34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Quality overview of the cinematic Sherlock Holmes, January 25, 2006
For those interested in the film, television and stage portrayals of Sherlock Holmes, David Stuart Davies book Starring Sherlock Holmes is a `must have'! This beautifully designed and laid out large format hardcover is a treat in nearly every way. Most noticeable on the first read through are the glorious illustrations, nicely balanced between monochrome and colour, many of which seem to be previously unpublished, while images from some rather obscure productions are also present. While the pictures alone nearly justify the book, Davies text is equally rewarding.
The book begins with an introduction by Ian Richardson followed by a few pages of background on Conan Doyle, it then moves into a solid breakdown of films in a chronological manner. The early silent films are lumped together over 4 pages in a general overview sort of way, although Eille Norwood and John Barrymore each receive their own two-page spread. From those Davies moves into the talkies, generally giving one or two pages to each film, with major series (such as those featuring Wontner and Rathbone) being accorded individual title listings. The film listings are occasionally broken up by the insertion of nice background/overview pieces such as Basil Rathbone: The Ideal Holmes, Curtain Up: Sherlock Holmes on Stage and Jeremy Brett: Dancing in the Moonlight. These inserts allow the author a chance to range beyond specific titles and address various trends, periods or influential actors. My only criticism of the inserts is that these are occasionally teasers with rare photographs dropped in without much explanation other than a caption (as in a photo of Frank Finlay as Conan Doyle with Richard E. Grant as Sherlock Holmes from a production entitled "he Other Side) or productions given short shrift in one or two-line mentions (as in the Russian Holmes series featuring Vasily Livanov). Television productions are included, although anything prior to the 1950's Sheldon Reynolds series is lumped into a 4-page insert entitled Holmes in View: The Early Television Adventures. Major series such as the Wilmer and Cushing productions of the 1960s each receive a 2-page spread with individual episodes being listed only in the Filmography section (which includes general production data, air dates and key cast lists) at the end of the book. Needless to say, Jeremy Brett and the Granada series receive a great deal of coverage, with separate 4-page spreads for each series and 2-pages apiece for each of the individual 2-hour productions. The titles represented are extremely current and run up to and include the recent Matt Frewer version of The Sign of Four.
The layout for each of the specific programs is nicely done, with a tight synopsis heading each listing followed by interesting commentary, liberally laced with appropriate photographs, on the particular production under consideration. While I often find myself disagreeing with David Stuart Davies analyses, I found the writing to be both highly enjoyable and informative. Quotations from other critics are regularly included, adding a nice balance. While the book has the benefit of being the most up-to-date at the moment, it doesn't make previous books on the topic, including the authors own Holmes of the Movies, redundant. The level of detail provided here on specific productions is not generally as far-reaching as in some other books of this type, but the sheer breadth and beauty of Starring Sherlock Holmes, plus the amazing array of photographs, makes it a worthwhile compliment to the Holmes film-analysis bookshelf
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Good guide despite flaws, December 19, 2011
This review is from: Starring Sherlock Holmes: A Century of the Master Detective on Screen (Hardcover)
I had previously bought a used copy of the David Stuart Davies book Holmes of the Movies: The Screen Career of Sherlock Holmes (1977). I found it to be a good read but I wanted something more up to date, so I bought this newer book by the same author, which I understand was first published in 2000 and updated in 2007. I hesitated for a long time because of the high price tag, but I shouldn't have worried, because I've found it to be quite enjoyable despite some flaws. It's a beautiful hardcover volume with nice glossy paper and lavish photographs on every page, and I probably would have found it worth the price even if it had no text at all, but the text that's there is mostly good.
The book isn't completely comprehensive, but it does cover the majority of Holmes films and TV shows that have been produced up until 2007 (you won't find any coverage of the 2009 film starring Robert Downey Jr or the 2010 BBC TV series starring Benedict Cumberbatch), and it even covers Holmes on the radio and stage. The various productions are listed in chronological order and take up anywhere from one to four pages. You get a brief plot summary at the beginning of each entry (which recounts the entire plot, including the ending, so beware of spoilers) and the text is a mixture of production information and opinion, both from Davies and from professional critics. Speaking of which...
The book has some critical flaws which keep me from giving it a perfect score, and the most egregious of these is the author's bias. Davies is very opinionated and isn't afraid to let you know what he thinks of certain films, and while there's nothing wrong with that, he's sometimes disingenuous when it comes to letting the reader know what others think. He makes blanket statements about how "most fans" think a movie is good or bad, without actually quoting anyone to back up these claims, and he cherry picks reviews from critics who agree with him.
For instance, you would never know from reading this book that The Great Mouse Detective was, for the most part, very well received by critics and Holmes fans; but Davies doesn't like the movie and apparently doesn't want anyone else to, so he quotes from a negative review (probably the only one he could find), mentions his own dislike of the film, and insists that "others" agree with him. Who are these "others"? You would also never know that the TV movie Sherlock: Case of Evil was critically panned. Davies writes about the film in glowing terms as if he's being paid to advertise it, without quoting a single critic's review, most likely because none of them were positive.
Then there's the shameless self-promotion. Davies includes a section about Holmes books that have not yet been adapted for cinema, and he uses this space to complain about the fact that none of his own novels have been filmed. It doesn't end there: he uses the section about Holmes stage plays to tell you what's so great about his own play, and he makes sure to insist that critics have been tripping over themselves to praise it. Reading through this kind of self-aggrandizing tripe is nauseating. Finally, Davies sometimes comes across as a pedantic Holmes purist; if a film alters its source material in any way, you can count on him to complain about this instead of focusing on what's really important, like the acting, writing, and directing.
I've spent most of this review pointing out the book's flaws, but for the most part, the writing is informative and entertaining, and even if you don't feel like reading the text, it makes a good coffee table book to lay out and flip through. (Note the dimensions in the product description; it's quite a large book.) Despite the flaws, I still consider it a good catalogue of most of the appearances of Sherlock Holmes in film, television, and radio. If you can tolerate the author's bias, self-promotion, and purism, you'll get plenty of enjoyment out of it, as I have.
UPDATE: I recently bought another similar book, Sherlock Holmes On Screen by Alan Barnes. It's a relatively cheap paperback and can't compare to the physical beauty of Starring Sherlock Holmes, but I've found the writing to be more entertaining and without the flaws that impair the Davies book. It's also more up to date, with the most recent edition being published in January 2012 and featuring films and TV shows released as late as 2010. I gave both books the same rating, but the Davies book got a star taken off for its content, while the Barnes book only got one taken off for its presentation (it lists films in alphabetical order, which makes finding specific films difficult). Despite that flaw, it's the better book and the one that I would recommend first, unless you want the short sections on Holmes radio shows and stage plays that the Davies book provides.
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