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Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978)

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39 comments in total

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10 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
It's Clouseau, Once Again..., 8 January 2001

Author: jhclues from Salem, Oregon

Peter Sellers returns as Chief Inspector Clouseau in this fifth and final installment of the `Pink Panther' series, in `Revenge Of The Pink Panther,' directed by Blake Edwards. This time around, Clouseau becomes the target of a drug lord, Douvier (Robert Webber), who finds it necessary to prove to colleagues that he is still `strong.' When the assassination attempt is summarily pronounced successful, it affords Clouseau the edge of pursuing the criminals through the use of disguise and the deft application of stealth as only Clouseau could effect. Meanwhile, former Chief Inspector Dreyfus (Herbert Lom) is pronounced fit, and returned to his position at the department. And, as would be expected, it all adds up to a bad time for the criminals, as well as the hapless Dreyfus. Edwards does a good job with this film, though it's not on a par with the previous outing, `The Pink Panther Strikes Again,' which was arguably the best (and funniest) of the series. There are scenes involving behind-closed-door meetings of the criminal element that seem to bog things down a bit, but with Sellers on hand they seem almost insignificant, for as soon as Clouseau arrives on the scene they're up and running once again. And Sellers has some classic moments in this one: Trying on new disguises at the establishment of Dr. Auguste Balls (Graham Stark), a veritable haberdashery for undercover surveillance; posing as a rotund `Godfather' and insinuating himself into the mob; and a foray as a peg-legged pirate with an inflatable parrot on his shoulder. The story line in this one may be considered thin-- Edwards gives it just enough to serve as a setting in which to showcase the talents of his star-- but there's nothing wrong with that; it's funny stuff, and watching Sellers work is worth the price of a ticket alone. One of the most memorable moments in the film, however, is courtesy of Herbert Lom, as Dreyfus gives the eulogy for the `late' Chief Inspector Clouseau and can barely contain his mirth, with his tears of joy construed, of course, as grief. And for the first time in the series, Clouseau's faithful manservant, Cato (Burt Kwouk) accompanies the Inspector during his investigation, which adds to the merriment, but is not necessarily a boon to getting the case, as Clouseau would say, `solv-ed.' The supporting cast includes Dyan Cannon (Simone Legree), Robert Loggia (Marchione), Tony Beckley (Algo), Andre Maranne (Francois), Charles Augins (Vic) and Douglas Wilmer (Police Commissioner). With "Revenge Of The Pink Panther,' Edwards delivers an above average comedy that is good for a lot of laughs, and he finishes it off with an extended, slapstick finale that really gives some sock to the overall movie. What will stay with you forever, however, is the image of Clouseau, and recalling his antics will provide you with some chuckles for a long time afterwards. In the end, this film stands a tribute to the great Peter Sellers, as proof positive that NOBODY does it better. I rate this one 8/10.

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8 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Sellers' "Pink Panther" Swan Song., 2 July 2002
Author: tfrizzell from United States

It appears that Peter Sellers' number is finally up, but the attempt on his life fails and he takes it upon himself to find the person who tried to have him assassinated. Naturally Sellers trips into every situation and the results are once again hilarious and tedious at the same time. The by-the-numbers-film-making is apparent here, but still Sellers is able to make the material work to an extent. Sadly this would be his last "Pink Panther" film as he would pass away before the next could come out (the next one just has archived footage of Sellers). Fair once again, but probably the weakest of the first five in the series. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Fair at Best, but with One Phenomenally Funny Scene, 14 March 2005

Author: squeezebox from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Is it possible that one of the weakest entries in the PINK PANTHER series contains one of the funniest scenes ever committed to celluloid? And is it possible that it's a scene in which Peter Sellers does not appear? Believe it or not, yes.

As you may or may not know, the premise of REVENGE OF THE PINK PANTHER is that Inspector Clouseau (Sellers) is believed to have been killed, but has survived the attempt at his life. He is now investigating the case "under the covers," as he says.

The movie has its share of great comedy moments, but is much more uneven than any of the previous entries. Some of the jokes are fall-off-the-chair funny (such as Sellers donning a pirate disguise and getting his peg-leg caught in a hole, or his schtick as a phony mafia "Godfather"), but others are shockingly flat. The movie has a rushed, sloppy feeling to it, as if neither director Blake Edwards nor Sellers's hearts were in it, and they simply hurried to deliver another movie to satisfy the public's demand. There are many moments when Sellers appears to just be going through the motions. To be fair, however, his performance does shine occasionally.

But the real star of this movie is Herbert Lom as Chief Inspector Dreyfus. Lom's half-crazed quirkiness and barely contained mania is side-splittingly funny throughout. And Lom also delivers what is not only the movie's funniest scene, but the funniest scene in all of the series.

Lom is talked into giving a eulogy at Clouseau's funeral. He doesn't want to, because he hated him so much, but the speech was written by a high-ranking politician's wife, and he finally succumbs. At the funeral Lom struggles to get through the speech, but repeatedly breaks into laughter. The scene is painfully hilarious.

Overall, REVENGE is far from the best of the series. It's better than the ghoulish TRAIL OF THE PINK PANTHER, and about on par with the post-Sellers CURSE OF THE PINK PANTHER, but it lacks the spunk of the earlier movies. Definitely recommended for fans, others should check out RETURN OF THE PINK PANTHER or THE PINK PANTHER STRIKES AGAIN.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Got me Laughing, 27 August 2000
Author: TheColt from Ann Arbor, MI

I bought this one on DVD, and I read through the booklet that went behind the scenes for production. With only so much time given to write a script, get everyone signed, and make the movie plus the downtime suffered by a health problems (Peter Sellers and Blake Edwards) maybe the causes for a shorter possibly less that usual panther...NOT SO in my opinion...hilarity reigns in this one. I love seeing Clouseau in so many disguises, Dreyfus fainting every 3 seconds (though more interaction with him would have been nice), and CATO HAS A BIGGER ROLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Finally we get to see HOW inept he really was as Clouseau's assistant/manservant. Honeslty though, the funeral scene, the "Remodeled" Clouseau Apartment, and Hong Kong are the best parts of the movie...THis one is worth it

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4 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
It Appears the Panther has Piqued., 4 March 2006

Author: Fiendish_Dramaturgy from .: Fiendish Writings in the Dark :.

It tried to be big, it tried to do too much.

This work was the victim of the times. It is horribly dated with the label "MADE IN THE LATE 70'S" firmly attached. It feels like a late '70's, early '80's Made For TV event. Watch, "Rehearsal For Murder," and then watch this one, and you'll see just what I mean.

This incorporates Sam Spade wannabes in with Hercule Poirot, and a dirty CEO, creating a horrible montage of uneven character blends and a plot that watches like a darkened labyrinth.

Sellers is too comfortable in his fame and success and it shows, as it has severely clouded his talent. From this work, that statement is obvious.

It is NOT one of my favorites of this series, but even with all that, it is still somewhat amusing and without doubt belongs in the series

It rates a 5.6/10 from...

the Fiend :.

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4 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
goodbye Peter, goodbye, 5 February 2006

Author: Lee Eisenberg (eisenberg.lee@gmail.com) from Portland, Oregon, USA

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Once again, Peter Sellers makes a mess of everything as Insp. Jacques Clouseau. This time, a gangster sets up a trap to assassinate him, but kills the wrong person. This sets in motion a few things: Charles Dreyfus (Herbert Lom) is elated at the news of Clouseau's death and leaves the mental institution, and the real Clouseau decides to find out who tried to kill him. Naturally, we have to wonder what's going to happen once the two men meet.

Burt Kwouk returns as Cato, and the female lead here is Dyan Cannon. As is the case with every movie in the series, the whole thing is really an excuse for Clouseau to be a doofus. Also, "Revenge of the Pink Panther" was the last Pink Panther movie released during Peter Sellers' lifetime. It remains to be seen how Steve Martin will stack up.

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6 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Revenge Of The Pink Panther Is Short On Laughs But..., 4 November 1999
Author: Steve Richmond (sfwr@earthlink.net) from Brea, Ca. USA

Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau has given us countless laughs. Revenge of the Pink Panther is not as funny as previous Pink Panther films, but still, there is enough here to recommend it. Herbert Lom as Inspector Dryfuss is not present in enough of the scenes. Diane Cannon sparks things up with her presense. If you love Peter Sellers portrayal of Inspector Clouseau, you will enjoy many parts of this film. Don't expect it, however, to come up to previous offerings in the Pink Panther series.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Achieves the Impossible, 8 July 2007

Author: bjs10191 from United States

If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it. If someone had told me about it, I would have scoffed. Yet Revenge of the Pink Panther achieves what I before thought was impossible: it's a Peter Sellers comedy... that isn't funny.

After A Shot in the Dark, the Pink Panther films began to deteriorate in quality. But although The Pink Panther Strikes Again was bizarre and didn't really fit in with the rest of the series, at least it had that essential Panther component: it was funny. With Revenge of the Pink Panther, Blake Edwards began his famous overkill of the beloved series.

Although Clouseau was at his best when not elevated to the level of an untouchable, some of The Pink Panther Strikes Agains's best moments were those when he evaded assassination. With Revenge, this reverence of the character is bloated beyond control. Having Clouseau being awarded by the President and loved by millions—in the context of the film, that is—was a mistake: Clouseau was the perfect example of the "It's funny as long as it's not happening to me" mentality. But in Revenge of the Pink Panther, Edwards makes Seller's beloved buffoon...beloved.

What was really overdone in Revenge of the Pink Panther, though, was the disguises. Since the first film Inspector Clouseau has worn a variety of colorful and often hilarious costumes, but Revenge of the Pink Panther unwittingly ends this tradition. It's almost a showcase for Clouseau's disguises, with each scene only there to display P. Sellers's colorful variety of costumes.

Although there are a few chuckle-worthy moments, with Revenge of the Pink Panther Blake Edwards begins destroying the comedy empire that he and Sellers shared.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Back In The Pink, 4 February 2006

Author: SylvesterFox007 from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Peter Sellers' final performance as Inspector Jacques Clouseau is also one of the best.

Looking for a way to restore the Godfather's faith in him, a mobster (Robert Wbber), sets out to eliminate the greatest enemy of the French underworld: Clouseau, whose dumb luck has allowed him to accidentally bust crime again and again! Through a strange turn of events and a case of mistaken identity, the mobster thinks he has succeeded in killing Clousea.

The Pink Panther was originally a diamond in the first film in this series, but at this point the name has become synonymous with Clouseau. The presumed dead Inspector teams up with the villain's ex-girlfriend (Dianne Cannon) and seeks out to solve his own murder and get his "revenge." There are now glaring inconsistencies in the continuity of the series. Chief Inspector Dreyfus (Herbert Lom), who tried to take over the world and was disintegrated in the previous film is now not only alive and well but is reinstated to a position of responsibility in the police force.

But the Pink Panther series isn't about continuity, anyway. It's about humor. And Sellers and crew serve it up in generous quantities. While some routines are recycled from previous films, there are a few new bits that make the movie worthwhile.

There are two especially hilarious scenes. One is a trip through the insane asylum during which Clouseau has a run-in with a jealous "Hercule Poirot" (you'll see). It's subtle, clever, and very funny. The second is a sequence in which Clouseau finds out his manservant Kato (Burt Kwouk), believing Clouseau to be dead, has turned the detective's apartment into an Oriental brothel.

Then there's wacky disguises, Clouseau's ridiculous accent (crazier here than ever), and the comic "action" scenes involving shoot-outs and car chases. Kato is given a bigger sidekick role than usual here, and Sellers' final moment as Clouseau is perfect: walking off into the moonlit night, arm-in-arm with a beautiful woman, explaining what made him decide to become a policeman in the first place. This film was truly the end of an era.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Not the best of the series, 12 March 2004
Author: coffeekid21 from Canada

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

(Minor Spoilers)

"Revenge of the Pink Panther" was probably doomed from the beginning. It was the fifth Panther episode meaning that by this point the ideas were starting to run out. Still I can't say that this movie is bad or anything. There some decent moments in the movie. Clouseau does don some very inventive disguises here. Some of these include an outfit of dwarf painter Tolouse Lautrec, a Marlon-Brando sort of godfather disguise, and even a disguise as a Swedish pirate (complete with an inflatable parrot). There a couple of good sight gags as well. However the plot of this movie is very thin compared to the other "Pink Panther" episodes, just allowing enough room for Sellers to get the laughs through. And many of the other characters (save Clouseau, Kato, and Dreyfuss) are not very well developed. Overall, probably the weakest of the original five Panther's. This best left for Panther fans only.

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