Columbo: The 1970s – Seasons 1-7 (Blu-ray Review)

• Reviewed by: Tim Salmons
• Review Date: Jan 18, 2024
• Format: Blu-ray Disc
• 

Director

Various

Release Date(s)

1968-1978 (December 19, 2023)

Studio(s)

Universal Television (Kino Lorber Studio Classics)

• Film/Program Grade: A
• Video Grade: A
• Audio Grade: A
• Extras Grade: C

Review

Growing up in the 1970s through to the 1990s, there was hardly a household that wasn’t watching Columbo when new episodes or random specials aired on either NBC or ABC. The show became one of the most popular detective series ever produced, so much so that even after the initial seven seasons had aired, the eccentric, raincoat-wearing, cigar-chomping, but ever-so-clever lieutenant would occasionally be brought back for further investigations. This lasted all the way up until 2003, when the show went on an official hiatus, partly due to producers not being able to greenlight new episodes, but also due to Peter Falk’s failing health and eventual death in 2011. Falk had become a star and won four Emmys because of the show’s massive popularity, despite being in a number of noteworthy and successful films (Husbands, A Woman Under the Influence, Murder by Death, The Cheap Detective, The In-Laws, and The Princess Bride), but the majority of audiences know him simply as Columbo, and probably will forever more.

Columbo as a television entity is nothing if not repetitive. Each week, audiences would be introduced to a new set of guest stars whose main character would commit a deadly act, and it would be up to the always-resourceful Lieutenant Columbo to remain vigilante and stay on their trail, often annoying and needling them until the evidence that he needed to have them arrested would reveal itself. This inverted detective story style, often called the “howcatchem” rather than the traditional “whodunit,” was more or less the same in each and every episode. However, the show’s repetitiousness is part of its charm. Every week, Columbo would always solve the mystery at hand, no matter much it would seemingly elude him or how good the antagonist was at concealing it, and there’s an odd sort of comfort in that. The same could be said of other detective-based type shows, but Peter Falk’s charming yet off-kilter appearance and gravitas managed to keep viewers glued to TV screens in a way that felt fresh and different.

Invariably, many talented actors and directors worked on the show over its ten season-plus run. Directors included Steven Spielberg, Hy Averback, Jeannot Swarc, Ted Post, Patrick McGoohan, and Jonathan Demme, among others. Guest stars included the likes of Eddie Albert, Don Ameche, Ed Begley Jr., Johnny Cash, John Cassavetes (naturally), Dabney Coleman, Robert Culp, Blythe Danner, Hector Elizondo, José Ferrer, Anne Francis, Ruth Gordon, George Hamilton, Walter Koenig, L.Q. Jones, Martin Landau, Janet Leigh, Robert Loggia, Ida Lupino, Mako, Kevin McCarthy, Roddy McDowall, Ray Milland, Ricardo Montalban, Julie Newmar, Leslie Nielsen, Leonard Nimoy, Donald Pleasence, Vincent Price, William Shatner, Martin Sheen, Dean Stockwell, Larry Storch, Robert Vaughn, Dick Van Dyke, Jessica Walter, and Lesley Ann Warren. There’s also blink-and-you’ll-miss-them appearances by Ian Abercrombie, John Ashton, Ray Kellogg, Pat Morita, Katey Sagal, Marc Singer, and George Wyner. And that’s just for starters.

Columbo’s revival during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when people were finding as many things to watch as possible while being stuck at home, further cemented the show’s popularity. For many, the show was a staple for decades, solidifying Peter Falk as one of TV’s greatest stars, and entering Columbo’s catchphrase “Oh, just more one more thing...” into the pop culture lexicon, often imitated but never equaled. Rian Johnson’s Poker Face would successfully use Columbo as a jumping off point, but there will never be anything quite as thrilling as the titular detective putting the puzzle together and facing off with the suspects. It’s pure television gold.

Columbos’s two pilots and first seven seasons were all shot on 35 mm film by cinematographers Harry L. Wolf, William Cronjager, Russell Metty, Richard C. Glouner, Ted Voigtlander, Duke Callaghan, Isidore Mankofsky, Lloyd Ahern Sr., Geoffrey Unsworth, Jack Priestley, Charles Correll, Earl Rath, Milton R. Krasner, Irving Lippman, and Gabriel Torres. The show was finished on film and presented full frame at the 1.33:1 aspect ratio. The Kino Lorber Studio Classics Blu-ray boxed set, Columbo: The 1970s – Seasons 1-7, features new 4K masters, created by Universal Pictures, of both show’s pilots and all of the episodes, presumably from their original camera negatives.

Columbo’s history on home video has been a little bumpy when it comes to its presentation, but it’s more than fair to say that these new masters blow their counterparts straight out of the water. These are amazingly sharp, organic, and film-like with high levels of fine detail and extraordinary depth, which has never been seen in any form prior. The bitrates for the pilots run from 20 to 25 Mbps, while the shows can range from 20 to 40 Mbps, depending upon how many episodes are included on that particular disc. Grain levels are solid with minor scratches, speckling, and a little bit of dirt, but everything appears so clear and refined that it doesn’t matter. The previews of upcoming episodes, which open the majority of the episodes included here aside from three (Old Fashioned Murder, How to Dial a Murder, and The Conspirators), are of slightly lesser quality (perhaps from interpositive elements) with exposure issues, crushed blacks, and more obvious dirt and debris. This isn’t always the case, but there are obvious inconsistencies. Regardless, their inclusion is no less welcome. The color palette is rich with varied, natural hues and perfect flesh tones, as well as deep blacks and perfect contrast. In short, it’s difficult to imagine the show looking any better on Blu-ray than it does here. It’s gorgeous.

Audio is included in English 2.0 mono DTS-HD Master Audio with optional subtitles in English SDH. Nothing is amiss here either, with good support for dialogue, score, and sound effects, but with the obvious advantage of a non-lossy container to get the most out of it. Also included for each episode are isolated music and effects tracks, also in 2.0 mono DTS-HD Master Audio.

The twenty Blu-ray discs that comprise the Columbo: The 1970s – Seasons 1-7 boxed set sit in five separate blue amaray cases, one of which contains a 20-page episode guide that details the original air dates, cast and crew, and a brief synopsis for each episode. Everything is housed in a thin slipcase with newly-commissioned artwork by Tony Stella. Each disc contains the following episodes:

DISC ONE (PILOTS 1 & 2)

1. Prescription: Murder (99:20)
2. Ransom for a Dead Man (95:14)

DISC TWO (SEASON ONE – EPISODES 1-2)

1. Murder by the Book (76:10)
2. Death Lends a Hand (75:56)

DISC THREE (SEASON ONE – EPISODES 3-4)

3. Dead Weight (76:05)
4. Suitable for Framing (75:56)

DISC FOUR (SEASON ONE – EPISODES 5-7)

5. Lady in Waiting (75:46)
6. Short Fuse (75:26)
7. Blueprint for Murder (75:06)

DISC FIVE (SEASON TWO – EPISODES 1-2)

1. Étude in Black (96:25)
2. The Greenhouse Jungle (93:51)

• Shorter Cut of Étude in Black (71:13)

DISC SIX (SEASON TWO – EPISODES 3-5)

3. The Most Crucial Game (73:59)
4. Dagger of the Mind (97:31)
5. Requiem for a Falling Star (73:43)

DISC SEVEN (SEASON TWO – EPISODES 6-8)

6. A Stitch in Crime (74:01)
7. The Most Dangerous Match (73:50)
8. Double Shock (73:47)

DISC EIGHT (SEASON THREE – EPISODES 1-2)

1. Lovely but Lethal (74:03)
2. Any Old Port in a Storm (95:25)

DISC NINE (SEASON THREE – EPISODES 3-4)

3. Candidate for Crime (98:39)
4. Double Exposure (73:37)

DISC TEN (SEASON THREE – EPISODES 5-6)

5. Publish or Perish (74:37)
6. Mind Over Mayhem (73:36)

DISC ELEVEN (SEASON THREE – EPISODES 7-8)

7. Swan Song (98:26)
8. A Friend in Deed (98:17)

DISC TWELVE (SEASON FOUR – EPISODES 1-2)

1. An Exercise in Fatality (98:24)
2. Negative Reaction (95:13)

DISC THIRTEEN (SEASON FOUR – EPISODES 3-4)

3. By Dawn’s Early Light (98:20)
4. Troubled Waters (98:09)

DISC FOURTEEN (SEASON FOUR – EPISODES 5-6)

5. Playback (74:16)
6. A Deadly State of Mind (74:07)

DISC FIFTEEN (SEASON FIVE – EPISODES 1-2)

1. Forgotten Lady (97:44)
2. A Case of Immunity (74:07)

DISC SIXTEEN (SEASON FIVE – EPISODES 3-4)

3. Identity Crisis (98:10)
4. A Matter of Honor (74:09)

DISC SEVENTEEN (SEASON FIVE – EPISODES 5-6)

5. Now You See Him (89:32)
6. Last Salute to the Commodore (96:00)

DISC EIGHTEEN (SEASON SIX – EPISODES 1-3)

1. Fade in to Murder (73:44)
2. Old Fashioned Murder (75:48)
3. The Bye-Byte Sky High I.Q. Murder Case (73:26)

DISC NINETEEN (SEASON SEVEN – EPISODES 1-3)

1. Try and Catch Me (73:30)
2. Murder Under Glass (73:36)
3. Make Me a Perfect Murder (97:48)

DISC TWENTY (SEASON SEVEN – EPISODES 4-5)

4. How to Dial a Murder (72:50)
5. The Conspirators (97:13)

Aside from the shorter version of Étude in Black and the music and effects tracks, there are no bonus materials included with this release. Universal’s DVD releases of Seasons Three, Four, and Five each contained a bonus episode of Mrs. Columbo, which haven’t been included here (though one can imagine Kino putting out a release of that series someday). Also not included are a few things from non-US home video releases. The Madman Entertainment Australian Blu-ray release of Season One included the original mystery movie opening title sequence; the L’Atélier d’images French Blu-ray release included a shorter, French version of Ransom for a Dead Man, as well as three additional featurettes, all in French; and a Koch Media German Blu-ray release of the episode By Dawn’s Early Light included a selection of photos from the set.

When initially announced for release via social media, Kino Lorber Studio Classics stated that a number of commentaries had been recorded, which were listed as follows:

• NEW Audio Commentaries for PRESCRIPTION: MURDER/BLUEPRINT FOR MURDER/A STITCH IN CRIME/A FRIEND IN DEED/TROUBLED WATERS/LAST SALUTE TO THE COMMODORE/TRY AND CATCH ME by Author Mark Dawidziak
• NEW Audio Commentaries for RANSOM FOR A DEAD MAN/DEATH LENDS A HAND/THE MOST DANGEROUS MATCH/DOUBLE SHOCK/PUBLISH OR PERISH/BY DAWN’S EARLY LIGHT/PLAYBACK/A DEADLY STATE OF MIND by Author/Historian Scott Skelton
• NEW Audio Commentaries for MURDER BY THE BOOK/LADY IN WAITING/REQUIEM FOR A FALLING STAR/LOVELY BUT LETHAL/CANDIDATE FOR CRIME/NEGATIVE REACTION/IDENTITY CRISIS/THE BYE-BYE SKY HIGH IQ MURDER CASE/MAKE ME A PERFECT MURDER/HOW TO DIAL A MURDER by Author/Historian Jim Benson
• NEW Audio Commentaries for RANSOM FOR A DEAD MAN/MURDER BY THE BOOK by Screenwriter/Historian Gary Gerani
• NEW Audio Commentaries for DEAD WEIGHT/DAGGER OF THE MIND/ANY OLD PORT IN A STORM/DOUBLE EXPOSURE/SWAN SONG/AN EXERCISE IN FATALITY/FORGOTTEN LADY/NOW YOU SEE HIM.../OLD FASHIONED MURDER by Author/Historian David Koenig
• NEW Audio Commentary for ÉTUDE IN BLACK by Authors/Historians David Koenig and Scott Skelton
• NEW Audio Commentaries for SHORT FUSE/THE GREENHOUSE JUNGLE/THE MOST CRUCIAL GAME/A CASE OF IMMUNITY/MURDER UNDER GLASS by Writers/Authors Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson
• NEW Audio Commentary for A MATTER OF HONOR by Author/Historian Amanda Reyes
• NEW Audio Commentary for FADE IN TO MURDER by Author/Historian Amanda Reyes and Author/Podcaster Daniel R. Budnik
• NEW Audio Commentary for MIND OVER MAYHEM by Historian/Filmmaker Craig Bream with Special Guest Bill Malone
• NEW Audio Commentary for THE CONSPIRATORS by Television Music Historian Reba Wissner
• Selected Commentaries Include Excerpted Interviews with Peter Falk, Dick Van Dyke, Patrick McGoohan, Vincent Price, Martin Sheen, Richard Levinson, William Link, Lee Grant, Steven Bochco, Suzanne Pleshette, Norman Lloyd, Robert Butler, Stanley Ralph Ross and Many More!

Less than a week later, they re-announced the release, citing that the commentaries could not be included after all. The reasons why have never been made public, though theories ranging from the writer’s strike to rights issues likely blocked their eventual inclusion. It’s a shame since so many of their TV-based releases, especially their Night Gallery season releases, were chock-a-block with new, invaluable commentaries.

Regardless, the fact that the entire first run of Columbo is available on Blu-ray in such high quality is a reason to celebrate. The rest of the character’s appearances are in the home video pipeline, but the first seven seasons are indeed the golden age of the show. If you’re a fan, there’s no question about it. This is a highly recommended release!

- Tim Salmons

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