Most actors\ actresses are hesitant about playing characters made famous by previous actors because of the shoes they have to fill & yet put their own version in those roles.
If there's only one that I could talk you into seeing is Return of the Pink Panther. It is so damn funny...and wait until you see the ending at the chinese restaurant.
dude , at least you knew they existed. i thought for the longest time (until today) that the pink panther was originally the cartoon that became a movie in 2006 which I didn't even see.
What's completely missed with all the non-Seller's movies was that everything was "too whacky" and way over exaggerated. Seller's, while silly, played everything fairly straight and serious, even while delivering slap-stick dialogue. Save for a few instances, such as the fights with Kato, it was mostly dead-pa... even then, the fights were delivered with a sort of over aggressive seriousness. I think the Steve Martin Pink Panthers would have benefit a lot with Martin using far less exaggerated faces/actions.
It truly is remarkable that Blake Edwards "had been inspired by the success of the POLICE ACADEMY films" even though those films were still a year away from release when CURSE was made. I didn't realize that among Blake's many talents as a filmmaker, one was the ability to see into the industry's future.
Yeah, that pulled me out of the video a bit. Most of the information here seems well-researched (emphasis on 'seems'), but knowing that bit is wrong, it makes you wonder if other parts are, too.
He could have meant the Police Squad tv series with Leslie Nelson but on wikipedia it says about casting an american in the lead and changing the location to New York "The series would probably have resembled the Police Academy movies more than the classic Pink Panther films" either way I think he just got things mixed up
You, sir, are a master of your craft. Of all of the UA-camrs doing their documentaries, film reviews, and the such, you are heads above. I look forward to seeing your breakout to bigger and better things.
@@thescreentroll8632 Thanks for the recommendation, damn good channel that. I'll go ahead and pimp Accursed Farms, PatricianTV and Warlockcracy while I'm here.
@JTMichaelson You know I think after Sellers death MGM should make more Pink Panther movies over the 80s generation. So here is my list of them: 1 The Rainbow Panthers (in 1985) 2 The Pink Panther Gets Shot in the Dark (in 1986) 3 Romancing of the Pink Panther (in 1987) 4 Family Ransom of the Pink Panther (in 1989) 5 Ghost of the Pink Panther (in 1990) Which alternate Pink Panther movie would you love to see if they were made?
Seeing these attempts to reboot a popular film character really makes me want to see you review the disastrous 1967 Casino Royale film where they tried to make a comedy Bond film.
This "Pink Panther" series reminds me of the documentaries that studios used to put in the extras of DVD's but stopped doing. Thank you for the amazing content!
My grandfather built Peter Sellers' swimming pool at his mansion way back in the 60s. Said he was quite a strange man in real life, a bit of a troubled man but funny and friendly when they worked on his property. Swimming pool is still there last I heard.
Goeffrey Rush, who played Sellers in his biography was pretty amazing, and there were few scenes where he was Clouseau and looked fantastic. I think the Pink Panther reboot is doable without Sellers, but they really need to change their mindset, Clouseau doesn't have to be the funniest and most quirkiest character in the movie, he have to be played absolutely straight, but the stuff he is doing when put in absurd situations are funny. This is the same situation for me, like it was with Lesie Nielsen, for most time in Police Squad/Naked Gun he was playing straight un policeman who neve reacted with funny faces (sometimes he did tho). And for me that would work.
You sir, are right on the money. In his mind, Seller probably never made a comedy. He played every character always seriously, that is why when comedic scenes happen, they are much funnier, because it is not the characters intention to be funny.
They should make a sequel with a different actor, bring in some characters from earlier movies; John Cleese can play his father and Steve Martin will play Burt Kwouk as Cato. Some flashbacks, an actor from the first movie, Daniel Craig playing Roger Moore as Inspector Clouseau et voila
Being a kid born in 2002, I grew up with the remakes and the cartoon so the remake holds a special place in my heart, but I also love the original movies. Also John Cleese being in the second remake just makes me favor if even more because Cleese has and always will be my favorite British comedy actor.
I know they weren't the most popular, and rightly so, but I love the Steve Martin Panter movies. As a kid who was born in the 70's and came up through the 80's, my affection for Steve Martin cannot be overstated. I'd watch Martin read a phone book for 2 hours and thank the guy who sold me the ticket to see it.
What made Peter Sellers work as Closseau was that he played the man with utter confidence and most importantly competence . Clousseau saw himself as a total professional not as a bumbler, stumbler and fool. This is what set sellers apart from others.
My girlfriend just recently turned me onto the Hercule Poirot stories and I can't help wonder if Closseau is meant to be a parody of that character, or even someone who has all of the self-confidence of Poirot, yet lacks any of the talent to earn it.
He’s had to, as his last wife divorced him and took him to the cleaners financially. He has stated that he needs to make at least $1m a year just to pay her alimony!
If nothing else, the animated version didn't seem to skip a beat- it kept chugging with successful reboots as recent as the last decade, only stopping seemingly due to MGM going through bankruptcy.
Was at christian camp in the summer of 1975, and EVERYONE was talking about the hilarious bumbling character in "The Return of the Pink Panther". The Minkey scene, Cato Fong scenes, telephone repair man, hotel room cleaner scene, etc. My point is, even almost ten years later, with no former reference (most kids didn't see pervious films). The film was a complete successes - at least with all the kids at CYC camp. NOTE - got back from camp in that year 1975, and a friend wanted to go see the summer blockbuster. So lucky 10 year old me agrees - and proceeded to have to living shit scared out of me. Jaws and I didn't like each other at first. Regards
no clue how you're able to consistently put out these high-quality, long-form mini documentaries but I love the channel. you're very good at what you do
Its the 1st movie I ever had to go back and watch again. My grandparents took me and I convinced my parents to take me the next weekend. Really a meh movie carried by a great performance and setpieces.
@@johnjohnson3830 definitely no masterpiece but I laughed quite a bit. Especially at the running joke with the globe rolling all over town hitting stuff lol
I actually really like it, it reminds me of french light comedies, like Shut Up! (2003) it also stars Jean Reno , those are dumb movies, but they are so incredibly funny and entertaining.
@TheDude Lebowski I don't think there's any other movie where I've been so baffled by the gulf between how great it seemed to everyone else and how blatantly, eye-meltingly awful it seem to me. I didn't last 20 minutes. The awkwardness was unbearable. Every single element seemed impossibly incompetent, especially the bizarre editing, camerawork, and staging that made every single shot feel stilted, wooden, and off-the-beat. Every attempt a a "joke" was broken up by three or four bizarre and jolting cuts. And while aware that the stuff the camera and editor and music were doing were letting me know that funny stuff was happening, I genuinely couldn't even see what was going on that was supposed to be funny. I don't mean I didn't find the jokes funny. I literally couldn't see any jokes. A thing would happen or an actor would say a line and the movie would lean on it hard as though it were a joke, but it would be devoid of basic elements of a joke. It was similar to that one really bad episode of Police Squad in terms of how uncomfortable it was to watch.
The Clouseau character should have died with Sellers. I've only seen the first of the Martin films and while it wasn't awful and had some good moments it was just a bit sad. As for Rowan Atkinson, isnt Johnny English about as Clouseau-esque as you can get without bringing the Clouseau character into it? I think the Johnny English series shows you can do the Clouseau act without the character, which is so associated with Sellers.
I find the tone of the Jhonny English movies a little bit too different to be honest. The comedy is still too grounded in reality, compared to Peter Sellers PP Movies (the best parts where gloriously cartoonish, especially the fight scenes with Kato or Dreyfus' assassination attempts). Jhonny English movies are good in their own ways imo.
There is one crucial ingredient Sellers had not only in this series but throughout his career. Unstoppable charisma. I remember seeing Return and Strikes Again in packed theatres and believe me, the audience all but LAPPED UP everything he did. Peter also got more mileage out of comic stillness than anyone since his silent clown heroes. He and Edwards were, for a time, a perfect match. Really fine work on this series!
I’m interested in seeing how the new reboot directed by Jeff Fowler goes, it’ll be interesting to see them combine the cartoons with the movies for the first time
The new reboot will focus on a smooth operating inspector who has an pink panther for an imaginary friend after a traumatic experience, the panther still remain silent but can still help the inspector to solve the case, there's no confirm if the inspector will still be clousaue but with a new personality or a new one.
Roger Moore as the character to me COMPLETELY works. It is great to see him ham it up and he plays the part beautifully. He and Herbert Lom are the only reasons to watch Curse.
I felt the complete opposite. Herbert is in fine form, but Roger is just Roger trying to imitate Peter Sellers, and I can’t help but 🤦 in embarrassment for him. In the words of The Nerd: “What were they _thinking?!”_
@@TheRealNormanBates In fairness, Roger Moore does a great impression of Sellers as Clouseau and even remembers his "you know", which was a minor catchphrase for the character. The fact Moore was so accurate as the character suggests he must have liked the PP movies anyway.
I have a soft spot for the first Steve Martin Pink Panther movie just for the scene where he grills Jean Reno's character about his family history, finds out that five of the last four generations were all respected policemen with the fifth one being farmers just so he can call him "a simple farm boy." When I saw it in theaters with a friend of mine who had French parents, she laughed her ass off, then explained to me after that that's a somewhat popular French stereotype, find one unflattering thing about a person and just hold it against them forever.
I think I got my first exposure to Sellers through his episode of the Muppet Show... just thought I'd throw that out there for extra research purposes.
he fit in with them so well. it's no shock someone thought Steve Martin could do it too, because he is also one of those living muppets. and he could have, with a good script.
I think Mike Myers COULD have pulled off the role of Inspector Clouseau, he's certainly shown that potential in his other roles, particularly the Austin Powers movies. But it would need a good script and a great director who really understands the franchise as well. I think I would have also liked to see Gene Wilder or Jerry Lewis take on this kind of role when they were at the peak of their careers - Jerry Lewis in particular might have been well suited to this kind of physical comedy. But Peter Sellers is the one who really made that role, and even though I think there are a few other actors who could take over from him, it would be hard for any of them to properly pay homage to his original portrayal while still adding something to make the character their own. Steve Martin is a magnificent actor who certainly deserves a place when you talk about great comedians, but personally I don't see him as quite the right actor for the role. Even so, credit where it's due and they could certainly have done much worse with their casting.
Can you now make a video about Blake Edwards. How he made classics like Breakfast at Tiffany’s and The party. But still made films (around the 80’s) such as Blind Date, Skin Deep, etc.
I'd say that Stoogemania was a cheap cashgrab that felt like an overly extended and BAD off brand SNL skit. Trail comes off as a "HOLY CRAP! We gotta make something and FAST!" scramble of a movie that's also a weird tribute to Peter Sellers. And the result feels like it's an in universe documentary where everyone's in character, but clearly talking about their experiences with Sellers and just referring to him in character as well. If you're not aware of the film's infamy when you first watch it, the film just drops completely dead to turn into such a PBS style documentary. It's somehow both loving and disrespectful at the same time.
@@mightyfilm "Trail comes off as a "HOLY CRAP! We gotta make something and FAST!" scramble of a movie that's also a weird tribute to Peter Sellers." I feel it was first a cashgrab and then, almost at the end, they figured they had to pass it off as tribute to try to save face.
aw man I didn't know roger moore died 4 years ago. I saw this guy who actually GOT an autographed picture of Sean Connery signed by Roger Moore, and that might have been the greatest nerdcomplishment in history, but if I could have gotten a picture of _Sellers_ signed by Moore...
Steve Martin's Pink Panther was filmed to be more raunchy. A studio exec couldnt figure out why the end product was the way it was when he thought the origin of the film was the cartoons. They had to go back and re-shoot and re-edit the film to give it a family friendly rating.
I feel like I have to add this: this is such a wonderful little documentary on this series. Well done! For a series that's so well known of, there's a surprising amount that most people will be aware of re. the "other films" and I've always thought it strange that there's not more documentaries or books covering this. But you have done a fantastic job on this 👍👍
I first saw "Return of the Pink Panther" in the theater at the tender age of 6 and had no idea why it was so funny, only that it was ridiculously funny, and I can't think of any movie that has made my father laugh so hard as this one. Honestly, I think it was that one movie that carried the entire series and the 5 attempts to reboot.
I feel Curse was the best attempt and continuing the series. If they had a second shot and stayed in New York with all new characters it could have worked. Also, I love Roger Moore's cameo and the scene worked for me.
I would love a video on Seller's career! These movies were a staple of mine growing up. I must have seen the movies up to Trail more times than I can remember and was thrilled when they released the blu ray set a while ago. Keep up the great work!
Peter Sellers has made me laugh since I first saw his movied as a kid in 90s. I've never watch, trail, curse, son, or any movie that didn't involve him as Inspector Cleausue. He was a comedic genius. Thanks for a great two part series!
I heard Rowan Atkinson was also considered for Curse of the Pink Panther. When he was considered for Curse it was before Mr. Bean and Blackadder made him a household name, Blake Edwards had seen him in Not the 9 O'clock News. When he was considered for Son he had become alot more well known but I'm glad he turned it down.
That said, would have been great to see him in more roles that mixed Bean's physical comedy with Blackadder's witty dialogue. Something Clouseauesque would have been perfect for him.
@@KairuHakubi He mix Mr. Bean's physical comedy with Blackadder's witty dialogue in the Johnny English movies. The third Johnny English movie was even called "Johnny English Strikes Again" like The Pink Panther Strikes Again so I think those films definitely took influence from the Pink Panther series.
6:12 - Considering that the first Police Academy film didn't premiere until nearly a YEAR after Curse of the Pink Panther, I don't see how that's possible.
Interestingly, enough, Steve Martin in an interview said that Peter Sellers was always one of his idols, so him taking over a character he played, does fitting, and he also honors sellers as well
Jean Reno, the only person who keeps the Steve Martin Pink Panther films tolerable. He was also one of the better things of Roland Emmerich’s Zilla too which is still better than the Polygon Pictures Godzilla Anime Trilogy.
Looks like I need to watch "Son of the Pink Panther". It actually looks like it's worthwhile. The casting of John Cleese in the remake sequel seems like it was perfect; I'll have to watch that one as well. As for Peter Sellers, I get the feeling, based on his acting and on interviews I've watched, that he was one of those comedy actors who either could keep creating comedy and characters so that all that energy has an outlet, or he could instead have spent his time in an insane asylum. I feel the same about Jonathan Winters and some other comedians/entertainers. They are so talented but at the same time I get the vibe that they are troubled mentally and emotionally, and could easily become unhinged at a moment's notice. Thanks for another enjoyable video.
I think you're spot on with Sellers. The man made brilliant work but clearly had some demons. Not the easiest guy to get along with in real life to say the least.
Curse is a great movie but without Sellers its not the same and every time it references Pink Panther it brings the film from great to good and Moore's performance was Bond.
@TorridPrime217 I'd love to see a series with Roger too. In fact, he'd be a perfect choice to take over Inspector Clouseau and Ted Wass could star and team up with him in them. So if you thought up a list of Pink Panther series with Roger in them, here is my list of alternate Pink Panther movies that should have been made: 1 The Rainbow Panthers (in 1984) 2 One Shot in the Dark Too Many (in 1985) 3 Ransom of the Pink Panther (in 1987) 4 The Pink Panther Takes Manhatten (in 1988) 5 Romancing of the Pink Panther (in 1989) 6 Shadow of the Pink Panther (in 1990) 7 Friend of the Pink Panther (in 19992) Which alternate Pink Panther movie would you love to see if they were made? please reply back 😀😀😀
Thank you for producing these great videos! It was nice to get the full story! When I was a kid my family and I used to roll with laughter in front of the television watching these movies! Nobody better than Peter Sellers! in fact people in my family still “quote some of the sellers lines from the Peter Sellers movies!
These have been great, man! I had some close family friends that were living encyclopedias for old school comedy; they were in love with Sellers and this series, but I’d never looked into them myself. Thank you for providing such great context for all of these - now I have a few films to add to the watch list.
I remember watching the series as a kid. We tried to watch them in order, starting with a shot in the dark. When we got to the trail of the pink panther I was so disappointed by the format, and I didn't figure out until the end of the movie that Peter Sellers had died. We also rented The Party on a whim, because of Sellers. That's worth watching for any Sellers fan. I thought Son of the Pink Panther wasn't too bad. I think they should have explored that concept a bit more. Great video series. I learned quite a bit, and now I feel the need to go re-watch the films.
I honestly really enjoyed the first Steve Martin reboot film, but you can't replace Sellers as Clouseau. Let's hope this wonderful franchise is revived soon
I remember renting Trail of the Pink Panther when I was in my early 20s, having grown up on the previous three installments during my childhood. I had no idea what was in store for me with this film. I can only describe it as around the mid-way point through the film, I had this slightly creepy feeling that something was missing. It was then that I realized that Inspector Cluseau wasn't in the film past the 30 minute mark. I wondered why, got bored very quickly, and didn't finish the film. 10 years later I mistakenly learned that Peter Sellers died during filming, which gave me a chill up my spine. But, I became bothered when I found out the truth...that Trail of the Pink Panther was a complete sellout.
What I liked about the Martin Clouseau is when the audience learns he could understand Chinese. However, nothing about his Pink Panthere made me want to see the sequel, and I have yet to do so.
Upon rewatching the entire series back in 2005, I was surprised how much I disliked the 1st movie. It's clear that it was meant to be Niven's film, but Sellers was just too damn good. I believe Strikes Again is the best one, I love the dentist scene.
Have you seen the OSS 117 movies? They're like the real spiritual successors to Pink Panther, I thought. Sure they're riffing on Bond, but the main character is basically Cluseau in all his ineptness and extreme confidence.
Kicking off a new series about another bumbler by having a legitimate reason for him to be selected for a mission to find Clouseau is actually a really smart tactic.. in theory.
Except the Curse of the Pink Panther is a really good hell great movie when not referencing Pink Panther if wasn't associated with it because when they go batshit insane on the physical comedy it looks spectacular and better than anything now because it was all real and not CGI.
Shawn Levy does get too much hate. Real Steel is a underrated film. He also directed a childhood favorite of mine with Big Fat Liar, and I like all three Night at the Museum films. Plus he’s gone on to have better success as a producer/executive producer with Arrival and Stranger Things among other projects.
I remember watching the first Pink Panther movie (I think) with my grandma when I was little and being confused where’s the Pink Panther and why are we following this detective guy? I watched the Pink Panther cartoons before the film.
Fun fact, Cato was going to return in the Steve Martin remake and to be played by Jackie Chan, but because of political incorrectness Cato was replaced by Ponton.
I always really enjoyed Son of the Pink Panther and never quite understood why it was so hated. I also was pleasantly surprised by how much I laughed at the first Steve Martin film (still haven't seen the second one). It has its issues but it was so much fun seeing Steve Martin go back to his silly, absurdist roots, He clearly really enjoyed it.
wonderful videos on the Pink Panther series and its reboots. i had no idea the main role had went to so many others over the decades. love this channel. you sir are under valued and i think this channel will blow up sooner than later
I LOVED The Steve Martin Pink Panther movie as a child, and I watched it recently (I still have the DVD) and even as an adult I still love it! I was so obsessed with this movie as kid, I still remembered most of the lines from the movie even though I hadn’t seen it in years! I know that it’s not perfect. As you said, the Clouseau and Xania (Beyonce) romance went absolutely nowhere and was mostly pointless, and also the villain of the movie that did the crime was barely developed at all, but I still really enjoy the film. The sequel however I only saw once on DVD, then I later threw the DVD away because I never wanted to see it again! And I still haven’t! I’ve never seen any of the other Pink Panther movies besides those two and you could say my love for the 2006 movie is because I’ve never seen the other films, and that the love is somewhat fueled by childhood nostalgia, and you could be partially right, but I think there are good elements of the movie that still hold up, like the physical comedy and slapstick and the character of Clouseau, who is a guy trying to prove that he’s a good detective, as he says in the movie, and his heart is always in the right place and he tries to do the right thing even though unbeknownst to him he messes up all the time, and he’s legitimately heartbroken when he finds out that Dreyfus was just using him the whole time and that Dreyfus actually thinks he’s an idiot and a nobody. These elements could have easily failed, but luckily this movie was put in the right hands. It’s also why I think I loved the movie so much as kid. I think it was the first movie I saw where almost the entire film had physical comedy in it and it inspired my love for physical comedy. And Clouseau’s underdog type story spoke to me as an 11-year-old child. And the “Damnburger” scene was one of my favorite scenes as a kid, and I still think it’s funny, although it might be because I remember thinking it was hilarious as a kid, but I’ll take it! 😂
I love the original Pink Panther movies, they are amongst some of the greatest comedies ever put on film, and Clouseau, in my humble opinion, is also one of the greatest comic creations in film history, played to perfection by the late, great Peter Sellers. To think some idiots decided it would be a good idea to carry on making Pink Panther films without, not only Sellers, but even the Clouseau character altogether? It's amazing how greed can make you blind to a stupid idea, as I can't think of any other reason they'd want to go ahead and make the films other than to cash in on the already popular franchise. I am not a movie professional, by any stretch of the imagination, but even I could have told them they would flop, and I see it more of an insult to Sellers memory than anything else. And as for casting Steve Martin, as Clouseau, in those completely awful and unnecessary reboots just angered me more than anything. Don't get me wrong, I love Steve Martin too and, he has starred in some of my other favorite comedy films like, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Three Amigos, The Man with Two Brains and Planes,Trains and Automobiles, to name just a few. But Peter Sellers he isn't, and I don't care how much anyone sticks up for those two films I could never bring myself to watch them, seeing the trailers was more than enough.
I like Benigni in the role in Son Of, and I remember the first trailer I saw for it does feature the Sellers Clouseau character being killed in an exploding warehouse. A nation mourns and in comes the Benigni story. It even has a flash of someone wearing a Sellers Clouseau mask before the bomb goes off. All of this must of been excised before the actual release as non of it is in the finished film.
That trailer is on the blu ray. I guess it was cut out because in Curse, Clouseau when missing and got plastic surgery to change his face and the world though he died. In Son, Dreyfus mention he died 10 years ago.
That could’ve been part of a director’s cut. Apparently from what I’ve looked up online, the first cut of the movie ran almost two hours, but the studio cut it down to 93 minutes before release. Another thing is that the featurette mentions the movie takes place “several years after Clouseau‘s death” which confirms that there was an original cut floating around - there was also a sequence shot and included on the featurette, which depicts a celebratory sequence of the Clouseau statue, but even that isn’t in the film either. The third piece of evidence is the Clouseau Ghost credit. Although the actor is listed in the end credits, there’s no such scene in the film. It supposedly was in the original script, but cut for pacing; I can only confirm this because it was on a film talk website. Other than that, that’s all I know of.
Interesting Rowan Atkinson turned down the role, considering he went on to do a similar character with the Johnny English movies.
I like how those films came out of nearly a decade from each other .
But it was a different character, he turned it down because he was going to play the same character.
hello you. didnt expect you to be here . then again you seem to pop up in quite a few videos im watching from political to gaming to entertaining
I see Larry Bundy comment more than Justin Y. Crazy impressive, as Larry Bundy actually makes content. Whereas Justin Y only exists to post comments.
Most actors\ actresses are hesitant about playing characters made famous by previous actors because of the shoes they have to fill & yet put their own version in those roles.
I've never seen a Pink Panther movie but I've long been curious about its confusing history. This was a wonderful analysis!
I like to have a massage myself
Watch the Peter Sellers ones first before you venture off to any others. Trust me on this.
If there's only one that I could talk you into seeing is Return of the Pink Panther. It is so damn funny...and wait until you see the ending at the chinese restaurant.
What?!?! You have never seen one of these movies?? Wow
dude , at least you knew they existed. i thought for the longest time (until today) that the pink panther was originally the cartoon that became a movie in 2006 which I didn't even see.
What's completely missed with all the non-Seller's movies was that everything was "too whacky" and way over exaggerated. Seller's, while silly, played everything fairly straight and serious, even while delivering slap-stick dialogue. Save for a few instances, such as the fights with Kato, it was mostly dead-pa... even then, the fights were delivered with a sort of over aggressive seriousness. I think the Steve Martin Pink Panthers would have benefit a lot with Martin using far less exaggerated faces/actions.
Almost like Frank Drebin in the Naked Gun Movies.
@@SeansModelBuilds Perfect example
Peter Sellers played a believable moron, which made it funny.
I think the buffs call this 'The Post-Naked-Gun-Leslie-Nielsen-problem' in film classes.
- Just keep your face straight, it's always funnier.
@@zetetick395 and that's why I think Liam Neeson is perfect for the Naked Gun reboot
It truly is remarkable that Blake Edwards "had been inspired by the success of the POLICE ACADEMY films" even though those films were still a year away from release when CURSE was made. I didn't realize that among Blake's many talents as a filmmaker, one was the ability to see into the industry's future.
Professor Balls was Played By Harvey Korman And Graham Stark.
Wasn't Police academy was a series or skit before it was turned into a movie?
Yeah, that pulled me out of the video a bit. Most of the information here seems well-researched (emphasis on 'seems'), but knowing that bit is wrong, it makes you wonder if other parts are, too.
@@avalond1193 No.
He could have meant the Police Squad tv series with Leslie Nelson but on wikipedia it says about casting an american in the lead and changing the location to New York "The series would probably have resembled the Police Academy movies more than the classic Pink Panther films" either way I think he just got things mixed up
You, sir, are a master of your craft. Of all of the UA-camrs doing their documentaries, film reviews, and the such, you are heads above. I look forward to seeing your breakout to bigger and better things.
This channel is very undersubbed.
may I recommend ua-cam.com/channels/9pDNUuabc9QVAm-WzXUe_A.html they do sega saturn games but for a youtube documentary they are well done
@@thescreentroll8632 Thanks for the recommendation, damn good channel that.
I'll go ahead and pimp Accursed Farms, PatricianTV and Warlockcracy while I'm here.
@@thescreentroll8632 Oh hey, Pandemonium. Yeah his "reviews" are more like documentary and he can make a game I don't care about interesting.
@JTMichaelson You know I think after Sellers death MGM should make more Pink Panther movies over the 80s generation. So here is my list of them:
1 The Rainbow Panthers (in 1985)
2 The Pink Panther Gets Shot in the Dark (in 1986)
3 Romancing of the Pink Panther (in 1987)
4 Family Ransom of the Pink Panther (in 1989)
5 Ghost of the Pink Panther (in 1990)
Which alternate Pink Panther movie would you love to see if they were made?
Seeing these attempts to reboot a popular film character really makes me want to see you review the disastrous 1967 Casino Royale film where they tried to make a comedy Bond film.
@Greg Elchert It also co-stars David Niven.
Didn't inspector clouseau interact with the pink panther in the 1993 cartoon?
Casino Royale is the messiest movie I have ever seen. It’s the cinematic equivalent of watching a bunch of people failing to build a house of cards.
@@chipchopbarbershop8426 The Inspector had his own cartoon series.
This "Pink Panther" series reminds me of the documentaries that studios used to put in the extras of DVD's but stopped doing. Thank you for the amazing content!
The original Pink Panther movies has more confusing continuity than the X-Men franchise!
My grandfather built Peter Sellers' swimming pool at his mansion way back in the 60s. Said he was quite a strange man in real life, a bit of a troubled man but funny and friendly when they worked on his property. Swimming pool is still there last I heard.
Herbert Lom has described him in that way in interviews as well
Goeffrey Rush, who played Sellers in his biography was pretty amazing, and there were few scenes where he was Clouseau and looked fantastic. I think the Pink Panther reboot is doable without Sellers, but they really need to change their mindset, Clouseau doesn't have to be the funniest and most quirkiest character in the movie, he have to be played absolutely straight, but the stuff he is doing when put in absurd situations are funny. This is the same situation for me, like it was with Lesie Nielsen, for most time in Police Squad/Naked Gun he was playing straight un policeman who neve reacted with funny faces (sometimes he did tho). And for me that would work.
You sir, are right on the money. In his mind, Seller probably never made a comedy. He played every character always seriously, that is why when comedic scenes happen, they are much funnier, because it is not the characters intention to be funny.
They should make a sequel with a different actor, bring in some characters from earlier movies; John Cleese can play his father and Steve Martin will play Burt Kwouk as Cato. Some flashbacks, an actor from the first movie, Daniel Craig playing Roger Moore as Inspector Clouseau et voila
Being a kid born in 2002, I grew up with the remakes and the cartoon so the remake holds a special place in my heart, but I also love the original movies. Also John Cleese being in the second remake just makes me favor if even more because Cleese has and always will be my favorite British comedy actor.
I know they weren't the most popular, and rightly so, but I love the Steve Martin Panter movies. As a kid who was born in the 70's and came up through the 80's, my affection for Steve Martin cannot be overstated. I'd watch Martin read a phone book for 2 hours and thank the guy who sold me the ticket to see it.
He brings a certain magical aura to everything he makes.
I also enjoy the Steve Martin films.
What made Peter Sellers work as Closseau was that he played the man with utter confidence and most importantly competence .
Clousseau saw himself as a total professional not as a bumbler, stumbler and fool.
This is what set sellers apart from others.
@Greg Elchert That's an interesting.Clouseau always carries himself as a professional. It's probably a defense mechanism to hide his stumbling nature.
My girlfriend just recently turned me onto the Hercule Poirot stories and I can't help wonder if Closseau is meant to be a parody of that character, or even someone who has all of the self-confidence of Poirot, yet lacks any of the talent to earn it.
@@gabe_s_videos
Yes that's a good point.
It may be that Clousseau may have influenced by Poirot.
John Cleese is a treasure. I'm glad he kept working so many years
He’s had to, as his last wife divorced him and took him to the cleaners financially. He has stated that he needs to make at least $1m a year just to pay her alimony!
If nothing else, the animated version didn't seem to skip a beat- it kept chugging with successful reboots as recent as the last decade, only stopping seemingly due to MGM going through bankruptcy.
This channel is one of the best movie-essay-channels on UA-cam. Thanks for your excellent work!
Cheers!
Was at christian camp in the summer of 1975, and EVERYONE was talking about the hilarious bumbling character in "The Return of the Pink Panther". The Minkey scene, Cato Fong scenes, telephone repair man, hotel room cleaner scene, etc.
My point is, even almost ten years later, with no former reference (most kids didn't see pervious films). The film was a complete successes - at least with all the kids at CYC camp.
NOTE - got back from camp in that year 1975, and a friend wanted to go see the summer blockbuster. So lucky 10 year old me agrees - and proceeded to have to living shit scared out of me. Jaws and I didn't like each other at first.
Regards
Dreyfus falling out the window multiple times made me laugh a lot for some reason.
Same here. 😂
And him being Czech makes it ablot funnier, if you know what I mean! 😃
no clue how you're able to consistently put out these high-quality, long-form mini documentaries but I love the channel. you're very good at what you do
I’m glad I’m not alone on enjoying that first Steve Martin one.
Its the 1st movie I ever had to go back and watch again. My grandparents took me and I convinced my parents to take me the next weekend. Really a meh movie carried by a great performance and setpieces.
@@johnjohnson3830 definitely no masterpiece but I laughed quite a bit. Especially at the running joke with the globe rolling all over town hitting stuff lol
I actually really like it, it reminds me of french light comedies, like Shut Up! (2003) it also stars Jean Reno
, those are dumb movies, but they are so incredibly funny and entertaining.
@TheDude Lebowski Well when you say period, it’s a fact. I mean, you are lord and master.
@TheDude Lebowski I don't think there's any other movie where I've been so baffled by the gulf between how great it seemed to everyone else and how blatantly, eye-meltingly awful it seem to me. I didn't last 20 minutes. The awkwardness was unbearable. Every single element seemed impossibly incompetent, especially the bizarre editing, camerawork, and staging that made every single shot feel stilted, wooden, and off-the-beat. Every attempt a a "joke" was broken up by three or four bizarre and jolting cuts. And while aware that the stuff the camera and editor and music were doing were letting me know that funny stuff was happening, I genuinely couldn't even see what was going on that was supposed to be funny. I don't mean I didn't find the jokes funny. I literally couldn't see any jokes. A thing would happen or an actor would say a line and the movie would lean on it hard as though it were a joke, but it would be devoid of basic elements of a joke. It was similar to that one really bad episode of Police Squad in terms of how uncomfortable it was to watch.
Kevin Kline is actually known as Kevin Decline in Hollywood for his pickiness in selecting film roles.
I'm surprised he did Wild Wild West.
@@BenDowdy He just admires giant robot spiders THAT much! 🤭
The Clouseau character should have died with Sellers. I've only seen the first of the Martin films and while it wasn't awful and had some good moments it was just a bit sad.
As for Rowan Atkinson, isnt Johnny English about as Clouseau-esque as you can get without bringing the Clouseau character into it? I think the Johnny English series shows you can do the Clouseau act without the character, which is so associated with Sellers.
I find the tone of the Jhonny English movies a little bit too different to be honest. The comedy is still too grounded in reality, compared to Peter Sellers PP Movies (the best parts where gloriously cartoonish, especially the fight scenes with Kato or Dreyfus' assassination attempts).
Jhonny English movies are good in their own ways imo.
There is one crucial ingredient Sellers had not only in this series but throughout his career. Unstoppable charisma. I remember seeing Return and Strikes Again in packed theatres and believe me, the audience all but LAPPED UP everything he did. Peter also got more mileage out of comic stillness than anyone since his silent clown heroes. He and Edwards were, for a time, a perfect match. Really fine work on this series!
I’m interested in seeing how the new reboot directed by Jeff Fowler goes, it’ll be interesting to see them combine the cartoons with the movies for the first time
The new reboot will focus on a smooth operating inspector who has an pink panther for an imaginary friend after a traumatic experience, the panther still remain silent but can still help the inspector to solve the case, there's no confirm if the inspector will still be clousaue but with a new personality or a new one.
Roger Moore playing Roger Moore as Inspector Closeau is right on key with Roger Moore playing Roger Moore as James Bond in the Cannonball Run.
I kinda wish John Ritter had done a Panther movie. He was a brilliant physical comedian himself!!!!
Roger Moore as the character to me COMPLETELY works. It is great to see him ham it up and he plays the part beautifully. He and Herbert Lom are the only reasons to watch Curse.
I felt the complete opposite. Herbert is in fine form, but Roger is just Roger trying to imitate Peter Sellers, and I can’t help but 🤦 in embarrassment for him.
In the words of The Nerd: “What were they _thinking?!”_
@@TheRealNormanBates In fairness, Roger Moore does a great impression of Sellers as Clouseau and even remembers his "you know", which was a minor catchphrase for the character. The fact Moore was so accurate as the character suggests he must have liked the PP movies anyway.
He's also played himself the year prior in The Cannonball Run, may be what gave them the idea
Every time I watch one of your videos I can't get enough of your love and dedication for cinema. Your channel is truly an underrated gem.
One of the best channels on UA-cam
This was a great video. I think we all knew no one could beat Peter Sellers in the role. He was fantastic in it along with Dr Strangelove.
Peter Sellers was a singular talent, no one else like him before or since.
I have a soft spot for the first Steve Martin Pink Panther movie just for the scene where he grills Jean Reno's character about his family history, finds out that five of the last four generations were all respected policemen with the fifth one being farmers just so he can call him "a simple farm boy." When I saw it in theaters with a friend of mine who had French parents, she laughed her ass off, then explained to me after that that's a somewhat popular French stereotype, find one unflattering thing about a person and just hold it against them forever.
I still like the Steve Martin films, I don't feel that they're trying to truly replicate Seller's style and all.
A remake needs to skirt a fine line between the original and just doing it’s own thing, the Steve Martin movies did those quite well
I also like how the Steve Martin films tried something new with the Pink Panther series instead of simply rehashing the original films.
@@roberttreacy8271 yeah the first one tried to be a serious mystery movie that happened to star an incompetent detective
Steve's way too smart a comedian to try and copy Pete's style (a lesser casting may have)
I think I got my first exposure to Sellers through his episode of the Muppet Show... just thought I'd throw that out there for extra research purposes.
he fit in with them so well. it's no shock someone thought Steve Martin could do it too, because he is also one of those living muppets. and he could have, with a good script.
Sellers on the Muppet show was one of the best episodes
Can you please do an episode about the Police Academy films?
Seconded!
Yeah, do a vid MOVE IT! MOVE IT! MOVE IT!
A Shot in the Dark will always be my favorite of the series.
Alright damnit, here! Take my subscribe. you've broken me with your intricate videos essays and faceted love for classic comedies!
I would subscribe more than once. Actually I will!
I think Mike Myers COULD have pulled off the role of Inspector Clouseau, he's certainly shown that potential in his other roles, particularly the Austin Powers movies. But it would need a good script and a great director who really understands the franchise as well. I think I would have also liked to see Gene Wilder or Jerry Lewis take on this kind of role when they were at the peak of their careers - Jerry Lewis in particular might have been well suited to this kind of physical comedy.
But Peter Sellers is the one who really made that role, and even though I think there are a few other actors who could take over from him, it would be hard for any of them to properly pay homage to his original portrayal while still adding something to make the character their own. Steve Martin is a magnificent actor who certainly deserves a place when you talk about great comedians, but personally I don't see him as quite the right actor for the role. Even so, credit where it's due and they could certainly have done much worse with their casting.
Mike would have made that movie worse than it was.
Can you now make a video about Blake Edwards. How he made classics like Breakfast at Tiffany’s and The party. But still made films (around the 80’s) such as Blind Date, Skin Deep, etc.
I plan on it!
Don’t forget Victor/Victoria, which even took home an Academy Award.
@@gabrielledebourg2487 it won for a score (Blake edwards collaborater : Henry Mancini)
@@HatsOffEntertainment What’s your favorite Blake Edward’s film? Mine is Victor/Victoria.
S.O.B. is hysterical, and sadly seems to have been written out of history....
Trail to the Pink Panther feels like a high budget STOOGEMANIA.
That’s a great comparison
They should've just released the full cut of The Pink Panther Strikes Again instead honestly. Very few of the repurposed scenes work in the new story.
I'd say that Stoogemania was a cheap cashgrab that felt like an overly extended and BAD off brand SNL skit. Trail comes off as a "HOLY CRAP! We gotta make something and FAST!" scramble of a movie that's also a weird tribute to Peter Sellers. And the result feels like it's an in universe documentary where everyone's in character, but clearly talking about their experiences with Sellers and just referring to him in character as well. If you're not aware of the film's infamy when you first watch it, the film just drops completely dead to turn into such a PBS style documentary. It's somehow both loving and disrespectful at the same time.
@@HatsOffEntertainment I wonder if they still can.
@@mightyfilm "Trail comes off as a "HOLY CRAP! We gotta make something and FAST!" scramble of a movie that's also a weird tribute to Peter Sellers."
I feel it was first a cashgrab and then, almost at the end, they figured they had to pass it off as tribute to try to save face.
aw man I didn't know roger moore died 4 years ago. I saw this guy who actually GOT an autographed picture of Sean Connery signed by Roger Moore, and that might have been the greatest nerdcomplishment in history, but if I could have gotten a picture of _Sellers_ signed by Moore...
Steve Martin's Pink Panther was filmed to be more raunchy. A studio exec couldnt figure out why the end product was the way it was when he thought the origin of the film was the cartoons.
They had to go back and re-shoot and re-edit the film to give it a family friendly rating.
Thank you for saying the hand drawn animation was so much better than the CGI.
I'm curious to see whatever happened to that Romance of the Pink Panther script.
You can find a .PDF online
Just glancing at it right now, there's a character named Cuckhold in it :P
I am so glad there is a second part to this subject
You did a phenomenal job with these.
I feel like I have to add this: this is such a wonderful little documentary on this series. Well done! For a series that's so well known of, there's a surprising amount that most people will be aware of re. the "other films" and I've always thought it strange that there's not more documentaries or books covering this. But you have done a fantastic job on this 👍👍
I first saw "Return of the Pink Panther" in the theater at the tender age of 6 and had no idea why it was so funny, only that it was ridiculously funny, and I can't think of any movie that has made my father laugh so hard as this one. Honestly, I think it was that one movie that carried the entire series and the 5 attempts to reboot.
I feel Curse was the best attempt and continuing the series. If they had a second shot and stayed in New York with all new characters it could have worked. Also, I love Roger Moore's cameo and the scene worked for me.
Yeah, Curse at least tried to bring the series in a new direction instead of simply rehashing the earlier films.
I would love a video on Seller's career! These movies were a staple of mine growing up. I must have seen the movies up to Trail more times than I can remember and was thrilled when they released the blu ray set a while ago. Keep up the great work!
As a kid Return, Revenge and Strikes Again were my favorites but the continuity always confused me. Thanks for clearing it up.
11:51 I expected the note to say "SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH" and him flying over the table to grab him by the throat.
Good one 😂
Cato’s trademark yell, “SAAAAAH!”, is as iconic as Closeau’s mispronunciations!
Peter Sellers has made me laugh since I first saw his movied as a kid in 90s. I've never watch, trail, curse, son, or any movie that didn't involve him as Inspector Cleausue. He was a comedic genius. Thanks for a great two part series!
I heard Rowan Atkinson was also considered for Curse of the Pink Panther. When he was considered for Curse it was before Mr. Bean and Blackadder made him a household name, Blake Edwards had seen him in Not the 9 O'clock News. When he was considered for Son he had become alot more well known but I'm glad he turned it down.
That said, would have been great to see him in more roles that mixed Bean's physical comedy with Blackadder's witty dialogue. Something Clouseauesque would have been perfect for him.
@@KairuHakubi He mix Mr. Bean's physical comedy with Blackadder's witty dialogue in the Johnny English movies. The third Johnny English movie was even called "Johnny English Strikes Again" like The Pink Panther Strikes Again so I think those films definitely took influence from the Pink Panther series.
@@JaredGriffiths2000 yeahh I seriously need to watch those. I don't know why they always looked dull to me.
Very good retrospective. I'd like to see similar video of the Police Academy series.
Yes I'd love to see him do a video on Police Academy!
6:12 - Considering that the first Police Academy film didn't premiere until nearly a YEAR after Curse of the Pink Panther, I don't see how that's possible.
I think he means Police Squad. Maybe?
That was an absolutely brilliant episode. Well done.
It was an unfortunate turn of events when Myers was dropped from the role.
Interestingly, enough, Steve Martin in an interview said that Peter Sellers was always one of his idols, so him taking over a character he played, does fitting, and he also honors sellers as well
Your channel is making some of the best mini-docs I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching. Thank you for preserving history for all ♥👊
Jean Reno, the only person who keeps the Steve Martin Pink Panther films tolerable. He was also one of the better things of Roland Emmerich’s Zilla too which is still better than the Polygon Pictures Godzilla Anime Trilogy.
Looks like I need to watch "Son of the Pink Panther". It actually looks like it's worthwhile.
The casting of John Cleese in the remake sequel seems like it was perfect; I'll have to watch that one as well.
As for Peter Sellers, I get the feeling, based on his acting and on interviews I've watched, that he was one of those comedy actors who either could keep creating comedy and characters so that all that energy has an outlet, or he could instead have spent his time in an insane asylum. I feel the same about Jonathan Winters and some other comedians/entertainers. They are so talented but at the same time I get the vibe that they are troubled mentally and emotionally, and could easily become unhinged at a moment's notice.
Thanks for another enjoyable video.
I think you're spot on with Sellers. The man made brilliant work but clearly had some demons. Not the easiest guy to get along with in real life to say the least.
I’m hooked on your videos. Fantastic presentations.
Honestly, I would have loved to see a Pink Panther series continued by Roger Moore
@Greg Elchert Moonraker is arguably the last Bond film in which his "advanced age" does not show 📽☺
I read an interview with Moore where he said if "Curse" had been a hit he might have carried on with the role!
Curse is a great movie but without Sellers its not the same and every time it references Pink Panther it brings the film from great to good and Moore's performance was Bond.
@TorridPrime217 I'd love to see a series with Roger too. In fact, he'd be a perfect choice to take over Inspector Clouseau and Ted Wass could star and team up with him in them. So if you thought up a list of Pink Panther series with Roger in them, here is my list of alternate Pink Panther movies that should have been made:
1 The Rainbow Panthers (in 1984)
2 One Shot in the Dark Too Many (in 1985)
3 Ransom of the Pink Panther (in 1987)
4 The Pink Panther Takes Manhatten (in 1988)
5 Romancing of the Pink Panther (in 1989)
6 Shadow of the Pink Panther (in 1990)
7 Friend of the Pink Panther (in 19992)
Which alternate Pink Panther movie would you love to see if they were made?
please reply back 😀😀😀
Peter Sellers is the Pink Panther. He was the rare gem that everyone wanted to steal but never could manage. He is lost but not forgotten.
Thank you for producing these great videos! It was nice to get the full story! When I was a kid my family and I used to roll with laughter in front of the television watching these movies! Nobody better than Peter Sellers! in fact people in my family still “quote some of the sellers lines from the Peter Sellers movies!
These have been great, man! I had some close family friends that were living encyclopedias for old school comedy; they were in love with Sellers and this series, but I’d never looked into them myself. Thank you for providing such great context for all of these - now I have a few films to add to the watch list.
I remember watching the series as a kid. We tried to watch them in order, starting with a shot in the dark. When we got to the trail of the pink panther I was so disappointed by the format, and I didn't figure out until the end of the movie that Peter Sellers had died.
We also rented The Party on a whim, because of Sellers. That's worth watching for any Sellers fan.
I thought Son of the Pink Panther wasn't too bad. I think they should have explored that concept a bit more.
Great video series. I learned quite a bit, and now I feel the need to go re-watch the films.
I honestly really enjoyed the first Steve Martin reboot film, but you can't replace Sellers as Clouseau. Let's hope this wonderful franchise is revived soon
I remember renting Trail of the Pink Panther when I was in my early 20s, having grown up on the previous three installments during my childhood. I had no idea what was in store for me with this film. I can only describe it as around the mid-way point through the film, I had this slightly creepy feeling that something was missing. It was then that I realized that Inspector Cluseau wasn't in the film past the 30 minute mark. I wondered why, got bored very quickly, and didn't finish the film. 10 years later I mistakenly learned that Peter Sellers died during filming, which gave me a chill up my spine. But, I became bothered when I found out the truth...that Trail of the Pink Panther was a complete sellout.
Without Sellers, there is NO Pink Panther.
What I liked about the Martin Clouseau is when the audience learns he could understand Chinese. However, nothing about his Pink Panthere made me want to see the sequel, and I have yet to do so.
Same. Was surprised to find out today Cleese was in the sequel, almost makes me want to check it out.
@Greg Elchert i mean, he'd almost have to be.
Upon rewatching the entire series back in 2005, I was surprised how much I disliked the 1st movie.
It's clear that it was meant to be Niven's film, but Sellers was just too damn good. I believe Strikes Again is the best one, I love the dentist scene.
Have you seen the OSS 117 movies? They're like the real spiritual successors to Pink Panther, I thought. Sure they're riffing on Bond, but the main character is basically Cluseau in all his ineptness and extreme confidence.
Kicking off a new series about another bumbler by having a legitimate reason for him to be selected for a mission to find Clouseau is actually a really smart tactic.. in theory.
Your comment reminded me of the Martin Short movie Pure Luck.
Except the Curse of the Pink Panther is a really good hell great movie when not referencing Pink Panther if wasn't associated with it because when they go batshit insane on the physical comedy it looks spectacular and better than anything now because it was all real and not CGI.
and the Salty Sea Dog scene is one of my absolute favorites
My English teacher(here in Brazil) Showed us this Hamburger scene, I have great nostalgia with it
Shawn Levy does get too much hate. Real Steel is a underrated film. He also directed a childhood favorite of mine with Big Fat Liar, and I like all three Night at the Museum films. Plus he’s gone on to have better success as a producer/executive producer with Arrival and Stranger Things among other projects.
I agree, Levy is a pretty underrated filmmaker.
nah, he deserves his opinion
I remember watching the first Pink Panther movie (I think) with my grandma when I was little and being confused where’s the Pink Panther and why are we following this detective guy?
I watched the Pink Panther cartoons before the film.
Kevin Kline seems like the obvious choice for Clouseau, not Dreyfus
Rich Little voiced the Pink Panther in the cartoons Pink Ice and Sink Pink both directed by Friz Freleng
EXCELLENT minidoc on the franchise. Well edited and narrated. Thank you, Joe! Imo, I think Myers would've nailed it.
Hats off you should see The Magic Christian (1969) starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr it's a really weird one that i love
Fun fact, Cato was going to return in the Steve Martin remake and to be played by Jackie Chan, but because of political incorrectness Cato was replaced by Ponton.
it was a product of the 1960s and 1970s, I don't think it worked after then really
I always really enjoyed Son of the Pink Panther and never quite understood why it was so hated. I also was pleasantly surprised by how much I laughed at the first Steve Martin film (still haven't seen the second one). It has its issues but it was so much fun seeing Steve Martin go back to his silly, absurdist roots, He clearly really enjoyed it.
Once more, Hats off to the man!
Have you ever seen Condor Man?
It was one of my favourites as a child.
"I guess Kevin Kline declined returning..."
Kevin deKlined.
Another great video by Hats off entertainment
*Really* hope you make that video on Sellers as Clouseau
wonderful videos on the Pink Panther series and its reboots. i had no idea the main role had went to so many others over the decades. love this channel. you sir are under valued and i think this channel will blow up sooner than later
I LOVED The Steve Martin Pink Panther movie as a child, and I watched it recently (I still have the DVD) and even as an adult I still love it! I was so obsessed with this movie as kid, I still remembered most of the lines from the movie even though I hadn’t seen it in years! I know that it’s not perfect. As you said, the Clouseau and Xania (Beyonce) romance went absolutely nowhere and was mostly pointless, and also the villain of the movie that did the crime was barely developed at all, but I still really enjoy the film. The sequel however I only saw once on DVD, then I later threw the DVD away because I never wanted to see it again! And I still haven’t!
I’ve never seen any of the other Pink Panther movies besides those two and you could say my love for the 2006 movie is because I’ve never seen the other films, and that the love is somewhat fueled by childhood nostalgia, and you could be partially right, but I think there are good elements of the movie that still hold up, like the physical comedy and slapstick and the character of Clouseau, who is a guy trying to prove that he’s a good detective, as he says in the movie, and his heart is always in the right place and he tries to do the right thing even though unbeknownst to him he messes up all the time, and he’s legitimately heartbroken when he finds out that Dreyfus was just using him the whole time and that Dreyfus actually thinks he’s an idiot and a nobody. These elements could have easily failed, but luckily this movie was put in the right hands.
It’s also why I think I loved the movie so much as kid. I think it was the first movie I saw where almost the entire film had physical comedy in it and it inspired my love for physical comedy. And Clouseau’s underdog type story spoke to me as an 11-year-old child.
And the “Damnburger” scene was one of my favorite scenes as a kid, and I still think it’s funny, although it might be because I remember thinking it was hilarious as a kid, but I’ll take it! 😂
I'm honestly very hyped to see the rumoured Panther movie reboot, Perhaps we'll see it in 2023 or maybe sooner...
So John Cleese was doing a muted Basil Fawlty impression?
Great job! Thanks for both the Pink Panther vids.
I loved the Punk Panther movies as a kid. I watched the Steve Martin films, I have to watch the originals.
*All EIGHT* Pink Panther movies are on MAX. That first scene made me laugh so hard now I’m bound to watch the series. Thanks, Joe!
Peter Sellers really was irreplaceable.
I love the original Pink Panther movies, they are amongst some of the greatest comedies ever put on film, and Clouseau, in my humble opinion, is also one of the greatest comic creations in film history, played to perfection by the late, great Peter Sellers. To think some idiots decided it would be a good idea to carry on making Pink Panther films without, not only Sellers, but even the Clouseau character altogether? It's amazing how greed can make you blind to a stupid idea, as I can't think of any other reason they'd want to go ahead and make the films other than to cash in on the already popular franchise. I am not a movie professional, by any stretch of the imagination, but even I could have told them they would flop, and I see it more of an insult to Sellers memory than anything else.
And as for casting Steve Martin, as Clouseau, in those completely awful and unnecessary reboots just angered me more than anything. Don't get me wrong, I love Steve Martin too and, he has starred in some of my other favorite comedy films like, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Three Amigos, The Man with Two Brains and Planes,Trains and Automobiles, to name just a few. But Peter Sellers he isn't, and I don't care how much anyone sticks up for those two films I could never bring myself to watch them, seeing the trailers was more than enough.
OMG I can't belive John Ritter turned this role down. His physical comedy and dramatic acting would've been perfect.
I like Benigni in the role in Son Of, and I remember the first trailer I saw for it does feature the Sellers Clouseau character being killed in an exploding warehouse. A nation mourns and in comes the Benigni story. It even has a flash of someone wearing a Sellers Clouseau mask before the bomb goes off. All of this must of been excised before the actual release as non of it is in the finished film.
That trailer is on the blu ray. I guess it was cut out because in Curse, Clouseau when missing and got plastic surgery to change his face and the world though he died. In Son, Dreyfus mention he died 10 years ago.
That could’ve been part of a director’s cut. Apparently from what I’ve looked up online, the first cut of the movie ran almost two hours, but the studio cut it down to 93 minutes before release. Another thing is that the featurette mentions the movie takes place “several years after Clouseau‘s death” which confirms that there was an original cut floating around - there was also a sequence shot and included on the featurette, which depicts a celebratory sequence of the Clouseau statue, but even that isn’t in the film either. The third piece of evidence is the Clouseau Ghost credit. Although the actor is listed in the end credits, there’s no such scene in the film. It supposedly was in the original script, but cut for pacing; I can only confirm this because it was on a film talk website. Other than that, that’s all I know of.