The Life and Death of Peter Sellers

Although skeptical when I recently saw the title to this film/DVD - I was a huge fan of Peter Sellers earlier works.I was pleasantly surprised of how well the writers and actors portrayed him and his life.Bottom line: tragically sad in parts but brutally honest in others. I highly recommend this film.

DVD arrived in perfect condition... I could tell it was from about 10 yrs ago as it was quite a fight to get all the taped edges and (double??) shrink wrap off.I did enjoy movie and both of the commentaries, one by actor Geoffrey Rush & director Stephen Hopkins and the other by two of the writers. I remember seeing this on HBO in 2005/06 and since Peter Sellers was always a major favorite of mine, it was nice to see it again.... Even if some of the incidents were quite sad. For a guy who has been described as having "no personality of his own", he sure made good with the majority of his created ones. After watching this, I pulled up 'Dr Strangelove' and rewatched it. Still a disturbingly funny movie satire, but worth the time.Geoffrey Rush did an amazing job!! He (like Peter) played multiple characters, and did it very well. There were moments I swear it looked like PS was there onscreen. Major Kudos to both GR and the makeup dept. Charlize Theron was gorgeous (duh!) as Britt Ekland and Emily Watson did such a good job playing Anne Sellers. I could feel the agony she went through trying to understand this man she married and also her attempt to keep her marriage & family together.I'm really glad I stumbled over this DVD.

I really wish they would release this on Blu Ray. Geoffrey Rush's performance is absolutely amazing and worthy of an Oscar. He nailed Peter Sellers perfectly in this film. In some of the scenes you'd be hard pressed to tell him apart from the actual movie scenes. He was a complex person, and yet very simple in many respects. He was whomever you needed him to be. I can't speak too much to the accuracy of Seller's portrayal, but this should definitely ignite your interest in Sellers if it was not already. Don't forget to pick up Being There and Criterion's Dr Strangelove on Blu Ray!

Geoffrey Rush is a brilliant acting genius. And this movie is a personal masterpiece for him. The depth of each scene is fascinating. Rush takes chances, using different film angles, breaking down the 4th wall, adopting new characters. All this busyness could have killed a last talented actor/director. But Rush stitches it all together brilliantly.I compare this movie to Citizen Kane. Each scene is a discussion in itself, and the scenes together create a something new again.I was completely engaged during the whole movie, unexpectedly so. I started watching the movie as a biography of Peter Sellers. But 40 minutes into the movie, i realized i was watching something so much more.This movie would be a great film-club movie, with friends watching and sharing different insights. The discussion would go on and on.After i was done watching, i watched it again, because i couldn't believe what had just happened. And the 2nd viewing was just as fascinating, as i picked up things i missed the 1st time around.All the actors in this movie contribute to it's overall success.I've never seen a poor performance by Geoff Rush. He shined in Pirates of the Caribbean, and in Munich as well. He puts a lot into his craft.This movie enters my all-time cinematic favorites:Here's my list:Citizen KaneThe Thin Red LineLife & Death of Peter Sellers

Peter Sellers is my all-time favorite screen comedian. I'm familiar with his early Ealing work to "Being There". I approached this film with great skepticism because I did not think it possible to recreate his unique genius. Geoffrey Rush would not appear to be the ideal choice to play Sellers. He neither looks or has the vocal patterns of Sellers. During the initial stages of this film it's hard to overlook this but as the film progresses Rush slowly morphs into your mind that he is Peter Sellers. It's not so much in the recreation of Sellers' famed film roles but in his depiction of his personal life. To those unfamiliar with Sellers he was a manic-depressive. Sellers creativity was unfortunately fueled by his insecurity and self-loathing. Where I think this is an important film is not so much as biography of Sellers but as a vehicle to shed light on the personal hell that life is for the clinically depressed, where, in this case, you happen to be the world's most famous comedian. Though this film is essentially a showcase for Rush, the supporting cast is uniformly superb. Where do I begin? Kudos to Emily Watson, Charlize Theron, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Miriam Margulyes, and Stephen Fry. Director Stephen Hopkins directs this film stylishly but I do quibble with some of the film's continuity problems. Some of the events are chronologically out of order. For instance, "The Pink Panther" was made after "Dr. Strangelove". Also, a scene attributed to "The Pink Panther" was actually from "A Shot in the Dark". They also utilize The Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go", a song that came out two years after Sellers' death.

Geoffrey Rush was stellar in his performance as Peter Sellers of whom you cannot tell the actor apart from the actual Peter Sellers! Great HBO production and highly entertaining as well as informative on the personality and struggles of the comic acting and dramatic perfectionist genius that Peter Sellers was in his time. If you enjoy Peter Sellars work, you will be captivated by HBO's "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers.

This is a very well acted, directed and written movie. Jeffrey Rush is simply amazing and his supporting cast did not let him down. If you are a Peter Sellers fan, you might be shocked to learn some of the private elements to his life and, especially, his personality - things I've never heard or read about. WARNING: Although this film has many funny and light moments, it is a very serious and dark look into a very complex man. Don't expect to be cheering wildly and throwing your popcorn at the TV. ;-)

As a fan of Peter Sellers' films, I was strangely disappointed with this interpretation, not because it portrayed Sellers as a disturbed brat over-protected by his overbearing and hideous mother (I think that all that had been well-aired in the past), but more because I just never connected with the style and manner of the storytelling.Geoffrey Rush gives a commendable performance in the title role, but here again I thought that the script was spread too thin in order to hammer home all the points of his life in 120 minutes. As a result it came across as merely a series of set-piece scenes to make each point and therefore seemed disjointed.

I think many people who lived for his gift to entertain will be disheartened to find out he was just a man, and difficult to be around. But I was expecting to find out more about his genius to entertain. AS I always say, if you have nothing good to speak of, don't bother speaking at all. This film should have buttoned it lip. I will just focus on the entertainment in the future, now where it came from.

At times its hard to believe it's not Peter Sellers as Geoffrey Rush has him off to a 'tee'.Why it wasn't nominated for any of the usual 'Awards' as if something was crying out for a REAL Award, it's this. True you could not do complete justice in such a short film as Sellers was a complex person by all accounts, but real praise must go to Geoffrey Rush for taking on the role but he excels in it and I/we found it very entertaining and informative to a degree - a read of Graham Stark's book on Sellers ( Remembering Peter Sellers) is very informative if I may be so bold as to say as he did know and work with him plus being a very close friend and he gives a 'nuts and bolts' account of the man as opposed to those who have just written about him without actually ever meeting him. I suppose I am a Peter Sellers fan of sorts as he was one of the most talented people of his time and sadly we don't have many about today that even come close to him when it comes to talent. 10/10

The image of the cover's writing/copy clearly indicates the English language as does my delivered item, but the DVD will only play in Dutch or French. Which makes my DVD useless unless I pay for a course to learn another language which will be a further financial loss along with what I've already spent on the DVD. So annoying, so dishonest! CRIMINAL.

A respectable attempt at capturing the strange mentality of Peter Sellers. The problem with this film is that Peter Sellers was such a huge presence that one kept wishing it WAS Peter Sellers. If you don't know anything about his mental health then it is informative but if you do, it is a long-winded AND ANNOYING attempt at explaining him in relation to his children and wives, directors and friends.Geoffrey Rush does capture him in essence but he is just too old to play the young Sellers starting out after the goons.