24th July, 1980, Peter Sellers died aged 54...
Largely seen as one of the greatest comedians the world of cinema has seen, Peter Sellers died today, 34 years ago. He seemed to have the ability to transform into any character or role with the utmost skill and had such screen presence that he is still well revered and has been called "the greatest comic genius this country (England) has produced since Charlie Chaplin." (Boulting, John: Boulting, Roy (25 July, 1980). "Peter the Great". The Guardian (London) p.11)
His performances are generally outstanding so here is a list of his films with a combined rating from three top film sites, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic.
1. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) - 93.7%
Directed by Stanley Kubrick
Also featuring: George C. Scott & Sterling Hayden
4. Lolita (1962) - 87.5%
Directed by Stanley Kubrick
Also featuring: James Mason, Shelley Winters & Sue Lyon
5. I'm Alright Jack (1959)
Directed by John Boulting
Also featuring: Ian Carmichael, Richard Attenborough & Margaret Rutherford
Looking at this list it reminds me that we shouldn't just look at Peter Sellers as a comedian, it's interesting to see that none of his Pink Panther movies made the top 5. He was an amazing character actor and could have had added to this list of amazing films given some more years.
One of England's finest!
This is not only Peter Sellers best movie in my view, it is one of the best films ever. And at a superb score of 93.7% it is obvioulsy a favourite of many film watchers. Sellers plays three characters and is so convincing at all three that you have to look twice in order to realise that he is playing all three. A simply amazing movie.
2. The Ladykillers (1955) - 89.5%
Directed by Alexander Mackendrick
Also featuring: Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom, Danny Green, Katie Johnson & Jack Warner
3. Being There (1979) - 88.5%
Directed by Hal Ashby
Also featuring: Shirley MacLaine & Jack Warden
