12 ms·

Columbo: an origin story (2018)

168 points by MaysonL 5y ago

lqet 5y ago
One of the earliest (and also one of the best) Columbo episodes ("Murder by the Book", 1971) was directed by Steven Spielberg. If you watch it, it is immediately clear (even during the initial shot) that this episode is simply in another league. Not only when compared to other Columbo episodes, but also when compared to other TV shows during that era (see for example this short documentary [0]). It is crazy to think that Spielberg was only 25 when he directed this. If I remember correctly, the quality of that Columbo episode was what really started Spielberg's career. He got the offer to direct a TV movie afterwards, and he presented Duel [1] (also in 1971), which is simply a masterpiece and got a theatrical release after the TV success. It established Spielberg as a major film director. Just watch the title sequence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0707XtiFPs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0707XtiFPs [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gb62FxCH-Ks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gb62FxCH-Ks [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duel_(1971_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duel_(1971_film)
- NextHendrix 5y ago
  I was introduced to Columbo by a housemate a few years ago and was instantly hooked. The episode you mentioned is excellent, as are all the Jack Cassidy ones. For me the standout episode is 'Any Old Port in a Storm' (1973) with Donald Pleasance.
  - lqet 5y ago
    I think there are 4 things that make a Columbo episode enjoyable: 1) Peter Falk 2) Creative murder ideas 3) Great plot 4) Supporting performances In "Any Old Port in a Storm" the acting by both Falk and Pleasence is outstanding. Regarding 2), I always adored "Now You See Him" (the magician episode, also with Cassidy) and "Swan Song" (the airplane murder with Johnny Cash).
    - Comevius 5y ago
      I think what makes Columbo good is how out he is of his element. The perpetrators are always from a higher social class and he always takes advantage of their hubris, lulling them into a false sense of security, agitating them until they give up clues. All that while being polite and sympathetic. There is no shoehorned social commentary in Columbo. It's pure entertainment, which is hard to find these days.
      - sumtechguy 5y ago
        Kinda a lot of episodes were like that. The more interesting episodes I think it was more of a he was 'a sly little elf perched on his toadstool'. He was unassuming. He disguised himself to be invisible and would pick apart everything usually very methodically. He 'took a defect and used it as a tool'. Even the way he would blow people off was to be unassuming 'oh my boss he is a very exacting man', 'oh just a routine question'. When it was usually him looking for that information. He would many times make the perp 'self own' themselves by their own lies. The writers were also very good on making sure motive, means and opportunity were clearly picked apart in all ways. Apparently the whole crew was in on it and would make sure that the story stayed true. Making sure things were filmed so they did not contradict later or past actions. The 90s series was a bit less tight and more of the 'stick it to the rich'. They were enjoyable enough. But something was missing.
    - coderdd 5y ago
      I would add great pacing, with long, slow shots. I counted random modern film scene switches, it is average 2 seconds per switch. Other is adding atmospheric elements that serve no purpose to the plot, just paint scenes of life. In modern films, most things shown will have to compulsively have some utility later.
      - fzzzy 5y ago
        I have been buying a lot of laserdiscs lately, and this is what I enjoy most about 70s-early 80s movies. Really long, interesting shots and way less music.
  - lttlrck 5y ago
    Jack Cassidy is amazing in all three? of the episodes he's in. The show oozes genuine charisma, and the slow 1970's pacing is an absolute joy.
- parenthesis 5y ago
  "Murder by the Book" was also an early writing credit for writer/producer Steven Bochco.
- scandox 5y ago
  Respectfully disagree on Spielberg. Many episodes from the early series show exceptional visual flair. Watch the opening sequence of Publish or Perish or the post murder cover up from Death Lends a Hand. Spielberg was young and had enormous talent obviously but I think a blind taste test wouldn't show the difference.
  - selimthegrim 5y ago
    You beat me to mentioning Death Lends a Hand. “How do we trump split screen? Let’s do it on sunglasses” (which always seems to get cut in syndication)
  - lqet 5y ago
    > Watch [...] the post murder cover up from Death Lends a Hand. Personally, I find the projection on the sunglasses a bit kitschy.
    - scandox 5y ago
      My feeling is that if it was used in the context of cinema/feature film then yes it would be kitsch. But for the medium of TV of the era it strikes me as a bit of intelligent fun.
- Witoso 5y ago
  Apparently this episode is in the public domain, and is available on the columbophile's website[0] [0] https://columbophile.com/2018/03/25/full-episode-columbo-murder-by-the-book/ https://columbophile.com/2018/03/25/full-episode-columbo-mur...
  - patwolf 5y ago
    I wonder, are these episodes really part of the public domain, or are they just misusing that term to describe being allowed to embed them?
- drcongo 5y ago
  The shot choices in that opening are spectacular. One of my favourite episodes.
- mixmastamyk 5y ago
  Wow, driving from downtown LA (Broadway), up 110 to I-5 towards Palmdale, using that unique connecting ramp where you turn left at the end of the tunnel. I've driven these recently and remember the horrible smog-belching cars from my youth. Also, nice to see the freeways without tagging everywhere.
hellbannedguy 5y ago
Although the writing was superb, I don't think Columbo would have been such a good show without Peter Falk. He had talent, and natural charisma. I don't think I have ever seen him in a bad performance, even before Columbo.
- tempodox 5y ago
  Agreed. In “Murder by Death” he also plays Columbo's parody, and it's hilarious.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - jaclaz 5y ago
    If you are an estimator of Peter Falk in "light" roles, you surely know it, I have to confess that I still re-watch from time to time The Inlaws (with Alan Arkin besides Peter Falk) and still laugh out loud on the same lines, even if I almost know them by heart: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_In-Laws_(1979_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_In-Laws_(1979_film)
    - philiplu 5y ago
      Came here to see if anyone mentioned "The In-Laws". Just a perfect, farcical gem. I still crack myself up yelling "serpentine, serpentine" when running with my kids, who have no idea what's funny. Probably about time I watched it with them.
      - jaclaz 5y ago
        >... when running with my kids You mean when you talk about running with your kids ;-): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079336/quotes/qt0136888 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079336/quotes/qt0136888
- pimlottc 5y ago
  It’s also quite lucky that they decided to go with the “too young” Falk, who was then able to play the role for over thirty years!
hawski 5y ago
Columbo is my and my wife's favorite series. There are many things that separate it from most. Nowadays there is a big focus on series where every episode ends with an addictive cliffhanger. I hate that. You can watch a single episode of Columbo and be satisfied. There are a few things mentioned from other episodes here and there, but overall nothing important. I also love how the lieutenant is above all kind. Lately everything has to be dark and quirkiness is used to explain how someone is directly rude. I like the fact that they did not bend and show Mrs Columbo (I now that there was a separate show with that title). I'm sure, that it will get a reboot sometime in future. I just hope that it will not receive the same treatment as Star Trek with Discovery. I would appreciate i.e. Natasha Lyone to make it something different enough not to look like a cheap uncanny valley copy. But kindess and clear separation of episodes is a must.
- lokedhs 5y ago
  I agree. I have recently been watching a lot of Star Trek and Mission Impossible. Two shows where you can watch one episode and be done with it until the next time. I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one getting really annoyed with the style with which most shows are made these days. I understand that there are good things about having a continuous storyline, and the last season of DS9 shows that it does work. But all shows don't have to be that way.
  - AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
    The key is that your long-form stuff needs to take a back seat to a plot that starts and ends in with each episode. In my personal opinion, Stargate SG-1 is a master class in this. Shows these days are written for streaming, they are clearly meant to be binged a season at a time. You'll have 4 plots an episode and not a one of them starts and ends in the same one, with several episodes having resolution of anything at all. It's maddening. Like, there are memorable episodes of some shows, like SG-1's Ergo, that you can sit down and re-watch and enjoy yourself, but this made-for-streaming format just doesn't have that quality. What episode did that cool thing happen in? They all blur together.
    - 5y ago
glandium 5y ago
I hate Columbo because in the Double Exposure episode they explain the cue marks that appeared during movies to indicate to the projectionist they need to switch reels, and after that I couldn't not notice those cue marks (Fight Club did the same reveal, much later). But really, I love Columbo. RIP Peter Falk. 10 years already.
- sdoering 5y ago
  I remember that and that was exactly my feeling. After watching this I just could not unsee them anymore. It was the perfect TIL for me long time ago (when I didn't know what TIL would have stood for).
throw0101a 5y ago
I was always disappointed that Apple never got Peter Falk to appear on stage at WWDC and say "Oh, there's one more thing Mr. Jobs…".
- cardiffspaceman 5y ago
  Too true. I don't care for all revivified old shows but I've been seeing a lot of this show recently (MeTV in some cities) and of course, Columbo doesn't wear a stylish turtle neck, but I think some would find the callback hilarious.
jhbadger 5y ago
>They based the character squarely on Porfiry Petrovich, the astute but meandering lead investigator in Dostoevsky’s Crime & Punishment – a book both had studied at college. Perhaps, but I would find it difficult to believe that the creators of Columbo hadn't also seen the 1955 French film Diabolique (also known as Les Diaboliques). This film features a detective who seems very friendly and not very competent but who is cleverly setting up a rhetorical trap for the murder suspect, very much like how Columbo acts.
- LaundroMat 5y ago
  There'sno source mentioned, but according to this (French TV station's) presentation (see slide 5)[0], Commissaire Fichet from Les Diaboliques was indeed an inspiration. [0] https://tvbreizh.fr/sites/default/files/dossier_de_presse_50_ans_de_columbo_novembre_2018.pdf https://tvbreizh.fr/sites/default/files/dossier_de_presse_50...
LordN00b 5y ago
In a minor dev related way, projects where clients keep piliing on requirements during dev, that's a Columbo. Just one more thing...
- js8 5y ago
  And will the product management figure out what the product is supposed to do at the end?
telesilla 5y ago
For an extra blessing of Peter Falk should look for Wim Wender's Wings of Desire. It's an incredibly touching addition to an already profound film. https://youtu.be/u7s-H4EqP4I https://youtu.be/u7s-H4EqP4I
- amazing_stories 5y ago
  Great movie. I didn't know Falk was in it and this created a very surreal experience when he arrived on screen.
leephillips 5y ago
This series is one of the very rare ones in which my favorite actor, Patrick McGoohan, makes a couple of guest appearances, and even directed one episode. https://columbophile.com/2020/08/30/episode-review-columbo-agenda-for-murder/ https://columbophile.com/2020/08/30/episode-review-columbo-a...
- lttlrck 5y ago
  Yes. He's excellent. My favorite is Identity Crisis with Leslie Nielsen.
- mjklin 5y ago
  Be seeing you.
- leephillips 5y ago
  Correction: directed five episodes.
mikebannister 5y ago
amazing, just downloaded recently and in the middle of episode 1 just now...
yawaworht1978 5y ago
I agree, sadly there is nothing like Colombo produced these days, the CSI series are tangentially similar but using hitech instead of old school police work. Interesting movie recommendation would be murder on the orient express , old or new version are equally good.
- sfuller808 5y ago
  the closest i've found is the italian detective series Inspector Montalbano https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inspector_Montalbano_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inspector_Montalbano_(TV_serie...
beebeepka 5y ago
I never watched the show back in the day. I knew what it was but I was not into this sort of thing in my youth. Decided to give it a try last month and I am already on season 2 and find it enjoyable. A few things that stand out to me: 1. Male characters tend to be in their 50s or older. 2. Women are mostly gorgeous but somewhat the same type 3. Even though it was all filmed almost 50 years ago and some stories are ridiculous, over the top, it all seems more believable than whatever modern crime show my wife is watching. These old, pretentious, hilariously over the top rich assholes are more believable to me than "normal" modern TV characters that seem to have it all in their 20s while also looking like models. 4. Everyone is white lol
jwilber 5y ago
That “buy me a coffee banner” is so annoying on mobile. Awful to just keep it there nonstop.
fortran77 5y ago
I learned conversational English by watching subtitled Columbo shows.
everling 5y ago
I discovered Columbo just a year or so back and I love it. Peter Falk is the big draw, but I also appreciate the relatively low intensity of the show. Scenes are allowed to unfold at a pace that would seem too slow or baggy for today's shows. It's a perfect evening watch to unwind after a long day.
wimagguc 5y ago
Pay attention to the camera & directing the next time you watch an episode, it's an absolute masterpiece. One example to look out for is the back-and-forth between Columbo and the baddie. They would usually stand in opposite ends of the room and shot from two (sets of) cameras. One camera is closer to Columbo and the other is closer to the baddie, so when the detective is "winning" an argument, he'll look bigger on the screen and vice versa. This usually starts with a shot where Columbo looks super small somewhere in the back of the room, then he'd ask his famous "just one last question", and then they switch the setup. Now Columbo is bigger in the front, and the baddie looks small while they are in trouble.
paedubucher 5y ago
When I read Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment" in school, I mentioned to my teacher that the investigator reminds me of Columbo. I only remember my teacher answering me, that Columbo is one of the few crime series to be of good quality. Almost fifteen years later I read this: > “The Columbo character was based squarely on Porfiry Petrovich, the astute but meandering lead investigator in Dostoevsky’s Crime & Punishment.” Which makes me kind of happy :-)
nelblu 5y ago
My wife and I discovered columbo in 2014ish. Ever since then we have become crazy fans. I have all the episodes from 1968 thru 2003 on DVD, ripped with subtitles and backed up on multiple SSDs and also backed up to Amazon glacier just in case... Columbo plays in our house every weekend since 2014, we are probably watching the series 7th or 8th time now and it never feels boring. My biggest regret is that, I found columbo after peter Falk died. I would have loved to meet him or just write to him when he were alive. Peter Falk was a legend, I almost feel like we are related and share some weird bond. Thanks Peter Falk and the whole Columbo crew for a masterpiece show.

168 points by MaysonL 5y ago

lqet 5y ago

One of the earliest (and also one of the best) Columbo episodes ("Murder by the Book", 1971) was directed by Steven Spielberg. If you watch it, it is immediately clear (even during the initial shot) that this episode is simply in another league. Not only when compared to other Columbo episodes, but also when compared to other TV shows during that era (see for example this short documentary [0]). It is crazy to think that Spielberg was only 25 when he directed this. If I remember correctly, the quality of that Columbo episode was what really started Spielberg's career. He got the offer to direct a TV movie afterwards, and he presented Duel [1] (also in 1971), which is simply a masterpiece and got a theatrical release after the TV success. It established Spielberg as a major film director. Just watch the title sequence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0707XtiFPs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0707XtiFPs [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gb62FxCH-Ks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gb62FxCH-Ks [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duel_(1971_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duel_(1971_film)

NextHendrix 5y ago
I was introduced to Columbo by a housemate a few years ago and was instantly hooked. The episode you mentioned is excellent, as are all the Jack Cassidy ones. For me the standout episode is 'Any Old Port in a Storm' (1973) with Donald Pleasance.
- lqet 5y ago
  I think there are 4 things that make a Columbo episode enjoyable: 1) Peter Falk 2) Creative murder ideas 3) Great plot 4) Supporting performances In "Any Old Port in a Storm" the acting by both Falk and Pleasence is outstanding. Regarding 2), I always adored "Now You See Him" (the magician episode, also with Cassidy) and "Swan Song" (the airplane murder with Johnny Cash).
  - Comevius 5y ago
    I think what makes Columbo good is how out he is of his element. The perpetrators are always from a higher social class and he always takes advantage of their hubris, lulling them into a false sense of security, agitating them until they give up clues. All that while being polite and sympathetic. There is no shoehorned social commentary in Columbo. It's pure entertainment, which is hard to find these days.
    - sumtechguy 5y ago
      Kinda a lot of episodes were like that. The more interesting episodes I think it was more of a he was 'a sly little elf perched on his toadstool'. He was unassuming. He disguised himself to be invisible and would pick apart everything usually very methodically. He 'took a defect and used it as a tool'. Even the way he would blow people off was to be unassuming 'oh my boss he is a very exacting man', 'oh just a routine question'. When it was usually him looking for that information. He would many times make the perp 'self own' themselves by their own lies. The writers were also very good on making sure motive, means and opportunity were clearly picked apart in all ways. Apparently the whole crew was in on it and would make sure that the story stayed true. Making sure things were filmed so they did not contradict later or past actions. The 90s series was a bit less tight and more of the 'stick it to the rich'. They were enjoyable enough. But something was missing.
  - coderdd 5y ago
    I would add great pacing, with long, slow shots. I counted random modern film scene switches, it is average 2 seconds per switch. Other is adding atmospheric elements that serve no purpose to the plot, just paint scenes of life. In modern films, most things shown will have to compulsively have some utility later.
    - fzzzy 5y ago
      I have been buying a lot of laserdiscs lately, and this is what I enjoy most about 70s-early 80s movies. Really long, interesting shots and way less music.
- lttlrck 5y ago
  Jack Cassidy is amazing in all three? of the episodes he's in. The show oozes genuine charisma, and the slow 1970's pacing is an absolute joy.
parenthesis 5y ago
"Murder by the Book" was also an early writing credit for writer/producer Steven Bochco.
scandox 5y ago
Respectfully disagree on Spielberg. Many episodes from the early series show exceptional visual flair. Watch the opening sequence of Publish or Perish or the post murder cover up from Death Lends a Hand. Spielberg was young and had enormous talent obviously but I think a blind taste test wouldn't show the difference.
- selimthegrim 5y ago
  You beat me to mentioning Death Lends a Hand. “How do we trump split screen? Let’s do it on sunglasses” (which always seems to get cut in syndication)
- lqet 5y ago
  > Watch [...] the post murder cover up from Death Lends a Hand. Personally, I find the projection on the sunglasses a bit kitschy.
  - scandox 5y ago
    My feeling is that if it was used in the context of cinema/feature film then yes it would be kitsch. But for the medium of TV of the era it strikes me as a bit of intelligent fun.
Witoso 5y ago
Apparently this episode is in the public domain, and is available on the columbophile's website[0] [0] https://columbophile.com/2018/03/25/full-episode-columbo-murder-by-the-book/ https://columbophile.com/2018/03/25/full-episode-columbo-mur...
- patwolf 5y ago
  I wonder, are these episodes really part of the public domain, or are they just misusing that term to describe being allowed to embed them?
drcongo 5y ago
The shot choices in that opening are spectacular. One of my favourite episodes.
mixmastamyk 5y ago
Wow, driving from downtown LA (Broadway), up 110 to I-5 towards Palmdale, using that unique connecting ramp where you turn left at the end of the tunnel. I've driven these recently and remember the horrible smog-belching cars from my youth. Also, nice to see the freeways without tagging everywhere.

hellbannedguy 5y ago

Although the writing was superb, I don't think Columbo would have been such a good show without Peter Falk. He had talent, and natural charisma. I don't think I have ever seen him in a bad performance, even before Columbo.

tempodox 5y ago
Agreed. In “Murder by Death” he also plays Columbo's parody, and it's hilarious.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- jaclaz 5y ago
  If you are an estimator of Peter Falk in "light" roles, you surely know it, I have to confess that I still re-watch from time to time The Inlaws (with Alan Arkin besides Peter Falk) and still laugh out loud on the same lines, even if I almost know them by heart: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_In-Laws_(1979_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_In-Laws_(1979_film)
  - philiplu 5y ago
    Came here to see if anyone mentioned "The In-Laws". Just a perfect, farcical gem. I still crack myself up yelling "serpentine, serpentine" when running with my kids, who have no idea what's funny. Probably about time I watched it with them.
    - jaclaz 5y ago
      >... when running with my kids You mean when you talk about running with your kids ;-): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079336/quotes/qt0136888 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079336/quotes/qt0136888
pimlottc 5y ago
It’s also quite lucky that they decided to go with the “too young” Falk, who was then able to play the role for over thirty years!

hawski 5y ago

Columbo is my and my wife's favorite series. There are many things that separate it from most. Nowadays there is a big focus on series where every episode ends with an addictive cliffhanger. I hate that. You can watch a single episode of Columbo and be satisfied. There are a few things mentioned from other episodes here and there, but overall nothing important. I also love how the lieutenant is above all kind. Lately everything has to be dark and quirkiness is used to explain how someone is directly rude. I like the fact that they did not bend and show Mrs Columbo (I now that there was a separate show with that title). I'm sure, that it will get a reboot sometime in future. I just hope that it will not receive the same treatment as Star Trek with Discovery. I would appreciate i.e. Natasha Lyone to make it something different enough not to look like a cheap uncanny valley copy. But kindess and clear separation of episodes is a must.

lokedhs 5y ago
I agree. I have recently been watching a lot of Star Trek and Mission Impossible. Two shows where you can watch one episode and be done with it until the next time. I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one getting really annoyed with the style with which most shows are made these days. I understand that there are good things about having a continuous storyline, and the last season of DS9 shows that it does work. But all shows don't have to be that way.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
  The key is that your long-form stuff needs to take a back seat to a plot that starts and ends in with each episode. In my personal opinion, Stargate SG-1 is a master class in this. Shows these days are written for streaming, they are clearly meant to be binged a season at a time. You'll have 4 plots an episode and not a one of them starts and ends in the same one, with several episodes having resolution of anything at all. It's maddening. Like, there are memorable episodes of some shows, like SG-1's Ergo, that you can sit down and re-watch and enjoy yourself, but this made-for-streaming format just doesn't have that quality. What episode did that cool thing happen in? They all blur together.
  - 5y ago

glandium 5y ago

I hate Columbo because in the Double Exposure episode they explain the cue marks that appeared during movies to indicate to the projectionist they need to switch reels, and after that I couldn't not notice those cue marks (Fight Club did the same reveal, much later). But really, I love Columbo. RIP Peter Falk. 10 years already.

sdoering 5y ago
I remember that and that was exactly my feeling. After watching this I just could not unsee them anymore. It was the perfect TIL for me long time ago (when I didn't know what TIL would have stood for).

throw0101a 5y ago

I was always disappointed that Apple never got Peter Falk to appear on stage at WWDC and say "Oh, there's one more thing Mr. Jobs…".

cardiffspaceman 5y ago
Too true. I don't care for all revivified old shows but I've been seeing a lot of this show recently (MeTV in some cities) and of course, Columbo doesn't wear a stylish turtle neck, but I think some would find the callback hilarious.

jhbadger 5y ago

>They based the character squarely on Porfiry Petrovich, the astute but meandering lead investigator in Dostoevsky’s Crime & Punishment – a book both had studied at college. Perhaps, but I would find it difficult to believe that the creators of Columbo hadn't also seen the 1955 French film Diabolique (also known as Les Diaboliques). This film features a detective who seems very friendly and not very competent but who is cleverly setting up a rhetorical trap for the murder suspect, very much like how Columbo acts.

LaundroMat 5y ago
There'sno source mentioned, but according to this (French TV station's) presentation (see slide 5)[0], Commissaire Fichet from Les Diaboliques was indeed an inspiration. [0] https://tvbreizh.fr/sites/default/files/dossier_de_presse_50_ans_de_columbo_novembre_2018.pdf https://tvbreizh.fr/sites/default/files/dossier_de_presse_50...

LordN00b 5y ago

In a minor dev related way, projects where clients keep piliing on requirements during dev, that's a Columbo. Just one more thing...

js8 5y ago
And will the product management figure out what the product is supposed to do at the end?

telesilla 5y ago

For an extra blessing of Peter Falk should look for Wim Wender's Wings of Desire. It's an incredibly touching addition to an already profound film. https://youtu.be/u7s-H4EqP4I https://youtu.be/u7s-H4EqP4I

amazing_stories 5y ago
Great movie. I didn't know Falk was in it and this created a very surreal experience when he arrived on screen.

leephillips 5y ago

This series is one of the very rare ones in which my favorite actor, Patrick McGoohan, makes a couple of guest appearances, and even directed one episode. https://columbophile.com/2020/08/30/episode-review-columbo-agenda-for-murder/ https://columbophile.com/2020/08/30/episode-review-columbo-a...

lttlrck 5y ago
Yes. He's excellent. My favorite is Identity Crisis with Leslie Nielsen.
mjklin 5y ago
Be seeing you.
leephillips 5y ago
Correction: directed five episodes.

mikebannister 5y ago

amazing, just downloaded recently and in the middle of episode 1 just now...

yawaworht1978 5y ago

I agree, sadly there is nothing like Colombo produced these days, the CSI series are tangentially similar but using hitech instead of old school police work. Interesting movie recommendation would be murder on the orient express , old or new version are equally good.

sfuller808 5y ago
the closest i've found is the italian detective series Inspector Montalbano https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inspector_Montalbano_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inspector_Montalbano_(TV_serie...

beebeepka 5y ago

I never watched the show back in the day. I knew what it was but I was not into this sort of thing in my youth. Decided to give it a try last month and I am already on season 2 and find it enjoyable. A few things that stand out to me: 1. Male characters tend to be in their 50s or older. 2. Women are mostly gorgeous but somewhat the same type 3. Even though it was all filmed almost 50 years ago and some stories are ridiculous, over the top, it all seems more believable than whatever modern crime show my wife is watching. These old, pretentious, hilariously over the top rich assholes are more believable to me than "normal" modern TV characters that seem to have it all in their 20s while also looking like models. 4. Everyone is white lol

jwilber 5y ago

That “buy me a coffee banner” is so annoying on mobile. Awful to just keep it there nonstop.

fortran77 5y ago

I learned conversational English by watching subtitled Columbo shows.

everling 5y ago

I discovered Columbo just a year or so back and I love it. Peter Falk is the big draw, but I also appreciate the relatively low intensity of the show. Scenes are allowed to unfold at a pace that would seem too slow or baggy for today's shows. It's a perfect evening watch to unwind after a long day.

wimagguc 5y ago

Pay attention to the camera & directing the next time you watch an episode, it's an absolute masterpiece. One example to look out for is the back-and-forth between Columbo and the baddie. They would usually stand in opposite ends of the room and shot from two (sets of) cameras. One camera is closer to Columbo and the other is closer to the baddie, so when the detective is "winning" an argument, he'll look bigger on the screen and vice versa. This usually starts with a shot where Columbo looks super small somewhere in the back of the room, then he'd ask his famous "just one last question", and then they switch the setup. Now Columbo is bigger in the front, and the baddie looks small while they are in trouble.

paedubucher 5y ago

When I read Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment" in school, I mentioned to my teacher that the investigator reminds me of Columbo. I only remember my teacher answering me, that Columbo is one of the few crime series to be of good quality. Almost fifteen years later I read this: > “The Columbo character was based squarely on Porfiry Petrovich, the astute but meandering lead investigator in Dostoevsky’s Crime & Punishment.” Which makes me kind of happy :-)

nelblu 5y ago

My wife and I discovered columbo in 2014ish. Ever since then we have become crazy fans. I have all the episodes from 1968 thru 2003 on DVD, ripped with subtitles and backed up on multiple SSDs and also backed up to Amazon glacier just in case... Columbo plays in our house every weekend since 2014, we are probably watching the series 7th or 8th time now and it never feels boring. My biggest regret is that, I found columbo after peter Falk died. I would have loved to meet him or just write to him when he were alive. Peter Falk was a legend, I almost feel like we are related and share some weird bond. Thanks Peter Falk and the whole Columbo crew for a masterpiece show.