7.4 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.9 |
A clerical mistake results in a bumbling film extra being invited to an exclusive Hollywood party instead of being fired.
Starring: Peter Sellers, Claudine Longet, Marge Champion, Dick Crockett, Danielle De MetzComedy | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.34:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Blake Edwards will probably forever be best remembered for films like Breakfast at Tiffany's and The Pink Panther, though his filmography also includes a vast array of other well known efforts ranging from The Great Race to Victor/Victoria: The Broadway Musical (this links to the Broadway musical version—the feature film has yet to make it to Blu-ray). But Edwards had his fair share of flops, both critically and commercially, including such mostly forgotten efforts as The Tamarind Seed (designed as a comeback vehicle for his wife, Julie Andrews, after their previous collaboration Darling Lili tanked). In fact, Edwards had achieved a certain reputation for self-indulgence after The Great Race, a film which aimed to be another “epic comedy” in the vein of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, but which despite its own considerable charms often felt bloated and chaotic. The late sixties weren’t an especially fecund era for Edwards, who offered the fussy if occasionally humorous What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? and revisited his early television success with Gunn, a feature film reboot of Peter Gunn. If The Party is unquestionably one of the better Edwards films from this time period, that’s perhaps damning the outing with faint praise. Reteaming Edwards with his Pink Panther star Peter Sellers probably seemed like a sure fire enterprise, but Edwards was content to simply let Sellers maraud his way improvisationally through this largely formless film. The results are once again largely self-indulgent and chaotic, but they reap some decently funny rewards, even if the admittedly sweet natured aspect of the film seems oddly quaint, especially in the light of the anti-establishment “flower power” ethos lurking just beneath the surface of a “plot” built around a glittering fete thrown by a tyrannical Hollywood producer.
The Party is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber Studio Classics with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.34:1. The elements utilized here are in quite good condition, with only minimal age related wear and tear. Colors seem to have faded slightly, and so flesh tones are a bit on the brown side (even putting aside Sellers' "brownface" makeup), and with tones like reds looking a bit rusty at times. Clarity is still very good throughout the presentation, and fine detail is often commendable, so much so that the tiny ridges in the elephant's hide are plainly visible even in midrange shots. (If you're wondering how an elephant got into this review, you'll simply have to watch the film.) The image is stable and organic looking, resolving a lot of the late sixties' costume, set and art patterns with ease and with no anomalies.
The Party's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono mix is suitably noisy and busy, but it boasts excellent fidelity almost all of the time. There's just a touch of brittleness in the upper midrange (listen to the whistling in that opening British military scene), but for the most part Henry Mancini's charming score sounds great. Dialogue is also rendered cleanly and clearly and there's no damage of any kind to report.
Some fans actually prefer The Party to at least some of the Inspector Clouseau offerings, but others find the film too self indulgent for its own good. I probably tip more toward that second category, but the film's wacky charms are undeniable, and Sellers is—well, very busy as Bakshi. Interestingly, Edwards' casting of Mickey Rooney as an Asian American in Breakfast at Tiffany's started raising a newly PC aware ruckus in the 1990s, though there doesn't seem to be similar outrage with Sellers playing an Indian. That may be testament to Sellers' innate charm and for how innocently sweet—if often very dangerous—Hrundi S. Bakshi seems. Recommended.
My Uncle
1958
2017
2017
Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa
2013
2012
The Woody Allen Collection
1973
2016
Les aventures de Rabbi Jacob
1973
1932
1965
1968
1951
2019
2018
1940
1985
1931
Micmacs à tire-larigot
2009
1928
1972