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Columbo - The Complete First Season |  | Directors: Peter Falk, Bernard L. Kowalski, Edward M. Abroms, Hy Averback, Jack Smight
Actors: Peter Falk, Roddy McDowall, Anne Francis, James Gregory, Ida Lupino
Studio: National Broadcasting Company (NBC)
Category: DVD
List Price: $39.98
Buy New: $24.23
as of 11/27/2009 18:37 CST details
You Save: $15.75 (39%)
New (35) Used (14) Collectible (2) from $21.90
Seller: inetvideo
Rating:  123 reviews
Sales Rank: 3825
Format: Box set, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 1
Discs: 5
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 5
Running Time: 725 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.6 x 1.2
MPN: D25583D
ISBN: 1417014326
UPC: 025192558320
EAN: 9781417014323
ASIN: B0002COTDA
Theatrical Release Date: February 9, 1972
Release Date: September 7, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com
TV detective fans rejoice: Peter Falk's rumpled and infallible Lt. Columbo joins the DVD precinct with a five-disc set that features the detective's first nine appearances for NBC. Though Falk as Columbo (no first name) made his TV debut in 1967, the detective had actually first appeared on an episode of the 1960-61 Chevy Mystery Show (Bert Freed played the role) written by veteran TV scribes Richard Levinson and William Link (The Fugitive, Alfred Hitchcock Presents). The pair turned the episode into a stage play titled Prescription: Murder, which was adapted into a TV movie in 1967 with Falk in the lead. NBC greenlit a two-hour Columbo pilot (Ransom for a Dead Man) in 1971, and the series was launched that fall as part of the NBC Sunday Mystery Movie, a rotating 90-minute program that alternated Columbo with episodes of MacMillan and Wife and McCloud (another Levinson/Link creation). Viewers were quickly won over by Falk's shrewd performance as he matched wits with a host of exceptional guest stars (including Gene Barry, Patrick McGoohan, and others), all of whom assumed that the disheveled detective would never figure out their "perfect crimes"; the popularity and quality of the original series allows Falk to continue to don the trenchcoat some 30 years later for occasional Columbo TV movies. All seven 90-minute episodes of the 1971-72 debut season are included here, along with Prescription: Murder and Ransom for a Dead Man; unfortunately, as the lieutenant himself would say, "Oh, just one more thing"--no extras are included in the set, but having these fine TV mysteries in one set should be reward enough for armchair sleuths. --Paul Gaita
Product Description
It s the landmark series that inspired an entire genre. Now television s greatest detective Columbo comes to DVD for the first time in this deluxe collector s set. Starring Peter Falk in his 4-time Emmy-winning role as the cigar-chomping trench coat-wearing police lieutenant this 5-disc collection includes every fascinating episode from the series first season. Also included are the two original Columbo movies: Prescription: Murder and Ransom for a Dead Man. Columbo s first season features legendary guest stars like Robert Culp Ray Milland Eddie Albert Suzanne Pleshette Don Ameche Leslie Nielsen and Roddy McDowall. It s no mystery why Columbo: The Complete First Season is the DVD set crime fans have been waiting for!System Requirements: Running Time 498 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 025192558320 Manufacturer No: 25583
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 123
 Columbo-first SeASON September 20, 2009
Beatrice M. Stitely (Waynesboro, Pa.)
I HAVE ENJOYED COLUMBO OVER THE YEARS and this first years seriss were outstanding. I never saw one of the episodes
Columbo Season One September 8, 2009
Pamela Willis
I am a true Columbo fan. This set of season one DVDs are terrific! They are the original of the series and were worth the money to get them. My husband and I both enjoy classic mysteries and these are no exception. You will not be disappointed with Season One and I highly recommend it for family entertainment.
 Some of the very best episodes, sloppy DVD production, horrible French subtitles! September 4, 2009
critic-ailleurs (Montreal, Qc)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
A word of warning for the French speaking communities in Canada: the quality of the French translation here in the subtitles, for most of the episodes, is utterly shameful, and I would urge Quebec consumers to register a complaint about it to the Office de la langue française. Not only did these "translators" have the level of language completely wrong in places, but it is infested with typographical and grammatical errors of elementary school level!
A direct transcription of the generally excellent dubbing they did in France in the 70s would have been the way to go to give justice in French to this landmark detective series.
...Also, a bit of print restoration would not have hurt, especially given the regular price these boxes sell for!
...No extras!
...Finally, the scenes division in FOUR (!) chapters only is entirely frustrating when one wants to catch up on viewing!
...But yes, this is still some of the best of the best, when the series could have its moments of romanticism, drama and mystery all at once. When, as a recent reviewer aptly stressed, Peter Falk could actually be taken seriously by the murderer in a progressively suspenseful way, instead of only at the finale, after sometimes interminable displays of ineptness and goofing, like in some of those unwatchable 80s/90s episodes.
And don't miss the lost musical gem which is the "Columbo" theme (NOT the Henry Mancini theme for the "Sunday Night Mystery Movie") by Gil Melle, in the episodes entitled "Short Fuse", "Death Lends A Hand", "Dead Weight" and "Blueprint For Murder". This theme will sadly be discarded forever by the studio as of Season 2. Plus his original episode score for "Short Fuse" is simply phenomenal!
WHAT CAN I SAY ? September 3, 2009
Mike S. (Milford, MA)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
It's kind of difficult to write a review of the Columbo series. Pretty much everyone is familiar with it already. If you don't know who Columbo is , or you never heard of him, you're probably living in Madagascar. ( the country... not the movie...). But , as Columbo might say... "if I could have just a minute of your time sir...". I'll give it a try. Lieutenant Columbo, homicide detective of the Los Angeles Police force, would never be mistaken for that. He dresses like a construction site manager who just stepped out of the local bar after a business lunch with his boss. One of the always-funny running jokes in the Columbo series is how many people mistake him for a vagrant or a passer-by who happened to wander into the scene of a police investigation. He's always having to pull his badge out to convince people that he belongs there. Plain-clothes indeed. There was one particularly humorous episode where his ( forever unseen...) wife got him a present of a new deep blue ( or possibly black ) trench coat to replace that rumpled old saggy bleak-beige one he typically wears. He kept carrying the new one around, sometimes putting it on... but mostly carrying it because he just couldn't stand the feel of it, but he didn't want to disappoint his wife, so kept trying to "accidentally" leave it somewhere where it might get stolen. No luck. By the end of the episode he's forsaken the new one and is back to the tired old saggy trench coat that he loves. There are little things like that which keep a continuity between each movie or episode ( whatever you prefer to call them...) that make Columbo feel like a quirky family relation who you enjoy seeing. Columbo doesn't carry a gun. He made that clear, quietly, to a friend of his on the force who he paid 5 dollars to, to take his target training practice for him. ( Columbo claimed that he couldn't hit the target anyway) He was being pestered by Internal Affairs to complete his required target practice. Again here we see that he is not a typical detective. Columbo does not grill his suspects like you might see on other police dramas or investigations. He doesn't take them to the station and sit them in an interrogation room and give them the third degree. In fact he is so polite, makes such a small presence of himself, is so ingratiating..., that he throws his suspects off guard. This is his well developed approach. By presenting himself as an amiable naive klutzy gumshoe detective who seems to want to be everyone's best friend, he completely disarms his suspects of any worry that he might be gradually sneaking up on them , putting clues together, and figuring out what they thought was the perfect crime. This is really the primary enjoyment of the series. Watching Columbo in his very average looking getup, slowly, but very very persistently piece together who committed the homicide and how they did it. For Columbo, his deliberate deceptively clunky and awkward manner masks his very sharp mind and very astute eyes that don't overlook anything that might be important. And at the end of each movie or episode, we are treated to the stunned look on the murderer's face as he or she suddenly realizes that Columbo pulled one over on them and was a lot smarter than they gave him credit for. Peter Falk has the character of Columbo nailed down to perfection. He has created an icon for all ages. Rarely does an actor develop a character to such a fine degree that the character becomes part of our cultural background, but Columbo will be with us for as long as we have media on which to watch these great crime dramas. Columbo is unique in the cannon of detective characters, a man who even the criminals can't help but find endearing as he saunters around like your next door neighbor , a neighbor who also happens to suspect you of committing murder. The disks are in excellent condition and perform very well for both audio and visuals. You should buy this series. It doesn't matter if you like police drama or not, it doesn't matter if you like murder mysteries or not. You will love this. Columbo is one series you just don't want to miss.
- Mike S.
A classic... August 28, 2009
Mandy (Burglengenfeld)
Columbo is great. Happy we bought the show. I grew up with Columbo, it's a classic.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 123
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