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His instinctive comic genius did not go unnoticed. After appearing in the first two Pink Panther movies, director Blake Edwards devised a cunning plan. He would co-write with Frank and Tom Waldman an abbreviated screenplay half the length of a conventional script, shoot the film sequentially, and give Sellers and the rest of the players the freedom to improvise. Like a stage play, the action would be confined to one locale, a posh Hollywood home at which we find The Party.

Hrundi V. Bakshi (Peter Sellers) is an Eastern Indian whose native tongue is Hindustani; he's made the challenging career choice of becoming a successful Hollywood actor. He's sincere, sensitive, a little naive, but is clearly a man of honor. Unfortunately, Bakshi's also rather inept. When a few blunders cost a film production millions, the infuriated producer, C.S. Divot (Gavin MacLeod as a casting couch predator), reports an expensive calamity to his studio head, Fred Clutterbuck (J. Edward McKinley). Vowing that Bakshi will never work in Hollywood again, Clutterbuck scribbles Bakshi's name on the first available piece of paper as a reminder to destroy a career - such as it is - on Monday. That sheet of paper, partially obscured by other documents, is the guest list to a dinner party he and his wife are planning for the elite. Clutterbuck's efficient secretary will ensure that Bakshi receives an invitation.

Perhaps unaware that the invitation's black tie annotation requires formal dress - tuxedo and gown - Bakshi arrives in his three-wheeled Morgan (an authentic British car, not one designed for the film) dressed in a tan suit, a red tie, and white shoes. Surrounding him with elegantly dressed glamour and power, Blake is less than subtle as he establishes Bakshi as the quintessential fish- out-of-water. Sellers does the best he can with this simple premise, forced to rely on physical humor rather than wit. As the evening progresses, the silliness escalates to incredulousness. Sellers' character is too sweet for us to accept his bumbling and victim-hood with good humor. This is an opportunity lost. Had the screenwriters placed less emphasis on slapstick and more on Sellers' comic instincts the film would have been more satisfying.

That the funniest laughs in the movie are a running gag in which Bakshi manages to appear dozens of yards away from some inadvertent mischief is quite telling. There is a sweet subplot in which Bakshi saves a starlet, Michelle Monet (Claudine Longet), from the lecherous Divot. This leaves us with the notion that this poor bumbling fellow will remain untouched by the disasters he leaves in his wake and that he's blessed with a luck that will assure his future happiness. Just don't invite him to your next party.

Video: How Does The Disc Look?

The film's theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 is shown in anamorphic video and the transfer is terrific. There is an ever so slight softness that obscures the finest of details - like the texture of fabric - and film grain is readily visible, but I suspect that these traits are found in the film elements. Small object detail is very good and edge artifacts in the form of halos are essentially invisible. (I'm beginning to suspect that when film grain is more visible, the telecine operator or the compressionist manipulates parameters that have the serendipitous effect of reducing or eliminating the halos.) Colors are vivid and without chroma noise; note Clutterbuck's well-saturated red jumpsuit, given to the soaked Bakshi as his clothes dry. Brightness and contrast are very good. This well-lit movie has little shadow detail by which to judge it quality, but the blacks are deep and rich. Since I admired the transfer, it was gratifying to find the Laser Pacific credit screen at the end of the film.

Audio: How Does the Disc Sound?

The Dolby Digital 1.0 monaural soundtrack is okay. It suffers from all the deficiencies of film audio technology of the late '60s. There are neither transparent highs nor deep bass. Sound effects seem compressed. Henry Mancini's music sounds claustrophobic and the general impression is band-restricted sound. Only Claudine Longet's quiet solo, accompanying herself on the guitar, has any notable fidelity. The dialog remains crystal clear.

There are three foreign language audio tracks (the box only specifies the first two): French, Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese. Subtitles are available in English, French, Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese; there are also English Closed Captions.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

There is only one, the film's 2.35:1 theatrical trailer. It, like the feature, is shown in anamorphic video. There are sixteen chapter stops.

DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC?

No ROM extras have been included.

Parting Thoughts