Director Blake Edwards is rather properly regarded as comedy legend in Hollywood. Edwards completed a number of projects before hitting it big in the early ‘60’s with first Operation Petticoat with Cary Grant and then Breakfast at Tiffany’s with Audrey Hepburn. Edwards didn’t reach his full comic potential until he met actor Peter Sellers and then wrote and directed three of the best comedies of all time in The Pink Panther, A Shot in the Dark and The Party. Edwards had always had deadpan, slapstick sensibilities, but these elements didn’t quite mesh together until Edwards started to work with Sellers. Sellers is an unquestioned comic genius (much like Edwards), especially when it came to playing the types of dimwitted, accident prone characters who were so integral to Edwards’ comedy. No one has ever captured buffoonery quite like Sellers, and no one has quite showcased it like Edwards.
On the heels of Edwards’ honorary Oscar at this year’s Academy Awards, MGM has released a 6-disc box set of the five Edwards/Sellers Pink Panther series. The extra features included in this set are not exhaustive, but the commentary by Edwards for the original Pink Panther is worth listening to and there is some inherent nostalgic amusement in watching the animated Pink Panther shorts as well (a side effect may come with the rampant want to buy ceiling insulation though). This is not a definitive collection of the Pink Panther films, but is a very competent release that will satisfy the desires of most Sellers and Edwards fans.
