Blake Edwards, Jack of Many Trades
We lost Blake Edwards last night; Julie Andrews, his wife of 41 years, stayed by his side as he passed away due to complications of pneumonia. He will be missed as one of the great comedy directors, even though many will also remember him for his more serious-minded work in films like Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) and Days of Wine and Roses (1962). His career was uneven; for every wonderful film he made there was a beumb… but he was always a force to reckon with, even in his latter days when he became increasingly more interested in the travails of aging, in films like That’s Life (1986). In Victor/Victoria (1982), he found a way to combine more sophisticated humor with the kind of tasteless comedy that he exploited thoroughly in the Pink Panther films. His madcap acceptance of an honorary Oscar in 2004 seemed fitting.
Out of the contentious relationship with Peter Sellers emerged something for the ages; the Pink Panther films may vary in quality, but the best of them (The Pink Panther, A Shot in the Dark, The Pink Panther Strikes Again) are chock-full of ingenious gags and Edwards certainly learned how to stage them to perfection (one clue: Repeat a simple joke until it becomes so absurd the audience can’t help but laugh).
The YouTube clip above is lifted from the press conference in 2004 after Edwards’s acceptance of his Oscar. The clip below shows four hilarious scenes from the first two Pink Panther films.
Published by Stefan Hedmark 2010-12-16 12:32
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