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1964's "The Pink Panther" is not a complex film. There is little to suggest a full-fledged film series in its story of a jewel with the shape of a panther buried deep within. Somehow, that premise resulted in a series of films lasting decades, with eleven unique (or mostly unique) live-action entries. And the cartoon character who showed up in the title sequence, dancing to Henry Mancini's iconic theme music? There was a Saturday morning series starring him that ran in various incarnations from 1969 to 1980.

When writer Maurice Richlin pursued director Blake Edwards with an idea for a film about a jewel thief, neither man could have predicted the surprising longevity of that idea. Certainly, they couldn't have predicted that the extremely thin premise of "The Pink Panther" would result in a series of films running into the 1990s. Nor could they have predicted that the protagonist would be...

A24 are delivering a special gift to Max this December, as Leo Reich’s acclaimed stand-up show Literally Who Cares?! hits the streamer. The comedian has already won over the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Off-Broadway with runs of the show, but this performance was taped at EartH in London. Consider checking it out – if A24 got involved in the project, you know you’ll definitely see something weird and special.

But if you’re looking for something more serious, add the new three-part documentary series Murder In Boston: Roots, Rampage & Reckoning to your watch list this month. The upcoming series delves into the fallout from the investigation into Charles “Chuck” Stuart’s 911 call reporting that he and his pregnant wife, had been shot in Boston’s Mission Hill neighborhood in 1989.

Here’s everything coming to (and leaving) HBO and Max this month…

HBO and Max New Releases – December 2023

December...

August isn't especially famous for its great movies. As months go, the eighth one on the calendar has often been a bit of a wasteland for Hollywood, as blockbusters peter off, kids have a lot less free time and money, and studio executives need to find somewhere to dump their proverbial dead bodies.

If you want a good example, you can pretty much throw a dart at any year after "Jaws" popularized the concept of summer blockbuster season. For example, let's take a look at 1993. 30 years ago, August was a month for dreck comedies like "Son of the Pink Panther," family film misfires like "Father Hood" and "Surf Ninjas," and the weird-ass "Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday."

But then again, there are exceptions to every rule. There were also a few excellent motion pictures in August 1993. The increasingly timeless classic "The Fugitive" came out that month, along with...

With its list of new releases for August 2023, Prime Video is relying on a heaping dose of fun library movies.

The first of the month brings a big influx of worthwhile flicks, including Galaxy Quest, Saw, F9: The Fast Saga, and Jurassic Park (the last two via Amazon’s Freevee free streaming option). Then some other recents hits arrive later on like the appropriately titled Cocaine Bear on Aug. 15 and the Chris Pine-starring Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves on Aug. 25.

August also sees the arrival of a major Amazon Original movie in the form of Red, White & Royal Blue. Based on a New York Times bestselling book, this LGBTQ romance follows a U.S. president’s son and a British prince. Over on the TV side of things, Prime Video subscribers can check out the Sigourney Weaver project The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart on Aug. 4 and Harlan Coben’s Shelter on Aug.

The Pink Panther franchise is one of the most iconic and beloved series in film history. From its debut in 1963 with the original movie to its most recent installment in 2009, the Pink Panther has been a staple of comedy-mystery films for generations.

Related: 10 Best Comedies of All Time, Ranked by Viewers

Inspector Clouseau’s misadventures have captivated audiences worldwide and left them laughing, guessing, and wanting more.

The films were mainly created by Blake Edwards and had theme music composed by Henry Mancini. Other forms of media, such as books, comic books, video games, and animated series, were later produced based on the elements and characters from the films.

With its unique blend of slapstick humor, witty dialogue, and clever mysteries, it’s no wonder why this franchise has become so popular over the years. In this blog post, we’ll look at all the Pink Panther movies in order...

Amazon Studios has identified a batch of titles from its $8.45 billion acquisition of MGM that the company plans to develop into TV or film projects, including “Robocop,” “Stargate” “Legally Blonde,” “Fame,” Barbershop,” “The Magnificent Seven,” “Pink Panther” and “The Thomas Crown Affair.”

A source familiar with the matter confirmed to TheWrap that the company is in active early conversations for a “Legally Blonde” movie and potential TV series. Additionally, Amazon has similar plans for “Stargate” under consideration, with a movie expected to go first. “Robocop” is also being discussed for film and TV, with a TV series potentially going first.

The source added that Amazon Studios is actively developing TV series based on “Fame,” “Barbershop” and “The Magnificent Seven,” as well as discussing “Thomas Crown Affair” movie and “Pink Panther” movie, which could be animated. A “Poltergeist” project is also under consideration.

The news was first reported by Deadline.

Also...

The Pink Ladies of “Grease,” the most colorful Rydell High students, are back on April 6 on Paramount+. However, this won’t be the same collection of young women from the original film — or even its cult classic sequel. This round, we see how the popular clique got its start. The girls now have a show of their own: “Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies,” a salute to 1950s teens who refuse to conform to conventional standards. The new musical series shows us Rydell High before Sandy and Danny start strutting down the halls. The show stars Marisa Davila, Cheyenne Isabel Wells, Ari Notartomaso, and Tricia Fukuhara.

Watch the “Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies” trailer:

Paramount+ is also producing an original series “Fatal Attraction,” based on the 1980s hit thriller. The TV version refocuses the lens, exploring a modern approach to women, infidelity, personality disorders, and coercive control. It’s...

Claudia Squitieri with her mother Claudia Cardinale on Werner Herzog’s Fitzcarraldo: “it’s one of her most adventurous experiences.” Photo: courtesy of Claudia Squitieri

In the second instalment with Claudia Squitieri we discuss more of the films her mother, Claudia Cardinale, starred in. Werner Herzog, Klaus Kinski, Mick Jagger, Jason Robards, Thomas Mauch, My Best Fiend, and filming Fitzcarraldo; encountering Fernando Trueba (The Artist And Model) in Deauville and reconnecting with Jean Rochefort; Manoel de Oliveira and an “atmosphere of mysticality” during the making of Gebo and the Shadow with Jeanne Moreau and Michael Lonsdale, shot by Renato Berta; Blake Edwards and The Pink Panther, the problem with sequels and playing Roberto Benigni’s mother in Son Of The Pink Panther all came up in our conversation.

Claudia Squitieri from Paris on Roberto Benigni with Claudia Cardinale: “He was going “Claudia!!!!” Jumping around every time he saw my mother.

Revered Indian actor Shabana Azmi, who plays the pivotal role of Admiral Margaret Parangosky in hugely anticipated mega-budget Paramount Plus series “Halo,” describes her experience on the show as “completely different.”

The series is based on Microsoft’s iconic video game “Halo,” a sprawling science fiction epic that involves multiple warring factions and far-flung alien species. Pablo Schreiber plays the central character Master Chief. Azmi’s Parangosky, second billed in the credits after Schreiber, has frequent interactions with Natascha McElhone’s Dr. Catherine Halsey.

“The interesting thing about Margaret is that she’s conflicted, because she is somebody who plays by the rules of the game. She is somebody who is used to giving orders and having those orders obeyed. And here she’s all but manipulated by the scientists to break the rules, because she keeps [hearing] that this will be good for humanity and she does unscrupulous things,” Azmi told Variety.

The spirit of CinemaCon 2021 could be best summed up when its managing director this week took the stage at the Caesar’s Palace Colosseum wearing a “Son of the Pink Panther” T-shirt and a “Jurassic Park III” cap, memorabilia from movie theater trade shows from decades past. The optimism that Mitch Neuhauser brings to that stage every year wasn’t dented — not even with a pandemic still sweeping through the world. “Let us remember those we have lost, but let this week we spend together also be the point where we start to turn to a brighter future,” Neuhauser said. “Because I truly believe that however long it takes, we as an industry will come back stronger than before because people truly value going to the movies.”While the mood offstage was much more cautious — especially with the Delta variant spiking infections and hospitalizations nationwide — theater execs told TheWrap said...

TV had the run of the place for awhile there during the pandemic. But now that vaccinations are speeding up and the weather is warming, it’s film’s time to shine. At least that’s the conclusion that can be drawn from HBO Max’s list of new releases for June 2021.

There are no real original TV series of note coming this month, which is highly unusual for HBO and HBO Max. In their place, however, are some really impressive film offerings. Major Warner Bros. titles like The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (June 4) and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights (June 11) both arrive this month. So too do some interesting documentaries like Revolutionary Rent on June 15 and Lfg on June 24. The former deals with the staging of the musical Rent in Cuba and the latter follows the U.S. women’s soccer team’s fight for equal pay.

Benigni is most famous internationally for writing, directing and starring in Oscar-winner Life Is Beautiful.

Italian actor and filmmaker Roberto Benigni will receive the Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at the 78th Venice International Film Festival.

Benigni was chosen by the Biennale board of directors on the recommendation of festival director Alberto Barbera.

“Right from his debut, marked by his innovative and irreverent approach to rules and traditions, Roberto Benigni stands out in the panorama of the Italian performing arts as an unprecedented and unequaled figure of reference,” said Barbera. “Few artists have equaled his ability to combine explosive comic timing,...

The Venice Film Festival will honor Oscar-winning Italian actor/director Roberto Benigni with its 2021 Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.

Benigni, whose “Life Is Beautiful” – which he co-wrote, directed and starred in – won three Oscars in 1999, including best actor, recently returned to the big screen playing Geppetto in Matteo Garrone’s live-action adaptation of “Pinocchio.”

“Pinocchio,” which was a box office champ in Italy in 2019, has been recently released in the U.S. by Roadside Attractions and is nominated for 2021 Oscars in the best costume design and makeup and hairstyling categories.

Benigni’s last directorial effort is “The Tiger and the Snow,” in 2005, in which he also starred. In recent years the beloved Italian showman has been active with his stage adaptation of Dante’s “Divine Comedy,” which toured in Italy and around the world.

In praising Benigni Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera noted that “few artists have equaled his ability to combine explosive comic timing,...

'The Pink Panther' with Peter Sellers: Blake Edwards' 1963 comedy hit and its many sequels revolve around one of the most iconic film characters of the 20th century: clueless, thick-accented Inspector Clouseau – in some quarters surely deemed politically incorrect, or 'insensitive,' despite the lack of brown face make-up à la Sellers' clueless Indian guest in Edwards' 'The Party.' 'The Pink Panther' movies [1] There were a total of eight big-screen Pink Panther movies co-written and directed by Blake Edwards, most of them starring Peter Sellers – even after his death in 1980. Edwards was also one of the producers of every (direct) Pink Panther sequel, from A Shot in the Dark to Curse of the Pink Panther. Despite its iconic lead character, the last three movies in the Pink Panther franchise were box office bombs. Two of these, The Trail of the Pink Panther and Curse of the Pink Panther, were co-written by Edwards' son,...

News Simon Brew 1 Apr 2014 - 06:31

The adventures of The Pink Panther are returning to the big screen - albeit in part-animated form...

When it comes to the big screen, think The Pink Panther, and you're either left with the wonderful collection of Peter Sellers-headlined originals, or the not-so-wonderful pair of Steve Martin movies that eventually followed. Sandwiched in-between is Son Of The Pink Panther, which starred Roberto Benigni, who would go on to win a Best Actor Oscar for Life Is Beautiful. The signs were not clear that he would when watching the aforementioned movie.

Now, plans are afoot for a new Pink Panther film, but this time, the emphasis will be on the cartoon character, rather than trying to resurrect Inspector Clouseau again. It'll be a mix of live action and animation, with MGM hiring David Silverman (The Simpsons Movie, Monsters Inc) to direct.

It won't be...

Bollywood queens largely dream of becoming Hollywood-oriented. But when it comes to reality they end up with minuscule roles. Mallika Sherawat had a 7-minute role opposite Jackie Chan in The Myth. Aishwarya Rai had a blink-and-you-miss-a-link role in Pink Panther 2. Even the formidable Shabana Azmi had only a walk-on part in Son Of The Pink Panther.

It therefore comes as a jolting surprise to hear from very reliable sources that the very talented Lilette Dubey will be paired opposite Hollywood heavyweight Richard in the sequel to the successful 2011 British film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel directed by John Madden.

The sequel would feature much of the same cast as the original. However, Richard Gere who was not part of the first film, has been added to the cast.

Says the source, "Tina is in the sequel. But not Dev. They're looking for a replacement. The biggest add-on in the sequel...

Prolific comedy actor who worked with Peter Sellers, Tony Hancock, Spike Milligan and Hattie Jacques

The stony-faced, beaky comedy actor Graham Stark, who has died aged 91, is best remembered for his appearances alongside Peter Sellers, notably in the Pink Panther movies. His familiar face and voice, on television and radio, were part of the essential furniture in the sitting room of our popular culture for more than half a century. A stalwart in the national postwar comedy boom led by Sellers, Tony Hancock, Spike Milligan, Dick Emery, Eric Sykes and Benny Hill, he worked with them all in a sort of unofficial supporting repertory company that also included Hattie Jacques, Deryck Guyler, Patricia Hayes and Arthur Mullard. He was also a man of surprising and various parts: child actor, trained dancer, film-maker, occasional writer, and dedicated and critically acclaimed photographer.

Like Gypsy Rose Lee, he had a resourceful and determined...

We look back at the work of Herbert Lom, the much-loved Czech-born actor who has died aged 95. His career took in everything from low-budget noir to the Pink Panther movies

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A refugee from the Nazis at the age of 22, Lom arrived in London in 1939 and immediately set about continuing the acting career he'd started in his home city of Prague. His first role was a small but eyecatching one: Napoleon, in the Fox-produced biopic The Young Mr Pitt, with Robert Donat as the wily but principled British prime minister – starts at 6:30. (He would play Boney again in 1956, in the Audrey Hepburn War and Peace.)

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Lom's unmistakeable charisma quickly won him admirers: though lead roles would be few and far between later on, he quickly scored one as the mysterious hypnotist in Brit thriller The Dark Tower, where he exerts his fateful,...

Herbert Lom, the Czech-born actor best known as Inspector Clouseau’s long-suffering boss in the Pink Panther movies, died Thursday, his son said. He was 95. Alec Lom said his father died peacefully in his sleep.

Herbert Lom had a handsomely lugubrious look that was suited to comedy, horror and everything in between. It served him well over a six-decade career in which roles ranged from Napoleon Bonaparte — whom he played twice — to the Phantom of the Opera.

The London-based star appeared in more than 100 films, including Spartacus and El Cid, and acted alongside film greats including Charlton Heston and Kirk Douglas.

London — Herbert Lom, the Czech-born actor best known as Inspector Clouseau's long-suffering boss in the "Pink Panther" movies, died Thursday, his son said. He was 95.

Alec Lom said his father died peacefully in his sleep.

Herbert Lom had a handsomely lugubrious look that was suited to comedy, horror and everything in between. It served him well over a six-decade career in which roles ranged from Napoleon Bonaparte – whom he played twice – to the Phantom of the Opera.

The London-based star appeared in more than 100 films, including "Spartacus" and "El Cid," and acted alongside film greats including Charlton Heston and Kirk Douglas.

But Lom was most famous for playing Charles Dreyfus, boss to Peter Sellers' befuddled Clouseau in the popular "Pink Panther" series, from "A Shot in the Dark" in 1964 to "Son of the Pink Panther" in 1993.

"It was a delight to him later in his career to be...

★★★★☆ Roberto Benigni's Life is Beautiful (1997) won three Oscars at the 1999 Academy Awards, including Best Actor for Benigni's performance and Best Original Score for Nicola Piovani's sumptuous soundtrack, and achieved the kind of commercial success and international visibility that Italian cinema only sporadically enjoys. Benigni himself already had some fame on the world stage having starred in Jim Jarmusch's Down by Law (1986) and Night on Earth (1991), as well as a misjudged turn as Inspector Clouseau's son in the rightly forgotten Son of the Pink Panther (1993).

Read more »...

Amazon's Gold Box Deal of the Deay today (Sunday, July 17th 2011) is The Pink Panther Ultimate Collection on DVD for only $34.99, a whopping 83% off the $200 retail price. The deal is only valid until midnight tonight, so act fast. The set includes 18 discs: Disc 1: The Pink Panther Collector's Edition '64 Feature Film Disc 2: A Shot in The Dark Feature Film Disc 3: Inspector Clouseau Disc 4: The Pink Panther Stikes Again Feature Film Disc 5: Revenge of The Pink Panther Feature Film Disc 6: Trail of The Pink Panther Feature Film Disc 7: Curse of The Pink Panther Feature Film Disc 8: Son of The Pink Panther Feature Film Disc 9: Pink Panther 2006 (Sony) Disc 10: The Pink Panther Cartoon Collection Volume 1 Disc 11: The Pink Panther Cartoon Collection Volume 2 Disc 12: The Pink Panther Cartoon Collection Volume 3 Disc 13: The Pink Panther Cartoon Collection Volume 4 Disc 14: The Pink Panther...

The Private Eyes (Original Release Date: 10 April 1981)

Nostalgia bulletproofs some movies to criticism. That's how it is for me, at least. I apologize in advance for the inevitably positive review I will be writing for Legend of the Lone Ranger in May. It is roundly hated by casual moviegoers and Lone Ranger fans alike, and there is little chance of your liking it if you weren't indoctrinated into liking it as a child.

Legend of the Lone Ranger was one of my most frequent babysitters growing up, and I developed a good deal of affection for it. Another sitter was The Private Eyes, though like the sitter who continues to baby talk at you when you feel you’ve outgrown baby talk, The Private Eyes has dimmed in my estimation with time. That old affection is hard to access, even if watching it does produce constant flutters of recognition and memories from childhood.

Calling all Pink Panther fans! MGM HD is having a Pink Panther marathon featuring all five actors who have played the legendary role of Inspector Clouseau and we have a special Prize Pack Giveaway for five lucky winners! Each winner will get a set of five DVD's: the original Pink Panther starring Peter Sellers, Inspector Clouseau starring Alan Arkin, The Curse of the Pink Panther starring Roger Moore, Son of the Pink Panther starring Roberto Benigni and The Pink Panther starring Steve Martin. (Unfortunately, this has been changed to four DVD's. Sorry, no Son of the Pink Panther DVD with Roberto Benigni. Poor Roberto!)    How to enter? All you have to do is post a comment to this blog post [one comment per entrant, please] with your answer to the following...

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When the news of Blake Edwards’ passing at age 88 broke earlier this month, it stood to reason his obituaries would mandatorily lead off identifying him as the writer/director behind the “Pink Panther” movies and as a “master of sophisticated slapstick comedy.” After all, the “Panther” films may not have been his best work, but, in a career marked by as many flops as hits, they were his most recognized and consistently popular efforts with six films spanning 20 years (excluding 1993’s execrable post-Peter Sellers Son of the Pink Panther).

In the longer obits, it was nice to see his more sophisticated work also remembered like romantic comedy Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), another iconic rom-com for another decade in 10 (1979), his 2/3 brilliant and 100% brutal skewering of Hollywood in S.O.B. (1981), and an early turn at drama with Days of Wine and Roses (1962), still one of the most disturbing portraits of alcoholism in a studio film.

Film director best known for the Pink Panther, Breakfast at Tiffany's and 10

The film-maker Blake Edwards, who has died aged 88, will be best remembered as the creator of the Pink Panther films, and as the husband of the entertainer Julie Andrews. But Edwards was a third-generation show-business figure whose complex and controversial career spanned more than 50 years, initially as an actor and writer and subsequently as one of America's most prolific producer-directors, primarily concerned with the popular genres of comedy and musicals and with creating television series.

Despite working in mainstream cinema, his maverick spirit and ego made him an uneasy partner with Hollywood studios. He famously savaged the hand that had fed him so well with S.O.B. (1981), a raucous, vitriolic attack on Tinseltown. His sophisticated work drew strongly on his love of early cinema (his stepgrandfather had directed silent films), and on his own life and psychological problems (he...

Towards the end of his long, prolific career, Blake Edwards films became so wrenchingly autobiographical — like That’s Life, about a man suffering a mid-life crisis — that the director began sharing writing credit with his Hollywood analyst. But, of course, what Edwards, who died Wednesday evening at his home in Santa Monica at age 88, will most be remembered for are his comedies. Nobody had a lighter touch with sex farces (movies like 1979’s 10, or 1982’s Victor Victoria, both of which starred his second wife, now widow, Julie Andrews) or was more at home filming physical comedy (especially when shooting the...

Los Angeles — Blake Edwards, the director and writer known for clever dialogue, poignance and occasional belly-laugh sight gags in "Breakfast at Tiffany's," "10" and the "Pink Panther" farces, is dead at age 88.

Edwards died from complications of pneumonia late Wednesday at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, said publicist Gene Schwam. Blake's wife, Julie Andrews, and other family members were at his side. He had been hospitalized for about two weeks.

Edwards had knee problems, had undergone unsuccessful procedures and was "pretty much confined to a wheelchair for the last year-and-a-half or two," Schwam said. That may have contributed to his condition, he added.

At the time of his death, Edwards was working on two Broadway musicals, one based on the "Pink Panther" movies. The other, "Big Rosemary," was to be an original comedy set during Prohibition, Schwam said.

"His heart was as big as his talent. He was an...

A little bit of laughter has died today.

Blake Edwards, the director of such classic comedies as the “Pink Panther” movies and “10,” died Wednesday night in Santa Monica from complication involving pneumonia, according to the Los Angeles Times. He was 88.

Edwards had a long and distinguished Hollywood career, known mostly for his masterful expertise with sight gags, slapstick and pitch-perfect comic timing.

Edwards’ breakthrough came in 1961 with “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” the now-classic romantic comedy that earned Audrey Hepburn an Oscar nomination for her performance as a lovestruck New York socialite.

Edwards went on to helm no less than eight “Pink Panther” movies, from the original “Pink Panther” (1963) through “Son of the Pink Panther” (1993). His other comedies include the Hollywood satire, “S.O.B.” (1981); the James Garner/Bruce Willis buddy pic, “Sunset” (1988); “Skin Deep” (1989), which featured the immediately infamous glow-in-the-dark condom scene; and the body-switching farce, “Switch” (1991), about a womanizing jerk who...

Actor-turned-director found fame with romantic classic but carved out a niche in comedy, particularly his collaborations with Peter Sellers, and with his wife, Julie Andrews

Blake Edwards, the director of Breakfast at Tiffany's, 10 and eight Pink Panther movies, has died aged 88. One of Hollywood's most successful specialists in comedy, Edwards never won an Academy award for any of his films, but was given an honorary Oscar in 2004 citing "his writing, directing and producing an extraordinary body of work for the screen." He married Julie Andrews in 1969 and directed her in a strings of films – most notably The Tamarind Seed (1974), S.O.B. (1981) and Victor/Victoria (1982).

Edwards was born in Tulsa in 1922 and started off as an actor, appearing in around 30 films between 1942 and 1948. He moved into scriptwriting, starting with the westerns Panhandle and Stampede, and then started directing in the mid-50s, honing his skills across a variety of genres. His aptitude...

We’re sad to announce the passing of writer-director Blake Edwards, aged 88. Blake Edwards, the veteran writer and director behind the Pink Panther movies, has sadly died at the age of 88. In a career that stretched back to the mid-50s, Edwards was oversaw the creation of more than 30 films, including the seafaring comedy Operation Petticoat, starring Cary Grant and Tony Curtis, and the classic Breakfast At Tiffany’s, which starred Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard.

He then went on to write and direct the enormously successful The Pink Panther in 1963, the comedy starring David Niven as the suave thief attempting to steal the gigantic diamond of the title, and Peter Sellers as the bumbling French inspector Jacques Clouseau.

The success of The Pink Panther saw Edwards return to direct seven sequels, including A Shot In The Dark (1964), The Return Of The Pink Panther (1975) and Son Of The Pink Panther (1993).

Outside the Pink Panther films,...

Blake Edwards passed away last night at at 88 due to complications of pneumonia, The Associated Press has confirmed. A classic Hollywood talent, Edwards spent more than six decades working as a writer, director and producer, bringing to the screen films like The Pink Panther , Breakfast at Tiffany's , and Days of Wine and Roses among many others. Though his last credited film was 1993's Son of the Pink Panther , Edwards has been a long-celebrated talent, earning a lifetime achievement Oscar in 2004. Edwards is survived by five children and his wife, actress Julie Andrews. The pair had been married since 1969 and collaborated on a number of films, including Darling Lili and 10 . The clip below features a classic example of Edward's comedy with Peter Seller starring...

by Max Evry

Why do we crave sequels? Is it to revisit characters we fell in love with the first time around? To see a property improved upon by new talent? Before the "Godfather"'s and "Star Wars"' of this world, there was a time when sequels were frowned upon in Hollywood. Now they are the kneejerk reaction to nearly any film that makes bank, usually within two or three years of the original’s release. Sometimes, though, it takes a little longer…

Oliver Stone’s "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" is part of a tradition of late sequels, in this case a whopping 23 years after the 1987 original, which won Michael Douglas an Oscar for his portrayal of financial shark Gordon Gekko and put Stone firmly on the map. It is a rare sequel which brings back both the original stars (including a hilarious Charlie Sheen cameo) and production...