Son of the Pink Panther | |
---|---|
Directed by | Blake Edwards |
Screenplay by | Blake Edwards Madeline Sunshine Steve Sunshine |
Story by | Blake Edwards |
Based on | Characters by Blake Edwards Maurice Richlin |
Produced by | Tony Adams |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Dick Bush |
Edited by | Robert Pergament |
Music by | Henry Mancini |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (United States) Filmauro (Italy) |
Release dates |
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Running time | 93 minutes |
Countries | United States Italy |
Languages | English Italian |
Budget | $28 million [1] |
Box office | $20 million |
Son of the Pink Panther is a 1993 comedy film. It is the ninth and final installment of the original The Pink Panther film series starting from the 1963 film. Directed by Blake Edwards, it stars Roberto Benigni as Inspector Clouseau's illegitimate son. Also in this film are Panther regulars Herbert Lom, Burt Kwouk and Graham Stark and a star of the original 1963 film, Claudia Cardinale. It was the final film for both director Blake Edwards [1] and composer Henry Mancini; [2] Mancini died on June 14, 1994, [3] and Edwards retired from film-making in 1995. [4] : 13
Princess Yasmin of Lugash is abducted in French territorial waters off the coast of Nice by terrorists led by mercenary Hans in order to force her father to abdicate and allow her disgraced stepmother's lover, a military general with terrorist ties to a neighboring kingdom, to claim the throne. Police Commissioner Dreyfus is tasked with solving the case of Yasmin's disappearance. While investigating in the South of France, he has a run-in with the kidnappers and local gendarme Jacques Gambrelli. Jacques opens the doors of the kidnapper's van and unknowingly spots the Princess who he believes is the driver's sister en route to the hospital.
Not wanting any witnesses, Hans sends his henchmen to kill Jacques. Dreyfus follows him to the hospital and observes. The bumbling Jacques eventually gets his bicycle stuck in a wet cement sidewalk outside the hospital. Hans' henchmen spot Jacques, but Dreyfus intervenes and saves him. Jacques then takes Dreyfus to his home where he lives with his mother Maria whom Dreyfus recognizes as a suspect in a murder case 30 years ago. Maria says Jacques is actually the illegitimate son of the late Inspector Jacques Clouseau. Hans' men attempt to plant a bomb under the Gambrelli house, which leads to Dreyfus becoming injured instead and sent to the hospital.
While Maria decides to stay beside the injured Dreyfus to see him recover, Jacques learns of his origins from them. He decides to rescue Princess Yasmin and prove himself his father's true heir and legacy. At the hospital, Jacques recognizes one of the henchmen. The henchman wants a doctor for Hans, who was injured after Yasmin attempted to escape. Impersonating a doctor, Jacques gains access to the terrorists' hideout and attempts to treat the injured Hans. Jacques accidentally stabs himself in the cheek with a needle filled with Novocaine and gets locked up with the princess.
Hans decides to move his safe house to Lugash and sends his men to kill Jacques by placing him in a van and rolling it down a steep road off a cliff. However, Jacques manages to escape. Seeking help, Jacques travels to Paris to look up Clouseau's old friends and meets his late father's former manservant Cato Fong who directs him to Inspector Clouseau's former costumer Professor Auguste Balls. The Professor makes new disguises for them to travel to Lugash and rescue Princess Yasmin. Jacques and Cato fly to Lugash. At a local restaurant, they meet a government agent who reveals the location of Hans' new hideout, a castle located outside the Lugash capital city.
Aided by the Lugash Army and Cato, Jacques enters the castle, defeats the terrorists and rescues Princess Yasmin.
At France, Jacques is promoted to detective and transfers to Paris' metro police force as an Inspector. He attends the wedding of Maria and Dreyfus who have gotten engaged during their time together in the hospital. During the reception, Maria tells Dreyfus that she in fact had twins from her one-time tryst with Inspector Clouseau. To Dreyfus' shock, Jacques's twin sister Jacqueline appears there and turns out to be just a clumsy and dim-witted as her brother.
At a ceremony in Lugash, King Haroak and Princess Yasmin award Inspector Clouseau Jr. with a special medal for his heroic rescue. The event is attended by Maria, Dreyfus, Cato, Prof. Balls and Jacqueline. However, his clumsy antics disrupt the proceedings. The film ends with Jacques saying, "That felt good!" before it freeze frames. The animated Pink Panther walks across the screen, when the cartoon Jacques suddenly cuts away his own head and it drops onto the Panther’s foot, enraging him and chases him into fading blackness.
This was the first Pink Panther film in a decade, following 1982's Trail of the Pink Panther and 1983's Curse of the Pink Panther, two ill-received attempts to continue the series following the death of Peter Sellers, who originated the character of Clouseau. [5] Considered a relaunch of the series, the plan was for the film to focus on Jacques Gambrelli, Clouseau's illegitimate son. Initially, Edwards tapped Kevin Kline for the role. Kline was a fan of the series and loved Edwards' previous films, but decided after reading the script that the project just wouldn't work. Afterwards, Rowan Atkinson was offered the part, having also previously been offered the role of Detective Sleigh in Curse of the Pink Panther . [6] Gérard Depardieu was the next casting choice. According to producer Tony Adams, Depardieu was "very interested" in the role when first approached in 1989, but he was no longer available by the time production was ready to begin. [5]
When Giancarlo Parretti took control of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, MGM-Pathé Communications withdrew financing from the project and Edwards sued the studio in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. [7] When Alan Ladd, Jr. came aboard, MGM settled out of court with Edwards. Ladd greenlit the film but Depardieu was no longer available. Edwards then wanted Roberto Benigni — a popular Italian comedian who had yet to be discovered in America — after viewing Down by Law and Johnny Stecchino . [5] [8] : 195–196
Securing Benigni in late 1991 found the film much-needed third party financing from Aurelio De Laurentiis, who provided nearly half of then film's $28 million budget in exchange for the rights to distribute it in Italy. Filming started 8 June 1992 in Saint-Paul-de-Vence and production finished 4 months later, taking place in Pinewood Studios and the country of Jordan. During the film's final battle, the soldiers were played by real-life Jordanian Special Operation Forces paratroopers. [7] Kroyer Films made the animated Pink Panther character and the animated persona of Clouseau Jr. in a live action sequence for the intro. The opening Pink Panther sequence cost an estimated $1 million. [1] [8] : 195–196
A journalist from The Roanoke Times asked Edwards why he made Son of the Pink Panther. Edwards replied while laughing, "I think it's principally greed, and some small percentage that I hate to see something that has kind of become an institution languish and die." [9]
The film's soundtrack album was released by Milan Records.
Son of the Pink Panther was universally panned by critics and failed to generate commercial success. In 2015 Radio Times magazine gave the film only 1 star out of 5. [10] On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 6% based on 34 critic reviews, with an average score of 3.40/10. The website's consensus reads, "Roberto Benigni is an undeniably gifted physical comic, but the misguided Son of [the] Pink Panther betrays his energetic efforts with a painfully unfunny script". [11] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 33 out of 100 based on 19 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". [12] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "C+" on scale of A+ to F. [13] Benigni's harsh performance in the film earned him a Razzie Award nomination for Worst New Star in 1994, though he lost to Janet Jackson. [14]
In its release in the United States and Canada it only grossed $2.4 million. [15] However, the film was a top hit in Italy with a gross of $18 million and became the highest-grossing Italian blockbuster ever, despite being considered a box-office bomb everywhere else. [16] [6]
Before the film's release, Adams confirmed that he and MGM planned to release more sequels to the film with Benigni reprising his role as Gambrelli, but these plans were cancelled due to Son of the Pink Panther's poor reception. [7]
Blake Edwards was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor.
Roberto Remigio Benigni is an Italian actor, comedian, screenwriter and director. He gained international recognition for writing, directing and starring in the Holocaust comedy-drama film Life Is Beautiful (1997), for which he received the Academy Awards for Best Actor and Best International Feature Film. Benigni was the first actor to win the Best Actor Academy Award for a non–English language performance.
Inspector Jacques Clouseau, later granted the rank of Chief Inspector, is a fictional character in Blake Edwards' farcical The Pink Panther series. Clouseau's immense ego, eccentricity, exaggerated French accent, and prominent mustache are all a parody of Hercule Poirot, the fictional Belgian detective created by Agatha Christie. He is portrayed by Peter Sellers in the original series, and also by Alan Arkin in the 1968 film Inspector Clouseau and, in a cameo, by Roger Moore in the 1983 film Curse of the Pink Panther. In the 2006 reboot and its 2009 sequel, Clouseau is portrayed by Steve Martin. Clouseau's likeness also appears in the Pink Panther animated cartoon shorts and segments, where he is known as simply "the Inspector".
The Pink Panther is an American media franchise primarily focusing on a series of comedy-mystery films featuring an inept French police detective, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. The franchise began with the release of the film The Pink Panther in 1963. The role of Clouseau was originated by and is most closely associated with Peter Sellers. Most of the films were written and directed by Blake Edwards, with theme music composed by Henry Mancini. Elements and characters inspired by the films were adapted into other media, including books, comic books, video games and animated series.
Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchačevič ze Schluderpacheru, known professionally as Herbert Lom, was a Czech-British actor with a career spanning over 60 years. His cool demeanour and precise, elegant elocution saw him cast as criminals or suave villains in his younger years, and professional men and nobles as he aged. Highly versatile, he also proved a skilled comic actor in The Pink Panther franchise, playing the beleaguered Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus in seven films.
Herbert Tsangtse Kwouk, was a British actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as Cato in the Pink Panther films. He made appearances in many television programmes, including a portrayal of Imperial Japanese Army Major Yamauchi in the British drama series Tenko and as Entwistle in Last of the Summer Wine.
The Inspector is an American series of 34 theatrical cartoon shorts produced between 1965 and 1969 by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises and released through United Artists. The cartoons are dedicated to an animated version of Inspector Clouseau comically battling against a rogues' gallery of internationally styled villains.
A Shot in the Dark is a 1964 comedy film directed by Blake Edwards in Panavision. Produced as a standalone sequel to The Pink Panther, it is the second installment in the eponymous film series, with Peter Sellers reprising his role as Inspector Jacques Clouseau of the French Sûreté.
Trail of the Pink Panther is a 1982 comedy film directed by Blake Edwards and starring Peter Sellers. It is the seventh film in The Pink Panther series, the first film in the series following Sellers's death and also the last in which he appeared as Inspector Clouseau. Sellers died 18 months before production began; his performance consists entirely of his deleted scenes and outtakes from previous films. Although the Sellers estate sued United Artists and the unauthorized use of the footage was ruled illegal, the film was allowed to be released. The newly shot material in the film stars Joanna Lumley as journalist Marie Jouvet searching for the missing Clouseau – and running afoul of the inspector's enemies who do not wish to see him return.
The Pink Panther Strikes Again is a 1976 comedy film. The fifth film in The Pink Panther series, its plot begins three years after the conclusion of The Return of the Pink Panther. Unused footage from the film was later included in Trail of the Pink Panther (1982), released after Peter Sellers's death.
The Return of the Pink Panther is a 1975 comedy film and the fourth film in The Pink Panther series. The film stars Peter Sellers returning to the role of Inspector Clouseau for the first time since A Shot in the Dark (1964), after having declined to reprise the role in Inspector Clouseau (1968).
The Pink Panther is a series of films featuring the fictional Inspector Clouseau, played by Peter Sellers, that began in 1963.
Curse of the Pink Panther is a 1983 comedy film and a continuation of The Pink Panther series of films created by Blake Edwards in the early 1960s. The film was one of two produced concurrently following the death of the series' star Peter Sellers. Whereas the previous film Trail of the Pink Panther made use of unused footage of Sellers as Inspector Clouseau and starred Joanna Lumley as journalist Marie Jouvet, Curse attempted to relaunch the series with a new lead, Ted Wass, as inept American detective Clifton Sleigh, assigned to find the missing Inspector Clouseau.
My Best Fiend is a 1999 German documentary film written and directed by Werner Herzog, about his tumultuous yet productive relationship with German actor Klaus Kinski. It was released on DVD in 2000 by Anchor Bay.
The Pink Panther is a 2006 American comedy-mystery film and a reboot of The Pink Panther franchise, marking the tenth installment in the series. It is also the first Pink Panther film to be released since Son of the Pink Panther in 1993. In this film, Inspector Jacques Clouseau is assigned to solve the murder of a famous soccer coach and the theft of the famous Pink Panther diamond. The film was directed by Shawn Levy, stars Steve Martin as Clouseau and also co-stars Kevin Kline, Jean Reno, Emily Mortimer, and Beyoncé Knowles.
The Pink Panther is a 1963 American comedy film directed by Blake Edwards and distributed by United Artists. It was written by Maurice Richlin and Blake Edwards. It is the first installment in The Pink Panther franchise. Its story follows Inspector Jacques Clouseau as he travels from Rome to Cortina d'Ampezzo to catch a notorious jewel thief known as "The Phantom" before he is able to steal a priceless diamond known as "The Pink Panther". The film stars David Niven, Peter Sellers, Robert Wagner, Capucine and Claudia Cardinale.
Inspector Clouseau is a 1968 British comedy film, and the third installment in The Pink Panther film series. It was directed by Bud Yorkin, written by brothers Frank Waldman and Tom Waldman and stars Alan Arkin as the title character. It was filmed by Mirisch Films at the MGM-British Studios, Borehamwood and in Europe.
Revenge of the Pink Panther is a 1978 comedy film. It is the sixth film in The Pink Panther comedy film series. Released in 1978, it is the final on-set performance of Peter Sellers in the role of Inspector Jacques Clouseau. It was also the last installment in the series that was distributed solely by United Artists; the company was absorbed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer three years after the film's release.
The Pink Panther 2 is a 2009 American comedy-mystery film directed by Harald Zwart. It is the eleventh installment in The Pink Panther film series and the sequel to the 2006 film The Pink Panther, a reboot of the popular comedy series. The film was released on February 6, 2009 in North America. In the film, Inspector Clouseau must team up with detectives from other countries to rout a daring burglar, The Tornado, who has returned after a decade's inactivity.