Customer Reviews

The Sherlock Holmes Collection

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Baker Street Regulars will have epileptic seizures over these adaptations of Holmes. They are not exact reproductions of Conan Doyle, but they are very enjoyable if you are willing to suspend belief. Each story could most accurately be said to be "suggested" by the Doyle original, than a strict version. So if you know the stories well, be prepaired for a few surprises.

Matt Frewer at first seems to be giving a a very mannered version of Holmes, almost as if he is doing a comic impression, but on closer examination he is a Sherlock who is laughing at what he considers inferior humans. It is a very different Holmes and once you get used to it, a valid impression of a person who considers that he has a superior intellect to every other person.

Keneth Welsh is an exceellent Watson. He is the perfect counterpoint to Frewer's Holmes. Some of the looks he gives Holmes are priceless.

All the casting is excellent. Canada does a great job of substituting for Victorian England.

For anyone looking for some enjoyable mysteries and puzzels, these are good stories. It is a real bargin to get 4 hour and a half productions for this price.

For Holmes purists, don't rip them apart, just forget them and watch other versions.

These four films, which originally aired in the US on the Hallmark/Odyssey Channel, look (for all intents and purposes) to be targeted at family audiences. They are bright and viewer-friendly, and hopefully have just enough to get younger viewers interested in the fascinating adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.

Though they have many positive attributes, they also have a few flaws. Arguably the weakest of the series is the first entry, "The Hound of the Baskervilles". It suffers from a serious lack of atmosphere, a thoroughly modern Sir Henry, a peculiar-looking Hound, and a Holmes so off-the-wall you have to look twice to make sure it's not Jim Carrey donning the deerstalker. Matt Frewer certainly has the right look, but in his debut he exaggerates Holmes's eccentric tendancies to the extreme. He tones it down considerably in the later three movies, however, and as a result his performance improves a great deal. This "Hound" benefits from an excellent Dr. Watson and suitably mysterious Barrymores, who may or may not be behind the murder that took place at Baskerville Hall.

"The Sign of Four" sticks close to the original source, except for a few details. One wishes for a stronger Mary Morstan and a more eccentric Thaddeus Sholto, but a comically antagonistic Inspector Jones more than makes up for this lack. The appearance of the Baker Street Irregulars is a treat, as is an alternate, action-packed ending. Although it deviates from the ending described by Doyle in the original novel, it makes for a far more interesting one--especially for younger viewers.

"The Royal Scandal" combines two original Conan Doyle stories, "A Scandal in Bohemia" and "The Bruce-Partington Plans" and molds them into a fairly decent 90 minutes. Of course, there is the requisite pairing of Holmes and Irene Adler in a romantic relationship, but fortunately it is less cheesily done than one might suspect. Sherlock's older brother Mycroft also appears, albeit altered to suit the plotline. This movie is also split into two halves for some reason. You get the first 30 minutes on Disc One. After that, you must switch over to Disc 2 for the last hour.

Finally, "The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire" deals with the mysterious murders of members of a religious group in the Whitechapel district. The victims all have the bite marks of a vampire, naturally prompting suspicion to fall on a supernatural force. Speculation points to a demon who has come to wreak vengeance for a misdeed committed by the group's leader. Of course, Holmes is sceptical of all things supernatural, good and evil, and sets about finding out who is behind the murders and why they are taking place. By the end, his thoughts on the unexplainable are changed by a series of events.

Overall, these films are an entertaining diversion for an evening at home with the kids or by yourself. Part of the fun is seeing if you can pick out redundancies (i.e. the director's choice to use the same minor actors in different parts, the number of times Holmes either says "My good man" or my personal fave "I don't know...yet"). The only real thing the discs lack is that there are no extras which should make up for the spent money on a DVD set containing four films, two of which were previously released on VHS. Other than that, these come highly recommended.

I have suffered through many less than entertaining Holmes efforts in my 63 years. There's been Doyle's shoddy later works, awful prints of Arthur Wontner's films, lumbering Jeremy Brett episodes that were too heavily padded, the dull deadly necklace, the recent muddled case of evil, and Reginald Owen's study in slumber. The Sherlock Holmes Collection, on the other hand, is a godsend. It may not be pure Doyle, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Have you tried reading the Three Gables lately? How about the Creeping Man?

Matt Frewer has his detractors, but things are never dull or dreary with him involved. He seems to be having fun. I did the same while watching him. He reminded me of the comedic tone of the better Rathbone and Bruce efforts, the humorous moments in Caine and Kingsley's Without A Clue, and the sense of fun of the Ronald Howard series. Kenneth Welsh is a splendid Watson. Welsh has become my favorite of all cinematic Watsons. His interpay with Frewer is delightful.

The relationship between Mycroft and Sherlock is most interesting. It's a tangled skein to be sure. It shows that Frewer's Holmes can be more that just humorous. The same is true of Holmes' interaction with the alluring Irene Adler. Frewer is wonderful in those scenes. Miss Adler knows just how to get under his skin. This is a fine collection. It may not be everybody's cup of tea, but I found it to be an extremely lively and entertaining set.

I've tried Brett, Cushing, Lee, and Rathbone, but always there were members of my family who were less than captivated...until this DVD set. These interpretations may not be entirely by the book, but they are entertaining viewing for family gatherings after Church. Frewer's Holmes may not be entirely serious, but he will certainly entertain the small ones and that's commendable.

Purists who study Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's work will no doubt be dismayed by these four films, and Matt Frewer's portrayal of the world's greatest detective will probably have them running off screaming into the night, but to the average joe these are fun films to watch and serve as a good introduction for young people into the fascinating world of Sherlock Holmes. Frewer's more comedic, eccentric Holmes can be distracting at times, but it eventually grew on me, and his performance does improve as the series goes on. Kenneth Welsh fills the shoes of Doctor Watson quite comfortably and always turns in a solid performance. The production values are always first rate in these films, making them a joy to look at. The best story of the bunch is probably "The Sign of Four", which draws to an action-packed climax. My only complaint of this collection is that "The Royal Scandal" is broken up on discs one and two. I don't understand why the company just didn't put the entire movie on the second disc instead of breaking up the story the way they did. All in all, a small complaint.

I bet Mr Frewer knew that kids would be watching so he gave them a very funny version of Holmes that they would love. It worked. My kids can't get enough of this guy. I've now introduced them to kid friendly versions of Doyle's works and they love reading them too.

I have never been a Matt Frewer fan, but his interpretation of Holmes is extraordinary. How nice it is to see new life brought to the character of Sherlock Holmes! This is a Holmes unlike all the rest. You may or may not like his interpretation, but Frewer stands alone in his take on the character and gives us something truly unique. I expected a tiresome retread. I have viewed every Holmes film available many times and had low expectations, but Frewer's performance was like a special treat to my tired Sherlockian senses. This is a Holmes you may or may not like, but you will not soon forget him.

The various reviews of this release indicate some slight disagreement as to its worth. The cause of the dispute is clearly the portrayal of Holmes. With my rating on record I will offer my opinion on the subject.
Firstly I consider myself a dedicated and serious Sherlockian. As such I believe that Matt Frewer is an excellent Holmes - in fact one of the best that I have seen (perhaps second only to Jeremy Brett). His main eccentricity is his youth - but experts declare that at the time of the Hound escapade Holmes was less than 35 years of age. Mr. Frewer fits this requirement perfectly. His physical appearance also is ideal. This Holmes seems to possess considerable nervous energy and is downright playful at times with Dr. Watson. We know that Holmes was subject to considerable mood swings; this Holmes is preponderantly upbeat.
This Dr. Watson, while himself satisfactory, makes an odd mix with this Holmes. Watson was supposed to be about 7 years older than Holmes; here he looks more like 25 years his senior. Indeed it sometimes seems that it is Watson who is the solid voice of reason, calming his occasionally overemotional associate. Anyone who likes a human Holmes will appreciate this arrangement. A simplified précis of Frewer/Holmes is that it is the exact opposite of Rathbone/Holmes.
The comment of one reviewer regarding incompetence of the acting I consider as purest twaddle from someone who simply didn't like this representation of Holmes. All the acting is professional and creditable.
My rating of the four episodes presented here: Hound - 5 stars, Sign of Four - 5 stars, Royal Scandal - 2 .5 stars, Whitechapel Vampire - 4 stars.
The two canonical novels are surprisingly good, due to excellent story editing and scripts. Both tend to be highly faithful to their sources, with judicious changes which are usually quite convincing. The climactic scene of the Sign of Four is the best I have seen for that story, much better than the tepid river chase. Also the clever twist to the character of Mary Morstan is welcome. The Hound is just plain good, with an amazing amount ot the original plot elements compressed into the time frame allowed. Casting is good, with boytoy Jason London as Sir Henry and Simon Wilcock as Stapleton, pious one moment and dangerous the next.
Highly recommended to all fans of Holmes.

Having enjoyed the adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson for decades, I recently discovered the Frewer and Welsh versions and gave them a viewing. Frewer and Welsh make a marvelous pair as the Great Detective and the Good Doctor. These are excellent stories too. The game is afoot once more.

I knew little of this offering, but am such a Holmes freak I had to order it. Frewer is absolutely awful, and certainly responsible for making these four movies unbearable.

These films are only slightly better than Christopher Lee's German production of "Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace".

Don't be tempted by the low price. This set is not worth the price of postage. Save your money for the MPI Rathbone series.