Product Details

• Actors: Peter Falk
• Format: Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 3
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Universal Studios
• DVD Release Date: June 27, 2006
• Run Time: 534 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (73 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000BF0C7A
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,306 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Columbo - The Complete Fifth Season" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Peter Falk took home back-to-back Emmy Awards for his portrayal of the indefatigable Lt. Columbo during the show’s fifth season in 1975-76, and the series itself earned two Emmy nominations, which should give an indication of the quality of the episodes contained in this double-disc set. Although the fifth season only featured six episodes, the quality of writing and acting talent is impressive, to say the least: Janet Leigh, John Payne, Sam Jaffe, and Maurice Evans star in the season opener, "Forgotten Lady," about a faded movie queen who may have murdered her elderly husband to finance a comeback; Patrick McGoohan, who won an Emmy for his performance in the fourth-season episode "By Dawn’s Early Light," returns to direct "Identity Crisis", which pits Columbo against a deceptive secret agent (McGoohan, who makes slyly overt references to his Prisoner character throughout the episode), and "Last Salute to the Commodore," with John Dehner and Robert Vaughn as relatives whose disagreement over the fate of a shipping line turns deadly; and then-newcomers Steven Bocho and Steven Spielberg write and direct, respectively, "Murder by the Book," with Jack Cassidy returning for his fourth Columbo turn as a devious PR agent. As far as TV mysteries go, few have been as clever, well acted, and intricately plotted as Columbo, and home detectives should find plenty of sleuthing material to enjoy here. Unfortunately, as with all previous Columbo boxes, the supplemental material is limited; the "Caviar with Everything" episode of the Mrs. Columbo series with Kate Mulgrew is this set’s sole extra. --Paul Gaita

Product Description

Peter Falk dons his famous trenchcoat again as he returns in his 4-time Emmy award-winning role as everyone’s favorite Police Lieutenant in Columbo: The Complete Fifth Season! Join Columbo in this three-disc set as he asks all the right questions in some of the most deceptive and deadly cases. The Fascinating Fifth season also features such brilliant guest stars as Janet Leigh, Sal Mineo, Robert Vaughn, Ricardo Montalban, Hector Elizondo, Robert Loggia, Patrick McGoohan, and more. The landmark crime series returns, and no murderer can hide for long with Columbo on the beat!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

175 of 191 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Message to Universal:, March 31, 2006

By 

Martin Landau "(not the actor)" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Columbo - The Complete Fifth Season (DVD)

Ok, heres the deal: Universal continues to produce bare-minimum season sets regardless of cries from Columbo fans worldwide. We fans again and again are asking for the extras that make a DVD set special. Like, for example, out takes, bloopers, promos, trailers, that NBC mystery movie intro, rare appearances with Falk, interviews with Falk or Levinson or Link, anything remotely connected to the charm of the Columbo character...HOWEVER, we get nothing but no-frills packaging and as an "extra" some lame "Mrs. Columbo" episode, which doesn't even qualify as a spin-off because the character was never in the original Columbo cast. I, like many fans, own all 4 seasons issued thus far and have yet to watch any of the lame "Mrs. Columbo" extras. Why couldn't they have done an interview with Falk while he's still with us? Wouldn't that be incredible to hear it from Peter himself...his thoughts on certain episodes or the development of his charcter? Or perhaps the origins of Columbo, which have been stated by both Levinson & Link to be that pesky and inquisitive inspector hounding Raskalnikov in Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment".
Mrs. Columbo does not interest Columbo fans. With this mismatched formula in mind, the people at Universal might also include a live performance of Wayne Newton as an extra to their documentary on Isaac Newton.

43 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dear Universal, May 30, 2006

By 

J. Evers "Horse Hollow Press" (Goshen, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Columbo - The Complete Fifth Season (DVD)

Dear Universal:
I want you to stop editing the Columbos. I watched Troubled Waters on DVD and there is a whole scene edited out! I know it's missing because I remember it on TV. The scene is the one where the magician explains to the police that a real gun has been subsituted with his fake gun for his performance. THe way it has been cut leaves the viewer confused as to why the magician scene is in there in the first place! I love Columbo as is. We're paying tons of money for these old pictures that would be sitting around earning no money so please give us what we want. SO QUIT EDITING will you!!! We're paying for this and I thought CDs hoave so much room, why edit? Also lose the Mrs. Columbo, that'll give you more room so you won't have to edit! I will of course purchase season 5 but if anyone ever comes out with a totally unedited version of all, I will probably purchase those!

110 of 128 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not The Best Season, But Still Memorable, March 16, 2006

By 

skyy - See all my reviews

This review is from: Columbo - The Complete Fifth Season (DVD)

The Fifth Season of Columbo consist of 6 Episodes.

Episode 32
FORGOTTEN LADY(An aging actress kills her husband because he refuses to pay for the production of her comeback show)
*Spoilerish* This was one of the most far-fetched episodes. The wealthy husband is shown, at first, to be heartless for refusing to finance his "famous" wife's dream of getting back into show biz. The reveal was, he knew she was losing her memory and ill(can't remember if she had alzheimer or another diagnosed illness). Her husband wanted to spend time with and take care of her. The far-fetched part was how the suspect/wife was able to commit this complex crime. The worst part was the fact she got away with it.

Episode 33
A CASE OF IMMUNITY(A foreign ambassador steals money and murder's two people. Columbo must solve the crime and find a way around his immunity)

Episode 34
IDENTITY CRISES(Espionage with a twist. A spy is killed by his contact)

Episode 35
A MATTER OF HONOR(Columbo, while on vacation in Mexico, helps the policia de Mexico solve a case where the murder weapon is a bull)

Episode 36
NOW YOU SEE HIM(A master magician kills his employer who attempts to blackmail him after discovering he was a German camp guard during WWII)*FIVE STAR EPISODE*

Episode 37
LAST SALUTE TO THE COMMODORE(Commodore Swanson attempts to sell his ship building business out from under his son-in-law)*A very interesting who-done-it episode*