Product Details

• Actors: Jeremy Brett, David Burke, Rosalie Williams, Eric Porter
• Producers: John Hawkesworth
• Format: Color, DVD, Full Screen, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Mpi Home Video
• DVD Release Date: December 4, 2001
• Run Time: 100 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005O5CQ
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #58,101 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  #15 in	Movies & TV > Mystery & Suspense > British Mystery Theater > Sherlock Holmes
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• For more information about "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Volume 3 (The Blue Carbuncle/The Copper Beeches)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

• This is item 3 in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes DVD Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
One of the most popular of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, "The Blue Carbuncle" is given exciting treatment in this Granada Television adaptation, featuring Jeremy Brett and David Burke in definitive performances as the famous detective and his ally and chronicler, Dr. Watson. The story concerns the disappearance of a gem called the Blue Carbuncle, which is linked to a terrible history of murders, suicides, attacks, and robberies. The jewel's trail leads Holmes all over wintry London and to a decision that stuns Watson in its legal and ethical implications. Tightly woven and cleverly adapted from the page, "The Blue Carbuncle" is a worthy telling of a classic tale.

Just as Holmes is lamenting the state of his investigation practice, a letter arrives from a Violet Hunter (Natasha Richardson), who seeks advice on whether to accept a position as governess at the Copper Beeches, the home of a genuine oddball named Jephro Rucastle (Joss Ackland) and his equally strange family. This fine adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's clever mystery "The Copper Beeches" is absolutely engrossing, and as usual Brett's performance as the famed detective is flawless and true to Doyle's original vision. Burke does his typically stellar work as Watson, and the addition of one great veteran (Ackland) and one talented then-newcomer (Richardson) to the cast is a real treat. --Tom Keogh

Product Description
Studio: Mpi Home Video Release Date: 11/27/2001 Run time: 100 minutes Rating: Nr

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Super Holmes, poor value, November 9, 2001

By	R. Riis "rriis" (NY) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Brett was the definitive Holmes, in my opinion, and the DVDs of his performances are essential to all Holmes fans. That said, these DVDs are lacking in any sort of special features and -- worst of all -- while there were four episodes included on the first volume, there are only two epsiodes each on volumes two and three - at virtually the same price as the first volume.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jeremy Brett, Natasha Richardson, and Joss Ackland..., December 5, 2001

By	"kawwwwww" (Cranston, RI United States) - See all my reviews

Our Well Studied and Deliberately Executed Holmes:

In reviewing this DVD, I'm actually examining the actor's performance as the character in the entire series, rather than those encapsulated within the specific titles. I have seen these episodes, and could do a separate review of each, but I think in this case that would actually be inappropriate. I can say, however, that these episodes are very good, and represent this outstanding series very well. The DVD itself is also of very high quality, as far as sound and picture are concerned. Granada did a first rate job, that has translated itself very handily to the new format.

Jeremy Brett's Holmes is something other than the various Holmes' we've been exposed to in the past. I was raised on Rathbone. But when I saw Brett's performances when they first aired on PBS, I slowly forgot Rathbone's influences. Brett immerses himself in such a way that must make it very personal to him, then displays the character of Holmes in a forceful and deliberate manner - and in a depth we may not see again.

The key thing to understanding Holmes, I think, is that he is unique as a genius as any genius would be. Exercising his talents to there fullest doesn't give him super-status as an overall human being by erasing other flaws. Instead, his talent takes precedence, accentuating his human flaws by casting them into a state of neglect that highlights them. Brett understands this, clearly because he himself is either a bona fide genius, or he has somehow deciphered the code that generates a genius' idiosyncratic behaviors. I can't say which. I can say that I really believe his Holmes. Brett may as well BE Holmes.

My second favorite aspect of Brett's Holmes is the level of humor. Great care was taken here to make each little "quip" more situationally true to the character. His humor is really more an expression of how he so uniquely relates to those around him - and is frequently not acknowledged by the other characters - being that they are fairly unaware. We, as the audience are in-on-the-joke, which is nice, and it's usually a pretty funny one.

I guess I just want to say that I think a great deal of this series. Jeremy Brett is the best, and here, has given us so much! He actually died while still "in service" to the roll. Not to sound too stupid about this, but I think there was something very appropriate in that. It's like he waited until he had gained perfection before moving on.

Bravo!

Just one note about the Copper Beeches: Natasha Richardson! Yikes! What a performance. She plays off the embodiment of menace that Joss Ackland actually brilliantly portrays. The pair make this one of the finest and truly scary episodes. Definately my favorite episode.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another winning entry in the BBC Holmes series, January 8, 2002

By	Hazen B Markoe (St. Paul, MN United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Once again Jeremy Brett and David Burke lead the way with excellent portrayals of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in this: the 3rd DVD volume of the now-classic BBC/Mystery series. With guest turns by a young Natasha Richardson and Joss Acklund, the tales highlighted include a case in which Holmes solves a Christmas jewel robbery and a rather unusual governess position.
The production values are as excellent as always, and Burke's somewhat testy Watson perfectly compliments Brett's eccentric Holmes. Another must have for your DVD Holmes collection and highly recommended.