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Post by Clouseau on Jul 10, 2006 22:39:45 GMT
Curse of the Pink Panther (1983)Plot Notes - while the premise - an idiot goes off in search of the missing Clouseau one year after his disappearance - seems funny enough, i'm not particularly fond of the execution... this film certainly has its moments, but they seem to be few and far between... the last few minutes of the film, however, are quite amusing... Cast Notes: - Ted Wass - Sgt. Clifton Sleigh was intended as a replacement for Sellers' Clouseau, and this film was supposed to begin a series of Sleigh-focused films, but thankfully that never came about... while Wass had his moments - including his fight with Cato in the "Clouseau Museum", the chase scene with the taxi cab, the fight scene in the alley, and Sleigh's unknowing discovery of Clouseau - i just can't imagine sitting through another whole movie with the Sleigh character...
- David Niven - Niven's physical deterioration is more evident in this film than ever, but it's nice to see him again... as usual, he plays Sir Charles with class, and leaves you wanting more...
- Herbert Lom - reinvigorated, perhaps, by the fact that someone other than Clouseau is driving him crazy, Lom gives one of his better performances from the last few Panther outings... it's nice to see him doing something other than inflicting his own injuries and complaining to shrinks... he also serves as one of the better reminders of the legacy left behind when Peter Sellers died...
- Joanna Lumley - i have to say i liked Lumley a lot more as Countess Chandra in this film than i did as Marie Jouvet in TotPP... this character was much less annoying, and even somewhat intriguing... i'm particularly fond of her mud bath scene...
- Roger Moore - although officially credited as "Turk Thrust II instead of by his his real name, Moore's portrayal of Clouseau is classic, and one of the biggest highlights of the film... the whole "Roger Moore playing Inspector Clouseau playing Roger Moore" bit works fabulously, and you're left with the wish that Moore's Clouseau had been more the focus of the film than Wass' Sleigh...
- Rich Little - in a reverse from his work on TotPP, i thought Little's dubbing of Niven's lines is a bit more obvious this time around, but i must at least give him marks for the effort... conversely, his impersonation of Sellers' Clouseau was much better here than previously... of course, he only had one line this time, i think, so i'm glad he nailed it!
Animated Titles - although still not one of my favorites, this title sequence is visually more creative, i think, than the last few attempts in the series... the Sleigh character isn't as amusing as the Clouseau character used in previous sequences, but there seems to be more Panther-intensive than any sequence since perhaps TPP63, which is refreshing... Music - as with TotPP, i found the music from this film to be a bit less inspired than with most of the other films, but it still seems to fit the film well enough... no major complaints, but some of the "darker" music just didn't seem right to me...
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Post by ben on Jul 10, 2006 22:59:41 GMT
I saw this movie yesterday for the first time, hey for what it is it's not bad at all, I enjoyed it, sure there were parts which dragged on but I was interested throughout the film and its progression. The Roger Moore bit was f**k*n hilarious, I thought that he would have at least had the beard but when he popped up as himself, it was so funny, even though he didn't carry all of Clouseau's mannerisms..
But who plays Clouseau in the beginning? Is that Roger Moore as well? Whoever did that first part is great..Not a bad imitation at all
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Post by Clouseau on Jul 11, 2006 1:39:32 GMT
But who plays Clouseau in the beginning? Is that Roger Moore as well? Whoever did that first part is great..Not a bad imitation at all not sure who we're seeing on the screen, though i'm fairly confident it's not Moore... IMO, it was probably Sellers' stand-in, who had done a lot of work in the last few PP films... the voice, though, belonged to Rich Little... Little dubbed voices for Clouseau as well as for Sir Charles for both this film and TotPP...
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Post by ben on Jul 11, 2006 3:47:25 GMT
Ah I see, thanks for the insight. It will help having this information when I compile the website as well. Hmm, well this impersonator did a much better job than on Clouseau at the end of TotPP.. I'll have to have a look and see... I know they mention his name during one of the documentaries on the box set..yes anyway
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Post by Dreyfus on Jul 24, 2006 21:17:51 GMT
Nice Review. I hated the Sleigh character I must admit. I knew he would be no Clouseau but still - I was interested. The best part of the film was Dreyfus & Cato.
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Post by Dreyfus on Jul 25, 2006 19:32:26 GMT
Maybe I'm being too harsh on Mr. Wass just because I'm annoyed he is not Clouseau. I just feel they tried to make him like an American Clouseau. Sellers put on an accent and wasnot just funny physically but in the way he said things. Sleigh is just basically someone who trips up a lot and is all slapstick.
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Post by Clouseau on Jul 25, 2006 19:37:40 GMT
Maybe I'm being too harsh on Mr. Wass just because I'm annoyed he is not Clouseau. I just feel they tried to make him like an American Clouseau. Sellers put on an accent and wasnot just funny physically but in the way he said things. Sleigh is just basically someone who trips up a lot and is all slapstick. then did you prefer Roberto Benigni's weird French/Italian accent in Son?? i didn't particularly care that much for Wass' character, either, but he was at least more bearable, IMO! none is a great replacement for Peter Sellers, though...
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Post by Dreyfus on Jul 25, 2006 20:48:10 GMT
Well I've not really got round to watching TSOTPP. But it sounds bad.
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Post by Clouseau on Jul 25, 2006 22:45:37 GMT
SotPP has its good points - ben would probably give it an excellent review - but to me, it's just very different from the earlier films, for better or worse... you might check out the review on it, though, if you don't mind the spoilers...
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Post by ben on Jul 26, 2006 10:56:35 GMT
Yeah it is different, but for what its worth i Like it, as its own movie, but i dont go watching it like I repeat 'Pink Panther Strikes back' or anything like that
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Post by Dreyfus on Jul 28, 2006 21:18:48 GMT
I'll post my review in here too saves making another topic. Curse of the Pink PantherTed Wass as Sgt Clifton Sleigh: Dont get me wrong Ted Wass was good at playing a bumbling detective, but I dont think he was suited for a Pink Panther film. I just need to try and remember he's not Clouseau and try to stop comparing him to peter Sellers. Herbert Lom as Dreyfus: Well to be honest, there is never anything different about Lom's performances. I am a big fan of him and his character but nothing spectacular. David Niven as Sir Charles Litton: I was very happy to see Niven back even though his decline in health. I think Rich Little did well in dubbing the lines. I actualyl think they wanted to bring him back as he was the only big name star really. He is not in many scenes yet still credited as the main character. Robert Wagner as George Litton: Nothing amazing still nice to have him there. I liked how they included the Littons in the film. Roger Moore as Inspector Clouseau : As a fan of Roger Moore I was delighted to see him in the film. His French accent was actually quite good as well. ______________________________________________ The Plot: This was not too bad. I liked the idea of Dreyfus rigging the computer to find the worst detective. ________________________________________ Overall: This film certainly does have a few funny moments. I would definately not want another Sleigh film but it was ok as a one off. My favourite parts are: Emmmm I've actually forgotten the bits I enjoyed (That just shows they must not of been that funny) - Seeing Roger Moore as Clouseau - Dreyfus rigging the computer - Sleigh undercover at the start of the film ____________________________________ Rating: 6/10
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Post by brandon on Aug 28, 2006 2:28:00 GMT
BTW, I do believe the line "This is Inspector Clouseau, and justice will be done in the name of the law," was in fact Peter Sellers voice, and I think the line was deleted from a previous film. The voice doesn't sound like Rich Little.
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Post by Clouseau on Sept 30, 2006 5:13:27 GMT
BTW, I do believe the line "This is Inspector Clouseau, and justice will be done in the name of the law," was in fact Peter Sellers voice, and I think the line was deleted from a previous film. The voice doesn't sound like Rich Little. i'm not sure about that... i just naturally assumed it was Little doing the voice, since he did some dubbing for Clouseau in Trail, and Trail and Curse were shot back-to-back... IMDB doesn't give any clues, because it mentions Little as doing Charles Lytton's voice, but that's it, and it doesn't list Sellers AT ALL... so i dunno... may just have to be one of life's little mysteries!
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Post by tournier on Jan 28, 2008 8:07:15 GMT
I found Wass more or less acceptable, but it seemed to me they didn't place that many acting demands on him. There were points where he was pretty irritating (the giant head parade), but he mostly did what they needed him to do in the movie
Once again, the exectution of the slapstick material is mostly okay, but certainly not great. The non-comedic action parts (the car chase) worked a bit better.
Niven, Wagner and Cappucine did a good job of projecting a family-like warmth in their scenes. That's not to say the overall acting quality in the film is great
I loved the ending with Roger Moore as Clouseau, but I thought Sellers voice imitation was way off. I wished they'd tried dubbing his voice with a Clouseau voice.
I have to believe they would have made more than 11 million dollars if they had combined Trail and Curse into one good film. Serves 'em right for being so greedy!
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Post by Clouseau on Jan 28, 2008 20:10:28 GMT
I loved the ending with Roger Moore as Clouseau, but I thought Sellers voice imitation was way off. I wished they'd tried dubbing his voice with a Clouseau voice. i can't really imagine what it'd be like seeing Moore, knowing him so well from the Bond films, and hearing someone else's voice... that idea just seems so strange to me... but i thought his impersonation, though not perfect, was hilarious in its own right! I have to believe they would have made more than 11 million dollars if they had combined Trail and Curse into one good film. Serves 'em right for being so greedy! this is something i've been saying for a while now - if they cut out the flashbacks from Trail and a lot of the ridiculousness from Curse, then between the two of them, there's a decent movie in there somewhere! btw, welcome to the forums, tournier! hope you like it here!
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