The Pink Panther Blu-ray

The Pink Panther

 (1964)

Comedy | Crime | Romance



The bumbling Inspector Clouseau is on the tail of a famous jewel-thief whose eyes are set on stealing the famous "Pink Panther" gem worn by an Indian Princess.

Filmed in Technirama.

For more details about The Pink Panther on Blu-ray, see The Pink Panther Blu-ray Review

The Pink Panther Blu-ray, Video Quality

 


During the opening credits, solid colors in the animation reveal the woeful condition of the source material in the 2.20:1 aspect ratio. Strobing and flickering, moderate dust specs, small grain and signs of digital enhancement--it's all there. The opening minutes prepare the viewer to sit through a mediocre showing in 1080p. It made me expect picture quality like another 60s classic, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. But miraculously, once the opening credits end, the footage appears well preserved and polished in a manner not quite as good as The Godfather, but not much worse, either. Colors appear vibrant and definition is good--far better than the DVD from The Pink Panther Film Collection box set released in 2004. The flickering remains fairly constant throughout, but not overly obtrusive as during the opening credits. Overall, the brightness and color heat breathe new life into the picture. Perhaps there is some digital enhancement and cleanup to remove the larger dust specs and other anomalies. This type of noise reduction appears to have been done tastefully. Sure, there are telltale signs, including very light digital noise intermingled with the film grain. But for the most part the video felt like an enjoyable analog experience and not an excessively manipulated digital transfer. Most importantly, it allows a fresh look in 1080p at arguably the most influential comedy of the past half century.

One impressive feature is that the black level shows few signs of weakness. Dark scenes carry the shadow detail nicely. The most intriguing and captivating shadow scene is in Lytton's room, when Princess Dala joins him for some champagne. In dim light, the color scheme shows in subdued shades of brown, yet the life is visible in Niven's and Cardinale's eyes, facial expressions and details in the room around them. While not matching reference-quality Blu-rays sourced from newer filmstock, the outdoor shots show good depth and definition. Watch the shots of Niven, Cardinale and Capucine skiing the slopes of Cortina D'Ampezzo. The trees and mountains in the background appear with near photorealism. It's an impressive showing for an older film with a source that is far from ideal.

The Pink Panther Blu-ray, Audio Quality

 


The audio may be spec'ed as DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 but it is essentially monaural with ambient/reverb assigned to the non-center speakers. Having hundreds of jazz CDs sourced from master tapes recorded in the 1960s, I found the "glorified monaural" presentation of Henry Mancini's mid-sized ensemble to be impressive, overall. The midrange of the Ben Webster-inspired tenor sax melody is warm and full as it progresses up the scale in the suggestive half-steps of the Pink Panther theme. It is worth closing one's eyes and listening to the Mancini medley throughout the opening credits. One gets a sense of the depth of the soundstage. While the highs sound somewhat rolled-off and the deep bass is virtually nonexistent, no one will miss it. The soundtrack is fine without these reference-quality cues. If you are not accustomed to older recordings, you may not be happy with the audio, but dialog is crisp and vocal timbres carry plenty of definition. Virtually no signs of distortion or digital anomaly is audible, marking an improvement over the DVD box set version. Listen to the audio in the ski chalet scene when Fran Jeffries sings Meglio Stasera. The vocals and backing instrumentation deliver heft and vibrancy. And Jeffries is a hot performer, even if styles have changed a lot in half a century.

The Pink Panther Blu-ray, News and Updates

• Today on Blu-ray - January 27 - January 27, 2009


• The Pink Panther Blu-ray Gets Specs - December 15, 2008

The Pink Panther Blu-ray, Forum Discussions

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