The Unknown Peter Sellers (2000)

Beyond the Pink Panther

"The Unknown Peter Sellers" is a fascinating documentary about the great comedic actor. This film is produced, written, and directed by John Scheinfeld and David Leaf. The filmmakers incorporate clips from Sellers' film and television work, as well as interviews with a number of individuals: biographer and film critic Alexander Walker, Sellers' "Being There" co-star Shirley MacLaine, Monty Python's Michael Palin, director Richard Lester, and more. MacLaine's memories of Sellers are particularly mesmerizing.

The documentary provides a general overview on the brilliant Seller's personal life and career. The film covers his family background, his extensive career in radio comedy, his television work, and the ups and downs of his career in theatrical films. We get insight into how Sellers developed the character of Inspector Clouseau, and learn what happened behind-the-scenes of his triple role in the classic "Dr. Strangelove." Also covered are Sellers' TV commercials and his artistic triumph in "Being There."

As the title indicates, this documentary emphasizes Sellers' lesser-known artistic achievements. The filmmakers cover television programs and films that I had never heard of, and include a sampling of clips from this remarkable body of "unknown" work. This material includes such oddities as a 1964 TV film, written by Rod Serling, entitled "Carol for Another Christmas." The narrator notes that this film aired once and "vanished"; included is a fascinating clip showing Sellers in character as a frighteningly intense cult leader.

The DVD includes some intriguing special features. I especially enjoyed Sellers' TV commercials for Barclay's Bank and TWA Airlines; in these ads the versatile Sellers gets to play some colorful characters, such as a hilarious Italian swinger. There is also a fun behind-the-scenes featurette about the making of the TWA ads. Another extra is an engrossing 1971 TV interview with Sellers. He talks about working on TV, the characters he portrayed in his radio career, and more. This interview offers a funny and touching view of Sellers; it's especially fun to watch him clowning and causing the interviewer to laugh. The DVD also includes a filmography of Sellers' work.

I have admired Sellers' work since I was a child, and this superb documentary left me admiring this great talent even more. He truly was a one-of-a-kind performing artist whose best work remains as entertaining and as relevant as ever. This documentary is the perfect companion to the award-winning biographical drama "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers," in which Geoffrey Rush brilliantly plays Sellers. November 7, 2005

Things you never knew

I found this video interesting showing a side of Peter Sellers I never knew before. Due to his complex characters and his little known real persona it was sad to see the life he led, despite his renown humour that he was unable to find his real happiness due to the stranger intense relationship between him and his mother.

This video is worth watching and then watching later the movie "The Life and Times of Peter Sellers" encompasses the real story of Peter Sellers. July 28, 2005

A fascinatingly complex human being of unrecognized skill

It would seem the aim of The Unknown Peter Sellers is to give a very broad overview of Sellers' career and to reveal both his versatility and a range of work that the average fan is unaware of. In this, it is most successful and very definitely NOT A WASTE of time. True, there are lots of snippets and fleeting images, and as a strict biography--it clearly is not--it leaves out major pieces of the puzzle (his first and third wives, among them). But as the only comprehensive look at Sellers' career available in U.S. dvd release, it is required viewing for the serious Sellers fan, and an enjoyable and impressive summary for newcomers to his work. There are rarities here I've not found elsewhere thus far...like the breathtaking scene from "Carol for Another Christmas," the first project Peter did (with Rod Serling) following his massive heart attack in 1964; early photos of Peter as a young lad and a teenager, scenes from "The Running, Jumping and Standing Still Film," Sellers' weekend hobby shoot that nearly won him an Academy Award.

Many of the source interviews used here (David Frost, Shirley MacLaine, Michael Palin) also appear, in different edits, on the recent 40th Anniversary edition of Dr. Strangelove in a piece called Best Sellers or Peter Sellers and Dr. Strangelove, but the Strangelove featurette includes interviews from Roger Ebert, Spike Lee and James Harris, Kubrick's business partner, as well as a split-screen interview with Sellers in character as President Merkin Muffley; and as one would expect, it focuses more specifically on that film. The BBC dvd mentioned by one reviewer, which is actually called "The Peter Sellers Story...As He Filmed It" is indeed the crown jewel of the lot, and was just reissued as of Oct. 2005. See the Amazon.co.uk site for it. As a biography of Peters' life, it is a more complete telling than The Unknown ...Sellers, and uses exclusive imagery from Sellers' own home movies, including a trip to Disneyland with George Harrison and Ravi Shankar, clowning around with his royal pals Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon, as well as voiceovers from Sellers' various wives. The 1971 interview that comes on Unknown was for Irish television, and has indeed been edited as it appears here...it appears more complete with the interviewer's questions and responses on the BBC disc (even with Sellers, very sweetly, saying "Bless you" to a crew member who sneezes off-camera), along with the TWA commercials. Though the three overlap to some extent, The Unknown Peter Sellers, Dr. Strangelove 40th anniv. Edition and The PS Story...As He Filmed It all contain items unique to themselves. The BBC disc is really for diehard fans. I highly recommend this one as a great synopsis of this extraordinary man's career.
April 11, 2005

Still Waiting For The Rerelease Of Sellers On Sellers

The DVD release of Sellers On Sellers (for $34 yet) has been halted due to court actions by the Sellers estate against the BBC. According to most sources, this is the Sellers "inside bio" to get.

It supposedly has at least 90 minutes of great stuff featuring lots of Sellers home movies. Hopefully the BBC will pay off the Sellers estate so they can get this great DVD back on the market again.

And when and if it does get rereleased, hopefully it'll also be less than $34 - but hey, maybe it won't be, because the BBC will understandably be passing along their payoff to the Sellers estate to their customers. The thing is, though, because it's Sellers, it just might be worth the extra price for a change.



December 14, 2004

A Good Documentary On A Genuine Comic Genius

I disagree with some viewers who believe that this biography is a waste of time. Although I would have liked more rare footage and particularly more special features devoted to relatively unknown works like "A Show Called Fred", I still thought that the picture painted of Sellers was accurate and interesting.

The documentary is an hour long and traces Sellers life and career without succumbing to the temptation of focusing excessively on the "Pink Panther" series and the Clouseau character. Don't get me wrong, I adore the "Panthers", but there is so much more to know about this extraordinary man.

The special features are a bit weak. There is an interview from 1971 that is unedited and frequently a bit boring, although there are several brilliant witticisms included that make it worthwhile. Also included are TV ads Sellers made for a bank and an airline. Unfortunately the bank spots, which I thought were flimsy, were his last work ever on film, which makes them worth watching, but are sad, nonetheless.

This is an interesting documentary and I think any fan of Sellers would enjoy watching it; I know that I did.
August 5, 2004

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