Product Details

• Actors: Jonathan Pryce
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Acorn Media
• DVD Release Date: September 4, 2007
• Run Time: 114 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000R349HK
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #103,797 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Sherlock Holmes and Baker Street Irregulars" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

A new Holmes delights loyal fans and a new generation in this BBC family drama

Kids are disappearing. Policemen are being poisoned. Sherlock Holmes is under house arrest, falsely accused of crimes he didn’t commit.

Enter the Baker Street Irregulars. Introduced by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in the Holmes novel A Study in Scarlet, this savvy, street-smart team of teens become the great detective’s eyes, ears, and legs. But can these kids really help Holmes stop a mastermind from stealing England’s gold, the good name of her greatest sleuth, and the lives of two of their own?

Jonathan Pryce (Pirates of the Caribbean, Evita) makes a splendid Holmes in this original mystery produced for the BBC, with stellar costars Bill Paterson (Miss Potter, Wives and Daughters), Anna Chancellor (MI-5, Four Weddings and a Funeral), Michael Maloney (Babel, Notes on a Scandal), and six rising young stars as the plucky Irregulars.

DVD SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE a bio of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, photo gallery, and cast filmographies.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Jonathan Pryce hits the mark as Sherlock Holmes, July 27, 2007

By 

Never the Twain - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sherlock Holmes and Baker Street Irregulars (DVD)

Watching Jonathan Pryce in his first scene as Sherlock Holmes, I couldn't help but be reminded of watching Christopher Eccleston as the lead in another icon of British fiction Doctor Who. Like Eccleston as the good Doctor, Pryce comes across as simultaneously off-putting and appealing. In that respect, he is quite simply an ideal Sherlock Holmes. You sense the the sharp mind that makes him the best detective ever and also that other-ness which means he will never come off as being quite normal.

Though much of the action is given over to the Baker Street Irregulars, Pryce's Holmes remains the focus of this story because it's the Irregulars efforts to clear his name when he's arrested for murder that drive the story. Even when Holmes is under house-arrest in his rooms at 221-B Baker Street, you can sense the wheels turning in his mind as he directs his foot-soldiers in order to solve a mystery with a deeply personal dimension for Holmes. Without spoiling anything, it's a twist that will probably be most appreciated by those with some background in the Holmes stories but such background is not essential.

Above all, though, this is meant to be a fun story, an enjoyable mystery/adventure story with enough danger to keep things interesting without getting too dark. This latter point is probably a function of having been produced for a family viewing slot in Britain. The whole cast does a good job, and it's especially nice to see one of Britain's best character actors Bill Patterson paired with Pryce in the equally iconic role of Doctor Watson.

I won't say this is the best Sherlock Holmes story I've ever seen or heard (personally I'm a fan of John Gielgud's run as Holmes on the radio from the 1950s), but Pryce is certainly one of the best Sherlock Holmes. I truly hope that this production is the first of many for him.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Sherlock Holmes and the Tween Kids, February 21, 2008

By 

lynz-h "lynz-h" (Eastern MI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sherlock Holmes and Baker Street Irregulars (DVD)

While this Sherlock story will probably appeal to families with older kids, the hardcore Sherlock fan will be appalled. As mentioned in other reviews, the villainess shares the name of a beloved character from the Sherlock stories, but none of her marvelous traits. Furthermore, Jonathan Pryce, while a fine actor, seems very out of character for Sherlock, seeming much too like a sweet older gentleman than the proud, somewhat aloof Holmes.

The action focuses on the Irregulars and the story seems to try to pander to a young audience with this crew. Unfortunately, for the first half of the story, I found it difficult to have much interest in them. By the second half, as I accepted the movie for what it was, I did find some humor and charm in it.

As mentioned by others, there are some really good lines. There's also some really intriguing camera work that reminded me of some of the more experimental moments in the Granada series (like in the Devil's Foot, for instance) and a good soundtrack.

When I was able to pretend it wasn't supposed to be a Sherlock Holmes story, I enjoyed it as much as I'd enjoy most movies geared towards a tween audience. But I don't intend to ever watch it again.

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Stinks, September 21, 2007

By 

Bruce Appelbaum (Yorktown Heights, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sherlock Holmes and Baker Street Irregulars (DVD)

Terrible plot that deviates incredibly from the Canon. Nonsensical. Irene Adler is "the woman", not a burglar. Definitely not a Napoleon (Josephine) of crime.

As for the Irregulars, not a Wiggins in sight. Cleanest bunch of late Victorian/early Edwardian street urchins ever seen. Nice that diversity is exhibited (at least in the presence of a Chinese Irregular called Tea Leaf, who has a backstory that is about 100 years prescient for political correctness -- too bad they have to call the character Tea Leaf -- all the Anglos have real names).

If you have $20 and two hours to kill with low expectations, this is for you.