La pantera rosa sfida l'ispettore Clouseau

The inimitable Peter Sellers strikes again as Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau, in this fourth installment of the classic `Pink Panther' series, `The Pink Panther Strikes Again,' directed by Blake Edwards. Given the fact that the assessment of comedy is intrinsically subjective, this film is arguably laugh for laugh and sight gag for sight gag the funniest of the five (followed closely by the second of the series, the hilarious farce, `A Shot In The Dark). In this one, former Chief Inspector Dreyfus (Herbert Lom) is about to be released from the mental hospital-- in which he has resided since being driven crazy by Clouseau-- when on the very afternoon of his hearing he is visited by none other than Clouseau himself, who has come to speak on behalf of his former boss. Suffice to say that by the time Clouseau is through `helping,' he is driven from the premises by the relapsed, raving madman, Dreyfus. And it's only the beginning of the inept French Inspector's antics that, before it is over, will include a trip to the Ocktoberfest, encounters with a dozen hit-men from around the world, a beautiful Russian spy named Olga (Lesley-Anne Down), a surprise Egyptian spy (who will remain nameless) and a one-man assault on a castle. As Laurel and Hardy proved so many times before, for every action there is a reaction; a theorem of which proof is unequivocally provided here by the relationship between Sellers and Lom. This was the film in which Edwards and his stars not only further devised, but honed to perfection, their foolproof formula for laughs: After the `first wave' of hilarity provided by Sellers, it is followed up-- in just enough instances to be totally effective-- by Lom's reaction to 1.) Sellers directly (as in the first, classic scene at the mental hospital), or 2.) Lom's reaction to Seller's antics as they are related to him by a third party. It's a one-two punch that never fails and which, in effect, derives twice the fun from a single gag. And it's brilliant. But at the end of the day, it must be noted that there is one element above all else that accounts for the success of this film, and that, of course, is the Man himself, Peter Sellers. Sellers must be regarded as-- if not `the,' then at least one of the-- funniest actors ever to grace the silver screen. There was no end to the ways he could make you laugh; from the subtlest expression-- an eye averted or perhaps the slight raising of an eyebrow-- to the broadest slapstick, it was all within his personal domain, and he was the Master. Physically, practically all he had to do to get a laugh was show up; consider the scene in which he arrives at the hospital to visit Dreyfus: As he saunters across the lawn of the vast grounds surrounding the buildings, a croquet mallet and ball lying to one side catches his eye; there is just the slightest hesitation in his step, the subtlest change of expression in his eyes and the merest inclination of the head. And there, in that briefest of moments upon the screen, you know-- beyond the shadow of a doubt-- what is about to transpire. And you're right; a moment later Clouseau has the mallet in his hand and his foot on the ball, and even as it's happening-- just as you knew it would in that split second before it did-- he has you on the floor laughing. That was the gift-- and the genius-- of Peter Sellers. Was every film he made a classic? A great film? Of course not; but you would be hard put to find a single performance of his, even in a bad film (Like 1970's `There's A Girl In My Soup'), that did not embody that unique spark that defined him. It was certainly alive in his portrayal of Clouseau (possibly the definitive Seller's character), and in retrospect, what a shame it seems that there were only five `Panther' movies ever made. But so it is, and shall ever be. The supporting cast includes Burt Kwouk (as the ever faithful and attacking manservant, Cato), Andre Maranne (Francois), Colin Blakely (Alec Drummond), Leonard Rossiter (Inspector Quinlan), Richard Vernon (Dr. Fassbender), Briony McRoberts (Margo) and Michael Robbins (Jarvis). A funny movie that showcases one of Cinema's truly unique and funny actors, `The Pink Panther Strikes Again' is a side-splitting, fun movie you can watch over and over and never grow tired of. The best of the series, it stands as a glowing tribute to the comedic genius of Peter Sellers. I rate this one 10/10.

"The Pink Panther Strikes Again" is an apt title for this hilarious 1976 film starring Peter Sellers and Herbert Lom. In this story, Dreyfus, driven mad by Clouseau, escapes from the mental asylum. Determined to destroy Clouseau once and for all, he kidnaps the inventor of a Doomsday device along with his daughter. This machine makes buildings disappear without a trace, and can do the same to people and whole countries. The world has 7 days to kill Clouseau or Dreyfus, who has already used it to destroy the United Nations in a dazzling display of power, will turn it on the world. When the inventor says something about using it on Clouseau, Drefus replies that to Clouseau, this doomsday machine would be as effective as a water pistol. Yes, it's true, the man is a menace with an uncanny way of killing and trashing anything around him and walking out unscathed.

There are too many funny bits to go into, but Clouseau trying on his hunchback disguise and overinflating it so that he floats outside is great; Clouseau attempting to get into the castle is wonderful; there's the drag club scene, the scenes with Olga (Lesley-Anne Down) - well, the movie will keep you laughing. And, if you're like me, it's just what the doctor ordered.

After making life intolerable for clumsy Inspector Closeau (Peter Sellers) , former Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfuss (overacting Herbert Lom) goes nutty and is interned in asylum . One time escaped from the mental asylum , the mentally ill Dreyfuss tries to destroy the world by means of a ray-laser . Besides , he hires a group of hit men to kill Jacques Closeau who's gone to England to investigate the abduction an eminent scientific forced to build a fantastic machine and being helped by British policemen (Colin Blakely , Leonard Rossiter).

This release is the fourth part of Closeau series and an enjoyable comedy starred by the great Peter Sellers as the inept and bungler Inspector of the French Surete . The movie gets entertaining and hilarious moments here and there . This slapstick contains funny scenes and never slowdown . Herbert Lom parodying his ¨Phantom of opera¨ personage is excellent . There appear as secondaries the usual series , such as Burt Kwouk as Cato , Grahame Stark and a gorgeous Lesley Anne Down who replaced Maud Adams . Omar Sharif , who had just played with director Blake Edwards on " The Tamarind Seed " has a brief cameo as an eastern murderer . Lively and atmospheric music by habitual Henry Mancini and magnificent opening and ending cartoon titles by Richard Williams . Colorful cinematography Harry Waxman , being mostly shot in Europe : Paris , France , Bavaria , Germany , Ireland and Shepperton Studios , Surrey , England . The film was well penned and directed , as always , by Blake Edwards . Several chuckles and gags , the result of which is one of the funniest from series along with ¨A shot in dark¨ , ¨Return of pink panther¨, and ¨Revenge of pink panther¨. The flick will appeal to pink panther series and Peter Sellers fans . This is arguably one of the best pink panther . Two thumbs up.

The Pink Panther Strikes Again **** / *****

Dir: Blake Edwards; Starring: Peter Sellers

Funny gazillionth sequel (not literally!) sees Chief Inspector Clouseau (Sellers in his iconic role) being chased down by an escaped madman with nervous ticks. Fun from start to finish, and I actually prefer it to the original "Pink Panther" film. It's zanier, fresher, and seems more like a wild spoof in the vein of "Austin Powers" rather than an outdated, unfunny bore like (I find) the first film.

Highlight: Clouseau trying out the "Hunchback" costume and inflating himself into the air. This was used again in one of the worst films of 2002, "The Master of Disguise," but this is inarguably much better.

**** / *****

This was the fourth movie in the Pink Panther franchise and, despite the title, the titular diamond that was the namesake of the original and The Return of… has nothing to do with this entry. By now, Pink Panther had come to mean not gimmick for the sake of a comedy plot, but the world of the wonderfully inept Inspector Clouseau, and a vibrant brand of latter-day screen slapstick.

One of the most consistently brilliant elements of the earlier pictures was Clouseau's relationship with the increasingly demented Dreyfuss. For The Pink Panther Strikes Again, this relationship becomes the central premise of the whole movie. As such the scope is there for more-or-less continuous comedy with very little else to complicate it. Apart from, that is, a James Bond spoof slant, with Dreyfuss taking on the role of the eccentric super villain. This in turn allows for some large-scale actiony gags, reminiscent of the wilder escapades of silent comics Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd. Peter Sellers's stunt double Joe Dunne received a lot of work here.

This also allows for a greater part to be taken in comic staging by director Blake Edwards. A Shot in the Dark was nearly all Sellers, and that was very good in its way, but for Strikes Again we really get to see Edwards's outsize and somewhat surreal comic creations at their most unbridled, from the perfectly-timed three way fight between Clouseau, Cato and Dreyfuss to Clouseau's bungled attempts to get into Dreyfuss's castle. But Edwards still has a way with the smaller comedy confection, as usual his trademark tactic being to make almost everything invisible to the audience, showing just enough to make a gag work. For example, there is a very funny set-up in a public toilet where we only see the feet at the bottom of the cubicles.

There's a lot of verbal comedy too in the Blake Edwards/Frank Waldman screenplay, which is of a middling quality and gets a little tiresome at times. But as we see for example in the scene where Sellers interrogates the professor's house staff, Sellers and Edwards have brilliant timing in punctuating a talky scene with physical gags. Occasionally the humour gets just a little too silly, and there are a lot of clichés – such as the "that is not my dog" line, which I'm sure predates this movie, and the stepping-on-a-rake gag, which predates cinema.

But perhaps this latter is a deliberate tribute to the staples of slapstick. It becomes apparent, as Clouseau inadvertently survives numerous assassination attempts, that he succeeds purely by virtue of the fact that he is a slapstick hero and a wake of chaos must follow him wherever he goes. It is a kind of meta-comedy. And herein lies one of the slightly disappointing things about this movie. Often Clouseau is saved, not directly by his incompetence, but by sheer luck. When a giant pretzel stops him getting skewered by a killer disguised as a buxom wench, it is funny, but it is not really a Clouseau gag. It seems, with Sellers's lessening interest in the franchise (not to mention the heart condition which kept the aforementioned Mr Dunne employed), that perhaps the character around whom the whole thing revolved was beginning to be watered down.