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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Columbo - Season 1 (Blu-ray) (1971)

Columbo - Season 1 (Blu-ray) (1971)

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Released 20-May-2015
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Details At A Glance

General		Extras
Category	Mystery	Additional Footage-Original Pilot TV Movies Additional Footage-Original Mystery Movie Opening Title Sequence
Rating
Year Of Production	1971
Running Time	723:00
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Multi Disc Set (3)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu	Cast & Crew
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Robert Irving Steven Spielberg Bernard L. Kowalski Jack Smight
Studio Distributor	Madman Entertainment	Starring	Peter Falk
Case	Standard Blu-ray	Starring	Peter Falk
RPI	$46.95	Music	Gil Melle Billy Goldenberg

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	Full Frame	English Linear PCM 48/24 2.0 English Dolby Digital 2.0
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	None
16x9 Enhancement	No
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	1.33:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No	Miscellaneous
Subtitles	None	Smoking	Yes, Columbo smokes cigars constantly
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    Columbo needs no introduction. Starring the iconic Peter Falk as the titular police lieutenant, it’s a long-running formula show which has developed into a television mainstay. (It’s Ricky Gervais’s favourite TV program, as well.) If you tune into free-to-air TV or Foxtel right now, guaranteed there will be an episode of Columbo being screened. And even more prestigious is the fact that the final episode aired over thirty years after the show’s commencement.

    Whereas most murder mystery shows like Law & Order run for forty-five minutes per episode and are predominantly whodunits, Columbo is a different beast. Each episode is rather beefy, running between seventy-five and ninety-five minutes, essentially a feature-length film (a rare format most recently seen with the likes of BBC’s Sherlock), and the “hook” is that we see the murder taking place and we know who the killer is; the fun is seeing how Columbo will catch the perpetrator. However, in some of the episodes, the evidence used to trap the guilty party seems a bit too slight, and would probably not get a conviction from a jury in real life. Still, the appeal of this show is watching Columbo work. Each antagonist believes they have staged the perfect murder, but there’s always something that the lieutenant manages to sniff out.

    Even though Season 1 isn’t perfect, it’s a pleasant introduction to this show. The following episodes are included on this set:

Murder by the Book (75:58)

Directed by Steven Spielberg, this first telemovie gets the ball rolling on a high note. The story concerns the death of crime mystery writer Jim Ferris (Martin Milner), who is murdered by his overconfident partner Ken Franklin (Jack Cassidy). In the ensuing investigation, Franklin meets his match with Lieutenant Columbo. With Columbo constantly sniffing around, Franklin puts on an arrogant exterior veneer and proves all-too-helpful with ideas pertaining to who killed Franklin, and what the motive may be.

"Murder by the Book" was broadcast mere months before Spielberg’s Duel initially hit TV screens, and the director shows a lot of promise in this early outing. Mise-en-scčne is especially strong, with some nice tension and engaging shot construction. And, naturally, it introduces Falk’s iconic Columbo in an efficient, effective manner.

Death Lends a Hand (75:58)

In this second episode, the eponymous Lieutenant Columbo investigates the murder of a young lady named Lenore (Pat Crowley). Columbo immediately suspects Carl Brimmer (Robert Culp), the head of a successful private detective agency, though the lieutenant needs physical evidence to get a conviction.

Penned by Richard Levinson and William Link, this episode actually won an Emmy for writing, and it still holds up to this day. It’s a smart, taut crime telemovie, and the “gotcha” moment which serves as the climax is very clever indeed, showing yet again that Columbo is always one step ahead of the perpetrators.

Dead Weight (75:51)

"Dead Weight" involves a retired Marine Corps Major General named Hollister (Eddie Albert) who murders a military colonel (John Kerr) in cold blood after learning that he is being investigated for embezzling defence money. The shooting is witnessed from afar by a recently-divorced woman (Suzanne Pleshette), who is subsequently wooed by the general, who hopes to trick her into doubting what she saw. Meanwhile, Columbo is on the case, constantly picking up seemingly inconsequential pieces of evidence.

This is a tight, enjoyable episode driven by an engaging narrative, and it’s made all the more fascinating with the angle of someone having witnessed the crime. Having said that, though, like several other telemovies from this series, there are a few unconvincing aspects to the story (the general dating someone who could be his own daughter...), but this isn’t a deal-killer. Falk remains great fun as Columbo.

Suitable for Framing (75:51)

A clever play on words with the title of this episode, which is concerned with an art critic named Dale Kingston (Ross Martin) who murders his uncle but intends to frame his aunt for the crime in order to inherit a valuable art collection. Columbo is in charge of the case, and as per usual with the series, he finds himself using his trademark unconventional methods to prove that Dale is guilty.

This fourth telemovie is a little bit slow to start, but once it settles into an agreeable groove, it soars, culminating with one of the most brilliant “gotcha” moments that the show has ever seen. Indeed, most fans remember this episode for its ending, and it is a doozy. "Suitable for Framing" is a fun addition to the Columbo oeuvre.

Lady in Waiting (75:33)

In this telemovie, a mousy heiress named Beth Chadwick (Susan Clark) murders her older brother Bryce (Richard Anderson), but arranges for it to look like an accidental shooting. Even though an official inquest rules the death as accidental, some of the finer details bother Columbo, who suspects something deeper is at play.

"Lady in Waiting" is notable for featuring the late great Leslie Nielsen in a supporting role as Chadwick’s lover, and it’s not the thespian’s only Columbo appearance - he played a different character in another episode a few years later. This is a decent episode, and it’s all the more interesting due to the fact that the death is ruled as accidental.

Short Fuse (75:25)

Upon being blackmailed to leave the company that his parents built, Roger Stanford (Roddy McDowall) decides to murder his uncle (James Gregory) and stage it like a car accident. Roger assumes that everything will be happily ever after, but Columbo soon arrives on the scene, and, as always, refuses to believe that everything is as it seems.

The presence of veteran actor McDowall elevates the episode tremendously, as he oozes charm from every pore whilst still being a fairly unlikable murderer. "Short Fuse" adheres to the standard Columbo formula, and the result is a lot of fun, despite the fact that it has dated and there’s not much in the way of tension. It’s a workmanlike Columbo telemovie with Falk in typically fine form.

Blueprint for Murder (75:04)

In this season finale, architect Elliot Markham (Patrick O’Neal) is working on his dream project, a city of the future, but funds are going to be cut off by wealthy industrialist Beau Williamson (Forrest Tucker). Markham can continue his work if he murders Williamson but the death is never proved, thus he instigates an ostensibly fool-proof plan to commit the murder and conceal the body. Naturally, however, Lt. Columbo is soon on the case, and he can read all of his suspects like a book.

"Blueprint for Murder" is the only episode that was directed by Falk, and it’s perhaps the best telemovie of the season, on the same level as "Murder by the Book." The story itself is engaging and well-written, and the page-to-screen transplantation is strong. There is quite a bit of humour here, while the obligatory climactic “gotcha” moment is a great way to cap off the episode, and the series.

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Transfer Quality

Video

    I liaised with the good folks at Madman to enquire about the video masters sourced for this Blu-ray. They were supplied directly from Universal, who struck the fresh HD masters from a 35mm source. However, the telemovies did not undergo an extensive frame-by-frame restoration; merely a fresh capture and remaster, presumably from 35mm prints as opposed to the original camera negatives. The show is presented in 4:3 full-screen, faithful to the original broadcast episodes.

    All episodes of Columbo are available on Blu-ray in Japan, but those sets carry 1080i video presentations. Madman, however, offer Columbo in AVC-encoded 1080p, and the telemovies look extremely good all things considered, often superior to a number of theatrical motion pictures of a similar vintage. The show has seen its fair share of DVD releases over the years, and nobody would really think of this show as fodder for Blu-ray, but it will be hard watching the show in standard definition after witnessing this first season in HD. Even the minor foibles barely bothered me.

    First, the not-as-positive attributes: the show was evidently not mastered in 4K, so the image is not as razor-sharp as a 4K remaster might have enabled. Also, there is the usual assortment of dirt and scratches that pop up consistently, though these are all par for the course. One would not expect a Jaws-scale remaster on this show. It’s worth noting that the video does undeniably improve across the episodes.

    Now, the good news. There’s a superb fine grain structure here that’s handled well by the video codec. Universal usually lather their releases with DNR, which makes it all the pleasant that grain is left in-tact here. Thus, the image frequently looks nicely-textured rather than waxy, and I did not notice any significant encoding issues. Colour is often strong and vibrant, though there is some occasional flickering and faded areas of frame that did stick out. It must be said that shots involving optical transitions do look a bit rough, but this comes down to how the show was produced; it’s not a fault of the masters.

    Columbo looks absolutely fine on Blu-ray, and any fans should be downright chuffed with Madman’s gamble to bring the series to disc in HD. It’s as good as we could have reasonably expected - perhaps even better.

    There are no subtitles on this release.

*Video Ratings Summary*
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
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Audio

    There are two tracks here: a Linear PCM 2.0 track, and a lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 audio track. The second Dolby Digital track is actually entirely sans dialogue, only containing sound effects and music. So if you wish to just listen to the music, you can. Nice little Easter Egg.

    Columbo sounds respectable considering its age and the source. Dialogue is discernible and nicely-mixed, the music drifts in and out to great effect, and there’s sufficient “oomph.” This is a 2.0 track, though it is surround-encoded, so it does the job nicely. Just don’t expect the surround channels to be used extensively or deliberately. This was produced for TV in the 1970s, way before surround sound at home was even thought of.

    Some audio fares better than others. Several scenes have a noticeable hiss, and some dialogue is not as clear or crisp as perhaps a full restoration might have afforded. Still, there are no encoding errors or dropouts; Madman’s discs are very capable.

*Audio Ratings Summary*
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

No real extras beyond a couple of pilot episodes. No commentaries or documentaries or interviews.

Original Pilot TV Movies:

Prescription: Murder (99:09)

The first Columbo telemovie is fun to watch as a historical curiosity, and it holds up to this day, emerging as one of the better episodes on this set. "Prescription: Murder" concerns psychiatrist Dr. Ray Fleming (Gene Barry) who murders his wife (Nina Foch) and persuades his mistress (Katherine Justice) to support his alibi by impersonating her. There is not much evidence that Dr. Fleming committed the murder, but some of the loose ends bother Columbo, who begins using his soon-to-be iconic unconventional methods to get his man. It’s definitely nice to have this on the set, and in HD, no less. As perhaps to be expected, the transfer is not as good as the latter episodes, exhibiting a fair amount of print damage and with faded colours, but these sorts of things don’t bother me too much, especially considering the age and source. "Prescription: Murder" actually aired in 1968, three years before Season 1 started proper, and Falk does look noticeably younger here, with a smarter appearance overall. It is fascinating to see the character’s origins.

Ransom for a Dead Man (95:13)

Often perceived as the first episode of Season 1, this episode concerns the murder of a rather wealthy man (Harlan Warde) at the hands of his wife Leslie (Lee Grant) that’s made to look like a kidnapping. But Columbo suspects that there is more than what meets the eye, and Leslie constantly finds the lieutenant sniffing around. It’s an enjoyable episode, but not up the standard that succeeded it, and it grows rather silly towards the end. As with "Prescription: Murder," the video quality here is a bit rougher compared the rest of the episodes, exhibiting noticeably more print damage, but it still looks leaps and bounds better than a DVD.

Original Mystery Movie Opening Title Sequence (1:04)

It is what is says. It’s an interesting little inclusion that fans will appreciate.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

There is no Blu-ray release for Columbo in America. Only the full set in Japan, and a few episodes in Germany. As far as I can tell, no other releases include special features of any kind. Buy local.

Summary

    What we have here are nine telemovies in all that are of varying quality, but no outright duds. Season 1 of Columbo is a lot of fun.

    Madman have done an incredible feat by releasing the first two seasons of the show in glorious high definition; we are the only English-speaking region to receive Blu-ray releases thus far, and we are the only region in the world to have 1080p video presentations. And my word, said presentations are worthwhile. After years of DVD releases and television syndication, this is a treat. No meaty extras are available, but it’s hard to complain too much.

    My advice to you all is go out and buy this set. More Columbo in HD would be just what the doctor ordered, but that all depends on sales. Vote with your wallet.

    Highly recommended.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

Review Equipment
DVD	PlayStation 4, using HDMI output
Display	LG 42LW6500. This display device has not been calibrated. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p.
Audio Decoder	Built in to amplifier/receiver. This audio decoder/receiver has not been calibrated.
Amplification	LG BH7520TW
Speakers	LG Tall Boy speakers, 5.1 set-up, 180W

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