The Pink Panther

[Radical Dreamer]

So, who's been to see this movie?

I went to see it today, and I absolutely CRACKED UP! Steve Martin is SO funny, especially with his accent he uses for Inspector Clusseau. And he even made a near-allusion to SNL's "We are two wild and crazy guys!", which was GREAT! XD There were SO many funny scenes, I don't know where to begin. But I think one of my favorite scenes was the "hamburger" scene...if you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about. XD So, who else has seen this movie?

[ShiroiHikari]

I dunno...Steve Martin as Inspector Clousseau just sounds....weird to me. Maybe I'll rent it or go see it when it goes to the dollar theatre.

[Tommy]

I dunno...Steve Martin as Inspector Clousseau just sounds....weird to me.

Think of one actor that could do better.

[shooraijin]

Think of one actor that could do better.

Peter Sellers.

(Anyone remember that one film were Inspector Clusseau goes to the Sweedish Alps in persue of Charles Litton's wife?)

Yup, that's Return of the Pink Panther and is my personal favourite of the series by far, with Strikes Again a distant second.

Herbert Lom also could get more apoplectic than Kevin Kline. However, I do like Jean Reno even if he's a combo-Francoise/Cato role.

[uc pseudonym]

Think of one actor that could do better.

Peter Sellers

Ah, beaten to it. It takes a very skilled actor to make Clusseau work - hilarity is never that far from idiocy.

Yup, that's Return of the Pink Panther and is my personal favourite of the series by far

Same here.

For those of you who have seen both the old films and this new one, please post and tell us what you thought. I want to give this movie a chance, but I'm not going to spend any time or money on it until I have some reason to believe that it isn't just a cheap derivative of the original movies.

[termyt]

I'm wondering that myself. I just bought a boxset of all of the original PP movies. Good stuff. I've never been a huge Steve Martin fan, so that will probably taint my view of his performance in cmparison to Peter Sellers.

[shooraijin]

Is Return in that set? Return was the odd man out because it was released by ITC, not MGM. Last I checked, the MGM box set "only" contains the original Pink Panther, A Shot In The Dark (very funny), then skips to Strikes Again, Revenge and Trail, done after Sellers died using outtakes from the previous films. It actually works for about half the movie until they ran out of material.

Anyway, all that to say that you may be missing the best one of the lot -- Return of the Pink Panther has the best plot and some of the best gags. It was Seller's return to the role after a long hiatus, and I think MGM didn't pick it up. Too bad, because it made $55 million (a lot in 1975). You should get it if it's not in the box.

[Tenshi no Ai]

Question: what is the connection between the cartoon pink panther and the movies? Seriously, I used to think that these movies were one of them old live-actions with a cartoon panther in them up until now where there's no sign of him >_< So what's the deal with it anyways?

[Puritan]

The cartoon panther was in the credits, and I think he was made into a cartoon after the movies (although I could be wrong about the timing). Other than the credits there is no sign of the cartoon panther in the films.

[Tenshi no Ai]

The cartoon panther was in the credits, and I think he was made into a cartoon after the movies (although I could be wrong about the timing). Other than the credits there is no sign of the cartoon panther in the films.

*scratches head*

Now I wonder why they would call the title that. Any relation to the main character or anything? A nickname or something maybe?

[shooraijin]

The diamond was called the Pink Panther (in both the original movie and Return).

The best intro animations were not the Chuck Jones, though -- I much preferred the Richard Williams Studios ones. These appeared in Return of the Pink Panther and The Pink Panther Strikes Again (which was the best-animated of the bunch). The backgrounds were exceptionally well done, and so were the title and font effects.

[Tommy]

The best intro animations were not the Chuck Jones, though -- I much preferred the Richard Williams Studios ones. These appeared in Return of the Pink Panther and The Pink Panther Strikes Again (which was the best-animated of the bunch). The backgrounds were exceptionally well done, and so were the title and font effects.

No offence, but something tells me you`re one of the few people who actually pay attention to that stuff.

Don`t hate.

[uc pseudonym]

Now I wonder why they would call the title that. Any relation to the main character or anything? A nickname or something maybe?

Note shooraijin's answer, though I'll provide a bit more information. A major element of two of the films is the largest diamond in the world, a fictional gem called the Pink Panther. This is supposedly because if it is held to the light you can see the image of a panther in the pinkish refraction.

No offence, but something tells me you`re one of the few people who actually pay attention to that stuff.

The opening animations play during the credits and last several minutes; some of them can be rather funny. So they aren't inconsequential.

[mitsuki lover]

Not only did the original have Peter Sellers but the great Henry Mancini theme.Nothing beat the Henry Mancini theme.

off topic:Was Inspector Zingata in Lupin The Third supposed to be a take-off of
Clouseau?

[Arnobius]

Not only did the original have Peter Sellers but the great Henry Mancini theme.Nothing beat the Henry Mancini theme.

off topic:Was Inspector Zingata in Lupin The Third supposed to be a take-off of
Clouseau?

The original Zenigata was the hero of some Japanese detective novels set in Samurai Japan. I recall he was supposed to be able to disarm opponents by throwing coins at them. He had a sidekick that did his legwork for him. Inspector Zenigata was supposed to be a descendent.

Urusei Yatsura parodied this once by having the original Lupin meet the original Zenigata in a parody of Urashima Taro

[shooraijin]

I *do* think it's plausible that Monkey Punch may have incorporated some of Clouseau into Zenigata's character design, though, since the manga came after the first movie or two. They were well-known worldwide, so it's not inconceivable.

[termyt]

The set does not have Return in it, I spoke out of turn when I said "all of the originals," so I apologize for any confusion. It would, of course, be very unlikely to stick a movie by a different company in a boxset.

I agree, the animation in the opening of Strikes Again is the best.

[mitsuki lover]

The difference between Sellers and Martin is that basically Peter Sellers was a comic ACTOR while Steve Martin is a COMEDIAN.

[Sai]

Has anyone seen the new movie yet besides radical dreamer? Is it good?