Fear not. Although the subtitle specifies the 1970s, the two pilot episodes, including ‘Prescription: Murder' from 1968, are part of this release. If you're a fan of ‘Columbo' (and I must confess, I love this show), then this is the box set you've probably been dreaming about since the first season was released alone on Blu-ray in 2018 – six long years ago! Spanning a whopping 20 discs, ‘Columbo – the 1970s Complete Collection Seasons 1-7' finally brings together all 45 episodes of the celebrated series from its original run from 1968 to 1978 in glorious high definition.
What is not included is the late 1980s/1990s reboot, though as those episodes rarely rekindled the magic of the old series, that's perhaps no bad thing. Hopefully those outings for the good homicide detective will find their way into a Blu-ray box set some time in the not too distant future. But I digress. What this release entails is the run of episodes that fans of classic television tend to treasure the most. You won't find any extra features on the discs, but the episodes themselves look immaculate now that they have been scrubbed up and presented in high definition. As I'm familiar with the DVDs, on which the colours look washed out and the picture quality is grainy, I can firmly say that the Blu-rays are a big step up, ensuring that this release is a vital investment for any serious ‘Columbo' fan.
The brilliance of ‘Columbo' is down to a few factors. One is the quirky, loveable central performance by the late, great Peter Falk. Another is the quality of the writing and direction, ensuring that there's almost always a gripping story, well-told. There's also the unique formula, which somehow shouldn't work, and yet works brilliantly! In every episode, we first meet the murderer and see them kill their victim. Leading man Peter Falk (apart from on one or two rare occasions, and only then to subvert our expectations) doesn't come into it until the crime has been committed. The viewer is asked to spend time with characters they don't know and they see the whodunit element of the mystery resolved in plain sight, whilst having a long wait for the charismatic star of the show to even appear. Yet ‘Columbo' remains full of suspense and tension. Once the good lieutenant identifies his prime suspect, the intrigue revolves around how he will crack the case of a seemingly perfect murder and bring the killer to justice.
Often along the way there is a ‘gotcha' scene, in which Columbo reveals an ingenious method of proving the killer's guilt. Sometimes these scenes are so darned clever you may not be able to stifle the desire to applaud the television. It would give away too many spoilers to go into details, but I'd suggest the episodes ‘Suitable for Framing' in which Ross Martin plays the killer, ‘Étude in Black' (John Cassavetes), ‘Double Exposure' (Robert Culp) and ‘Negative Reaction' (Dick Van Dyke – a surprisingly nasty villain) are the creme de la creme of moments of ‘Columbo' brilliance in springing the trap to ensnare the killer.
The series also relies on superb guest actors for Peter Falk to feed off, and there's no shortage of major talent playing the killer of the week. From Gene Barry's excellent turn in the opening pilot episode it became obvious that being a ‘Columbo' murderer would look great on any actor's CV. Soon they were queuing up to be in it. Academy Award-winner Ray Milland (‘The Greenhouse Jungle') and horror legend Donald Pleasence (‘Any Old Port in a Storm', in which Columbo and the killer are positively chummy) are great examples. Star Trek leads William Shatner (‘Fade in to Murder') and Leonard Nimoy (‘A Stitch in Crime') both guest star. Whilst the Nimoy episode is chilling and excellent, Shatner's is by contrast a fun and bonkers piece of audacious meta drama in which the killer is playing the highest-paid actor on TV who happens to be the star of a hugely-popular detective drama… The series also had its fair share of female killers. Janet Leigh (‘Forgotten Lady') appears in what is easily the most moving episode, whilst her ‘Psycho' co-star Vera Miles is the murderer in ‘Lovely but Lethal'. Country music fans can enjoy Johnny Cash's surprisingly good turn in ‘Swan Song', though he is playing a country music singer, which was well inside his comfort zone.
Several actors appear more than once, playing different murderers each time. My favourite returning villain is Patrick McGoohan, best-remembered for ‘Danger Man' and ‘The Prisoner'. He always brings intensity to every part he plays. He also directs a handful of the episodes as a result of having struck up a close friendship with Falk when they made his first episode, ‘By Dawn's Early Light', for which McGoohan won an Emmy. Jack Cassidy and Robert Culp, who each make three appearances, tend to be the names most celebrated by ‘Columbo' fans.
Only four years before his breakout feature film, the much-lauded ‘Jaws', a young Steven Spielberg directed one of the very first ‘Columbo' episodes (coming immediately after the two pilots). ‘Murder by the Book' features Jack Cassidy as the killer and is a terrific piece of suspense television. You can see the attempt by the visionary young director to inject a cinematic flair into the proceedings, and his episode stands out as one of the best. Less successfully, Academy Award-winner Jonathan Demme (‘The Silence of the Lambs') directs ‘Murder Under Glass'. Despite the presence of the excellent French actor Louis Jourdan as the killer (later the James Bond villain in ‘Octopussy'), the episode never quite gets out of third gear. It came towards the end of the decade-long run of ‘Columbo', when the series was delivering hits at a lower ratio and arguably needed a rest.
It has to be said that out of the 45 episodes, only around 10 leave the viewer underwhelmed, and that's only because of the exceptionally high standards that the show set for itself. It's the thirteenth episode (unlucky for some), ‘Dagger of the Mind', that reveals the first dip in quality. It was an excuse to send Columbo to London. Even his enthusiastic visit to see Buckingham Palace and the presence of Honor Blackman fail to lift it. But certainly in the first four seasons, almost every episode is pure television gold.
Contained within the twenty discs comprising ‘Columbo – the 1970s Complete Collection Seasons 1-7' is some of the best television drama ever made. That's regardless of genre, period or country of origin. ‘Columbo' is still watched and adored all over the world because it is so often so brilliant, clever, fun and relentlessly entertaining. Peter Falk creates truly one of the greatest television characters of all time. If you have space for just one more thing in your collection, make sure it's ‘Columbo – the 1970s Complete Collection Seasons 1-7'.
See also our roundup of the top ten Columbo killers!
Cast: Peter Falk, Jack Cassidy, Robert Culp, Patrick McGoohan, Janet Leigh, Donald Pleasence, Vera Miles, Leslie Nielsen, Martin Sheen, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Johnny Cash, Dick Van Dyke, Robert Vaughn Director: Steven Spielberg, Jonathan Demme, Patrick McGoohan, Sam Wanamaker Writer: Steve Bochco, Richard Levinson, William Link Released by: Fabulous Films Ltd Certificate: 12 Running time: 3754 mins Release date: 10th June 2024 Buy ‘Columbo – the 1970s Complete Collection Seasons 1-7'
