Product Details

• Actors: Jeremy Brett
• Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English (Unknown)
• 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: Mpi Home Video
• DVD Release Date: October 26, 2004
• Run Time: 51 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0002JP44G
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,151 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes Collection" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

MEMOIRS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

268 of 273 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fond Farewell, August 31, 2004

By 

E. Hornaday (Lawrenceville, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes Collection (DVD)

To love Conan Doyle's great detective Sherlock Holmes was never so satisfying as when the brilliant actor, the late and profoundly missed Jeremy Brett, breathed life into his fictional bones giving us arguably the greatest depiction of the Baker Street sleuth ever captured on film.

For me, Brett's is the truest Holmes ever attempted in movies or TV, and the Granada productions more authentically Victorian-era London than any made before this fantastic series or since.

There are some who deride Brett's later portrayals of Holmes, when the actor was very ill and had lost the sleek, angular look that Holmes had been endowed, both by his creator Doyle and his most popular illustrator, Sidney Paget. For me, that criticism is pure balderdash.

When taken in its entirety, the Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes series stands the test of time as the definitive telling of the stories, the later episodes underscoring Brett's courage as he faced personal tests that shattered his emotional and physical well-being. I would argue that it is that very human element in Brett's portrayal that makes his Holmes so breathtakingly accurate, compelling and poignant. Holmes denied his humanity and in so doing became more vulnerable as a human being exposing deep character flaws and weaknesses. In Brett, we not only see but feel those shortcomings, and something deeper, too: each person's ultimate struggle to find his or her place in life before death calls us home.

There are 36 episodes and five feature-length films in the Brett-Granada series that spanned 1984 to 1994. Holmes' "Boswell," otherwise known as Dr. John Watson, was adeptly played by David Burke until 1985, then Edward Hardwicke for the remainder of the series. This box set, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, represent the last of the episodes and were produced in 1994 by June Wyndham-Davies. After a decade as Holmes, Brett filmed these last episodes then died Sept. 13, 1995.

The episodes collected here include: The Three Gables; The Dying Detective; The Golden Pince-Nez; The Red Circle; The Mazarin Stone; and the Cardboard Box. (The Dying Detective is especially haunting as Holmes feigns a fatal illness to capture a killer and it is obvious that Brett is very ill.)

Other boxed sets from MPI include the remainder of the series: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes; The Return of Sherlock Holmes; The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes; and the Featured Film Collection that includes The Master Blackmailer, The Last Vampyre, The Eligible Bachelor, The Sign of Four, and the immortal Hound of the Baskervilles.

I am thrilled that MPI has FINALLY put the entire series out on DVD. I also remain deeply grateful to Jeremy Brett and everyone involved in creating these productions.

82 of 84 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some Good Material, But Buy Other Sets First, November 7, 2004

By 

Andre LeBlanc (North Dakota) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes Collection (DVD)

This is a nice final edition to the 21 disc Sherlock Holmes collection (featuring Jeremy Brett). Unfortunately, Jeremy Brett was terminally ill during the filming of these episodes. He eventually died of cardiomyopathy in 1995. His failing health is quite noticeable in these final mysteries. Ironically, it was most evident in "The Dying Detective," where Holmes fakes a terminal illness to capture the killer. This would have been a great episode if it had been filmed when Brett was in better health. Holmes (Brett) is absent completely from one of the episodes ("The Mazarin Stone"). Sherlock's brother Mycroft and Dr. Watson solve the case this time around. Mycroft also plays a vital role in "The Golden Pince-Nez," an episode missing Dr. Watson. Both episodes are OK, but lack the strong chemistry between Watson and Holmes. "The Cardboard Box" is one of the darkest Sherlock Holmes programs and depicts a particularly dramatic and ugly result of infidelity and jealousy. The episode takes place during the Christmas season, which provides an interesting backdrop not seen in other episodes. The best case in this collection, though, is "The Red Circle," which depicts a young couple escaping the vengeful wrath of an Italian mob/terrorist organization. It is the most suspenseful and intriguing mystery in this set.

This collection also includes an interview of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's son Adrian. He gives the interviewer a tour of a Sherlock Holmes museum and provides commentary and insight into the personality traits and legacy of Sherlock Holmes.

Overall, this a good set to have. And it is transferred from the original negative, so the visual quality is pristine. But I would make sure you have the "Adventures of Sherlock Holmes," "Return of Sherlock Holmes" and "Casebook of Sherlock Holmes" collections first. They are more consistent and feature a healthy, vibrant Jeremy Brett.

72 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally!, July 28, 2004

By 

Bill Mydo "Founder of the Bill Mydo Institute... (Twin Peaks, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes Collection (DVD)

Finally, MPI media is releasing the fifth and final installment of the critically-acclaimed Granada Television "Sherlock Holmes" series on DVD! Suffice it to say these are the finest and most "authentic" productions of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes ever made. Most fans consider the late Jeremy Brett to be the quintessential Holmes, and Edward Hardwicke is a fine actor in his own right and a most excellent Dr. Watson.

Sadly, Jeremy Brett was in quite bad health when these final episodes were created and would die several years after. Too bad. He was a gifted actor and should rightly be credited with "bringing to life" one of the 20th Century's most beloved fictional characters.

People may quibble about liberties taken here and there with the stories, but for the most part the "Memoirs" series, like all the others, is very high quality, well-written, produced, and acted. Again, I'm anticipating techno-files may complain about the "transfer" as they have on past releases, but I believe MPI has done the best they can and the DVD is still FAR superior to owning these on videocassette.

Don't purchase these as an introduction to the series, start with the "Adventures of Sherlock Holmes." However, if you're here, its probably because you already own the 3 prior DVD packages, "Adventures," "Feature Film Collection," and "Return," all of which are excellent.

Are these worth purchasing? Absolutely. High quality, intelligent, and family-friendly entertainment you can enjoy for a lifetime. Pull out every couple of years to watch them over and share with friends and family.