Product Details

• Actors: Robert Stephens, Colin Blakely, Christopher Lee
• Format: Color, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
• DVD Release Date: December 15, 2009
• Run Time: 318 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B002OMIKV8
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #28,917 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Studio: Tcfhe/mgm Release Date: 12/15/2009 Run time: 319 minutes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

117 of 124 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars hi, January 10, 2010

By 

lawson "pen" (Australia) - See all my reviews

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

Be very careful this is not as advertised .this is not a collection of holmes movie by robert stephens .But is triple feature dvd set.the hound of the baskervilles starring peter cushing and andre morell. the private life of sherlock homes starring robert stephens and colin blakely. and without a clue starring michael caine and ben kingsley.all good in there own way but very different from a collection by robert stephens.

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Three Faces of Holmes, March 4, 2010

By 

Zack Davisson "japanreviewed" (Seattle, WA, USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

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

For some, Sherlock Holmes is a character open to interpretation, while to others there is The Canon and the "real" Sherlock Holmes. This three-DVD boxset collection is definitely those who don't mind a silly Sherlock and don't insist on staying close to Doyle's original stories.

The collection contains three films, each with a very different take on the Great Detective. Aside from the grim looking Holmes on the box cover, only one of the films is an adaptation of an actual Doyle story, and two of the films are actually quite light-hearted in nature with one being an out-and-out spoof. All three films are quite good on their own right for those who enjoy variety in their Holmes.

All three films are available individually. The three films are:

The Hound of the Baskervilles - This 1959 film is the first Holmes movie in color. This is the Hammer Horror version of the classic tale, featuring Peter Cushing as Sherlock Holmes and Christopher Lee as Sir Henry Baskerville. Hammer films pumped up the gothic elements and added some tarantulas here and there, but ultimately Cushing delivers a surprisingly good Holmes and that is what makes this one worth owning.

The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes - The original 1970 film of Billy Wilder's light-hearted look at what went on between the stories barely survives, due to heavy studio editing that chopped his vision of four different aspects of Holmes' private life into two. This DVD attempted to reassemble as much of the intended film as possible, but too much of it is lost to time. If you don't like Holmes/Watson homosexual gags and Holmes searching for the Loch Ness Monster, then this is not a film for you. On the other hand, Christopher Lee as Mycroft is quite the sight. Not true to the Canon, but a good flick nonetheless.

Without a Clue - A 1988 Sherlock Holmes screwball comedy staring Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley, this is about as far away from the Canon as you can get. The premise is that Holmes is entirely an invention of Dr. Watson (Kingsley), who is actually a genius detective. In order to satisfy the public who want to meet "Holmes," Watson hires and out-of-work alcoholic actor (Caine) to assume the roll.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Must for the Watson Fan, October 18, 2011

By 

Christopher Twelvetrees (USA) - See all my reviews

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

The three Sherlock Holmes films included here are a mixed bag. But they are all theatrical releases of a fairly high quality. And if, like me, you are more a connoisseur of Watson than Holmes, these films will be a treat. They have three different takes on Watson, two of them predating David Burke, and none of them fools.

THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (1959)
Peter Cushing is a fine Holmes, if a little too smug in his deducing. Cushing went on to play Holmes on television to better effect. This Hammer movie casts another horror favorite, Christopher Lee, as Sir Henry Baskerville. Andre Morell is a solid, if rather stodgy and dull, Watson. That may make him close to the way Doyle intended him. The story deviates from the true, and it's all rather stage-bound. Still, it's marginally preferable to Jeremy Brett's dreary version, even if it's nowhere near the quality of Basil Rathbone's. This is the only film in the set that is done without its tongue in its cheek.

THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES.
Billy Wilder's spoof has its tongue sticking out at times. Robert Stephens, and excellent actor, comes across as an effete Holmes. Colin Blakely's Watson is a marvel. He's played for laughs, but he's no buffoon. Blakely does a masterful job of limning a funny Watson who nevertheless is a serious character. And Christopher Lee makes his second appearance in this set, this time as Mycroft Holmes(though Robert Morley, if available, would have been a better choice). The movie isn't perfect. And -- a bit of a spoiler -- Wilder ends his movie ends on a rather sour note instead of the smile he would have gotten by reprising Clive Revill's ballet impresario for a bow at the end (which was one of his options). As far as this being only "half" of Wilder's vision, movies are always cut for length and the cut scenes did not really add anything to the movie. As it is, "Private Life" is almost too long. And though the story is uncanonical, the movie as a whole stands up well compared to the bulk of Rathbone & Bruce's output, or the last few episodes of Jeremy Brett's otherwise virtuosic series.

WITHOUT A CLUE
The jewel in this crown for the Watson fan. Ben Kingsley plays a Watson who actually solves the crimes. When he first wrote his stories he hoped for a serious medical appointment, so he invented Holmes to star in his tales while satisfying himself in a supporting role. This meant he was no longer allowed near crime sites without Holmes, so he hired a drunken hack actor (Michael Caine) to play the part. No spoilers here, it's all in the exposition. "Without a Clue" starts when Watson and Holmes are at a crisis in their relationship and Watson decides to write stories about "The Crime Doctor" featuring himself. But when Watson throws the drunken bum out, does he need him again when Moriarty reappears? Michael Caine is hardly the image of Holmes, lacking that hawklike, Rathbone/Cushing/Brett appeal. But the point is, Caine isn't Holmes, he's only an actor playing Holmes. No Christopher Lee this time around, but the film has excellent support from Peter Cook as Watson's publisher; Pat Keen as a rather different take on Mrs. Hudson; and Jeffrey Jones as an hilarious Lestrade. The always watchable Lysette Anthony also livens the proceedings. Henry Mancini's buoyant music is almost a character in itself. On a personal note, when I first saw this movie on DVD, I had the flu and my defenses were down; but even though this is the only movie in the bunch with a joyous ending, I cried a bit. "Without a Clue" is the perfect ending for this Watsonian triple play.