, but he was a buffoon with dignity, Martin does a good job of carrying on the legacy, but one sort of wonders why the series needed to be remade in the first place. Mike Leonard October 06.
Movie Review: Why see this if the reviews say it stinks? Surprise!
Summary: 4 Stars
This new version of The Pink Panther didn't fare well in the reviewer columns when it was first released. Being a fan of the Peter Sellers versions, I didn't exactly boycott this movie. I just told myself that I didn't want to see a corruption of the original. Well, that changed when it came out on DVD, and was discounted to boot.
This version of The Pink Panther was also entertaining.
Steve Martin was a very passable Inspector Clouseau, Kevin Kline was okay as the Chief Inspector, and Jean Reno was a great reinterpretation of Clouseau's sidekick. Funny, funny throughout!
One thing that couldn't be changed, and wasn't, was the music. It couldn't have been a Pink Panther movie without the Theme from Pink Panther!
Movie Review: Bonus features review
Summary: 4 Stars
Bonus features on this DVD are everything a "Pink Panther" fan could hope for. There are four documentaries, and they are all great. I loved learning how the animators made the hilarious opening titles for the beginning of the film, and showing how the filmmakers built the set for the climatic palace scene.
The DVD also has two music videos by Beyonce Knowles (who plays Xania in the film), neither of which I was particuarly thrilled with, since I am not a fan. But still, "Check On It" got stuck in my head for many hours after watching it. The other music video has a bland commentary with director Shawn Levy.
The alternate opening sequence has gorgeous animation and clever ideas. But I like the one in the film better, mostly becuase it's funnier and introduces those who haven't seen the original "Pink Panther" films to the relationship between the cartoon Panther and Clouseau. The alternate sequence has an optional commentary of Shawn Levy, who spends most of it going, "Oh, look how amazing that animation is," as if he's never seen it before. I mean, the animation is amazing, yes, but we don't need the director saying that for us.
The DVD also includes special sneak peeks of other Columbia Pictures' movies and an intruiging promotional spot for Sweet N' Low, which was way too short to enjoy it.
My biggest concern on the bonus features was that the cast and the crew in the documentaries just couldn't stop fawning over director Shawn Levy. I'd rather hear more about Steve Martin or Kevin Kline, but that's just my opinion.
If the makers of this DVD could have added even more bonus features, it could've been a two-disc set, but I enjoyed the extra features anyway.
If you want to see my view on the movie, find the review titled, "Good one!"