The Party

Few would contest the sheer comic brilliance of the late Peter Sellers in his prime. This 1968 comedy about accident-prone Indian actor Hrundi V. Bakshi (Sellers), mistakenly invited to the Hollywood party of a producer whose film set he just destroyed, is a comic gem with gut busters aplenty. Director/producer/ co-writer Blake Edwards wisely lets Sellers do his thing, improvising shenanigans like the classic “Birdy num-num” scene where he single-handedly sends cocktail hour into chaos while wooing a talkative cockatiel. Other highlights include an entertaining score from composer Henry Mancini that mixes ’60s psychedelic schmaltz, French tropicalia and Hollywood glam. The DVD offers little in the way of extras, but the film looks good and stands as a fun-loving testament to Sellers’ irrepressible, straight-faced comedic wit.