My suspicion was that I was going to find the boxed set of Pink Panther adventures overwhelmingly dreary. After all, Inspector Clouseau's antics (even when delivered by sublime comic actor Peter Sellers) always seemed far too over the top, too lacking in subtlety, finally collapsing under their own sheer weight.

Was I wrong. Sellers is hilarious - and yes, sometimes the slapstick becomes almost operatic, but hey, that's part of its loony charm. The films build on each other, getting more and more elaborate in their destructive, literal punchlines as they advance (except for the final exploitation sequel, made two years after Sellers' death). To my great surprise, well worth revisiting.

In entirely different DVD news, Sherman's March, Ross McElwee's utterly brilliant, landmark documentary about history and the search for love in the universe is now out on DVD. This is a phenomenal film, one that deserves a place in every and any serious movie buff's library. The film set a new standard for personal essay style doc filmmaking.