Peter Falk: An Appreciation on Disc

27 Jun, 2011 By: Erik Gruenwedel

---

Best known for the ‘Columbo’ TV series, the veteran actor appeared in more than 50 movies — many of which are on disc

While Peter Falk always will be remembered as TV icon Lt. Columbo — the disheveled Los Angeles police detective with a penchant for day-old cigars and annoying follow-up questions — he also leaves behind a 50-year career that included several notable theatrical performances.

Falk, who died June 23 at the age of 83, starred in Husbands in 1970 and A Woman Under the Influence (1974) — both directed by John Cassavetes. The latter film earned co-star Gena Rowlands a 1975 Oscar nomination and Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

Falk earned two Best Supporting Actor nominations for Murder, Inc. (1960) and Frank Capra’s comedy-drama Pocketful of Miracles (1961).

Husbands was re-released in 2009 as an extended cut DVD by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. A Woman Under the Influence generated a vaunted Criterion Collection re-release in 2008 by Image Entertainment. The title also is bundled in Criterion’s 2004 boxed set John Cassavetes: Five Films, also from Image.

Murder was released on DVD in 2006 by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment; Miracles, which featured Glenn Ford and Bette Davis, was released on DVD in 2001 by MGM Home Entertainment.

Yet, it is the venerable “Columbo” TV series and recurring eponymous TV movies that likely resonates most with consumers today, according to Gord Lacey, whose TVShowsonDVD.com website tracks and qualifies small-screen minutiae.

Surprisingly, there remain seven “Columbo” TV movies that haven't been released on disc, which Lacey assumes are forthcoming and were probably planned before Falk's death.

Universal Studios Home Entertainment, which distributes the “Columbo” franchise, in 2007 released Columbo: Mystery Movie Collection, which featured Falk reprising his Columbo character in 1989 after a 10-year hiatus for a series of separate 90-minute TV movies as part of The ABC Mystery Movie.

Columbo, which TV Guide ranked No. 7 on its 1999 list of top TV characters, would reappear in another 19 original TV movies through 2003.

“I think Universal is looking for the right time to release [them], in terms of the schedule,” Lacey said. “While Falk did other stuff, it’s hard to compete with ‘Columbo.’ Obviously, it’s been selling because they keep releasing it.”

A USHE spokesperson confirmed additional "Columbo" disc releases are under consideration.
 

Bookmark it: