Pink Panther Film Collection 6-DVD (R2 Boxed Set) - WOW! (1 Viewer)

[DouglasBr]

Ron,

Fwiw, I agree 100% on your assessment of the relative merits of Return and Strikes Again. They were easily my favorites (first viewing was as a double feature on the big screen, but in the wrong order -- yuck!). Too bad MGM couldn't/wouldn't make this happen.

 

[GlennH]

MGM should have attempted to garner the rights to

Well, how do we know that they didn't? Maybe Artisan refused to license it to them or participate.

I agree that this set is much less attractive without "Return." I have the current version and it isn't too good. Maybe this new MGM release will encourage LG/Artisan to revisit it and at least give us a somewhat cleaned up anamorphic transfer. It would be nice if MGM would leave a slot blank in their box set for those who want to insert Return in there.

 

[Jo_C]

For the record, although UA does hold the copyright to "Return Of The Pink Panther" (assuming, of course, they have renewed the copyright), the underlying rights are owned by Carlton International Media, with Artisan/Lions Gate holding the license for video due to prior contractual obligations. Carlton acquired ITC's library not too long ago.

It's too bad MGM now seems to disown "Return", although having that and the other Panther films would have made it the ultimate box set of this year.

Count me out of buying the new Panther set.

 

[DouglasBr]

In the past, I've seen the current crop of MGM discs packaged together at Costco, with the Return included as well. Made for a funny looking package, the MGM titles all looking similar as they do, and the Return so obviously different.

The sad thing about this is that, without the Return there's no explanation as to why Dreyfus is crazy in PP Strikes Again (which is why seeing them out of order like I did the first time was rather nutty).

Oh well, it's not like one of the world's biggest problems, I guess. . . .

 

[MarcoBiscotti]

Link Removed

Wow, this guy is good!!!

I wish he would put together something for all those Muppet Show dvd's!!!

 

[Michael Boyd]

I'll be getting the Region One also. I can trade the old discs into MTC here in Dallas. They have a deal where the popular new releases are 12.99 with a trade-in.

 

[Mike_Richardson]

Here was a GREAT opportunity to dust off ALL the series films and include them in a box set, and once again MGM has dropped the ball. CURSE may be "bad," but it's not anywhere near as terrible as TRAIL and also finishes the storyline (what little there is) that the 1982 sequel starts. Not having that included is abysmal, as is not including INSPECTOR CLOUSEAU (what the hell, why not throw it in as a bonus disc??) and RETURN.....granted that ITC/Carlton own the movie, but could it have cost THAT much to get a license for it?

 

[soop.spoon]

granted that ITC/Carlton own the movie, but could it have cost THAT much to get a license for it?

Some companies simply won't lisence out their titles. Unless we know for a fact that MGM didn't even try to obtain Return, I don't think it's fair to blast them for not release a film they don't even own!!! C'mon.

 

[PaulP]

Much better pics of the packaging here: http://www.dvdanswers.com/index.php?...2985&n=1&burl=

 

[Mike_Richardson]

I don't think it's fair to blast them for not release a film they don't even own!!! C'mon.

It's Carlton, MGM has licensed movies from them previously (either Vampire Lovers or Countess Dracula was even designated as a Carlton property on the back of MGM's DVD packaging!).

But even if Carlton wouldn't let go of RETURN, why is it that MGM wouldn't include the other series films they DO own in this set?? C'mon, that's just plain lazy....

The bottom line is that this is a DVD Franchise Box Set that omits 3 "official" (Blake Edwards) entries in the series plus 1 spin-off!

 

[Ron Morgan]

If Artisan's US video rights haven't expired yet I don't think Carlton could license it out to MGM. Still, I will miss RETURN in the set, but I'm not shedding one tear that the non-Sellers films aren't included. On the other hand, I'm jumping for joy that INSPECTOR CLOUSEAU is not being included. I think the people who green-lighted the new PANTHER remake should be strapped down in chairs, Ludovico-style, and forced to watch CLOUSEAU over and over again until they come to their senses. I say they'd cave even before the first screening finished.

 

[Mike_Richardson]

I'm jumping for joy that INSPECTOR CLOUSEAU is not being included. I think the people who green-lighted the new PANTHER remake should be strapped down in chairs, Ludovico-style, and forced to watch CLOUSEAU over and over again until they come to their senses. I say they'd cave even before the first screening finished.

Again, if you include TRAIL (which isn't even a "real movie" by most standards), then why not include them all?

 

[Josh Sieg]

Including curse and son would have been a good move!!!!

I have son on vhs, but i cant find curse anywhere. And i heard trail was a flop anyways, so its not right for them to pull such a stunt!

 

[Jaime_Weinman]

I'll be buying the first movie, probably Shot and maybe Strikes Again. The odd thing about the first film is not only that it's different from the subsequent movies (which is understandable since Clouseau didn't become the central character until Shot) but that it's different from most Hollywood comedies up to that point -- a strange combination of the caper film, the slapstick farce, and the sophisticated comedy of manners. And it's also one of the most heartless comedies ever made (the only truly decent person in the movie is Clouseau, and he's cheated, ridiculed, humiliated, and finally framed by his cheating wife and sent to prison for her lover's crimes
). It's perhaps the quintessential Blake Edwards movie and a snapshot of Hollywood in 1963: international casting, location shooting, a combination of innocence and cynicism, and a continuing process of adjustment to the end of the Production Code (there are things in this movie that couldn't have happened under the Production Code, and yet it's essentially a family picture in the way that it would not have been had it been made even five years later). I'm looking forward to seeing a decent transfer of it. Blake Edwards' movies are unwatchable outside of a widescreen presentation (even in his worst movies, his use of the Panavision frame is wonderful).

 

[John Simon]

Does anyone know if there's any plan to release these films seperately? I only want to purchase the original and A Shot in the Dark, and I really don't want to buy the whole box set just for those two. Any chance of getting the new discs outside of the boxset?

 

[John KB]

There is a review here:

http://www.upcomingdiscs.com/dvd_rev..._where=studios

 

[Jerome]

it seems like the R1 Boxset lacks some bonus features, included in the R2 release.

That's Panthertainment- Vintage Documentary From 1978 Promoting 'Revenge Of The Pink Panther' (47 Minutes)

The R1 lacks also the documentary Peter Sellers Unknown and the commercials for TWA, but they are available on a DVD released a few years ago by Wellspring

 

[John KB]

That figures! Sounds like we're getting robbed!

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

a strange combination of the caper film, the slapstick farce, and the sophisticated comedy of manners

And even a music video. One of my favorite things about The Pink Panther is the apres ski scene when the singer sings an entire song, leading into a conga line. It's amazing that they let the "action" stop long enough to permit an uninterrupted song to be sung.

 

[Brian Thibodeau]

I asked about this on another thread, even pointing out the ridiculous lack of extras in the R1 compared with the R2, but didn't get much response.

But here's my problem, when I checked around various euro DVD websites, the prices, even from day one, for the R2 box were astronomical in light of the ultimate price of the R1 and, once exchange was factored in, nearly doubled the R1 price. Is there any particular reason for this beyond those extras? I realize that the prices of a great many UK releases are prohibitively expensive for those of us who import, but this seemed ridiculous. I couldn't find the set for less than $105 Canadian (about $80 US) before shipping, but then again, I'm not familiar with all the sites as I'm mostly an importer of Asian discs, but I would love to find the R2 box for a fair price. Any suggestions?