The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes Collection
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DVD details
Actor: Jeremy BrettBrand: MPI
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: Portuguese (Unknown); English (Original Language), Unknown
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 51 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-10-26
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Mpi Home Video
Product features:
- Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke return for their final bow in THE MEMOIRS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES. Closing out the long running Granada series, Holmes and Watson are back on the case with six more arduous mysteries to solve. The ailing Jeremy Brett completes his portrayal of the Great Detective in style and Holmes' brother Mycroft plays a crucial role in the series. Produced by Granada Tele
DVD Reviews of The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes Collection
DVD Review: Not the best of the Brett series, but with some gems
Summary: 4 Stars
Jeremy Brett has always been one of my favorite actors to portray Holmes. Also, in general, the Granada productions he starred in were great (or at least decent) adaptations of the original Conan Doyle stories and David Burke and Edward Hardwicke, the two actors who portrayed Watson, were a great improvement over past portrayals of the good doctor as nothing more than a bumbling fool. (I had loved David Burke as Watson, but came to like Edward Hardwicke even more, once I got used to the change. Hardwicke seemed to fit my own vision of Watson in the original stories even better than Burke.)
That being said, this last of the Brett series is varied in quality. I had missed these episodes when originally broadcast and am aware that Brett was very ill when filming. However, that is not the only problem with this set. Frankly, at least one of these adaptations here is ludicrously bad and others mediocre. I am aware that part of this mediocrity could be due to the original stories, which are not Conan Doyle's best, but, as far as I can tell, this mediocrity is more the fault of the scripts and productions. The acting is still consistently good for the main part.
1. The Three Gables--I enjoyed this one. Both Brett and Hardwicke excellent. The story, if expanded, is mainly as shown in the original story.
2. The Dying Detective--Brett and Hardwicke's acting, especially in the conclusion, is not to be rivalled. But the adaptation adds so much to the Conan Doyle story that it is really difficult to remember which parts of the script were actually from the original story. However, I understand why they felt compelled to add so much; the later Conan Doyle stories were almost too short to be adapted into hour-long TV scripts. (Makes you wonder if the producers should have quit when they were ahead. They had already adapted all the best stories.)
3. The Golden Pince-Nez--Not a bad adaptation, but it suffers from the total absence of Edward Hardwicke as Watson. In this outing Mycroft substitutes for his character and if not quite as out of character as he is in "The Mazarin Stone" (also adapted in this collection) he is still no substitute for that wonderful Holmes/Watson chemistry so ably re-created by Brett and Hardwicke.
4. The Red Circle--Another interesting, if expanded, adaptation. Acting by all concerned consistently good.
5. The Mazarin Stone--This one fell into the ludicrous category. It is now my understanding that this adaptation was more based on a Conan Doyle play, adapted from his stories, than on the original tales. But that still doesn't excuse the almost total absence of Holmes (Brett was too ill to act) and the totally out of character running around by his substitute, brother Mycroft.
Also "The Three Garridebs", another Conan Doyle story which is jumbled up in this adaptation with "The Mazarin Stone", has always been a personal favorite of mine. Not because it is really one of the best Conan Doyle stories, but because Watson is shot in the leg by the villain and you get to see Holmes get all teary eyed. Since Brett as Holmes is barely in this adaptation at all and you have a ridiculously active Mycroft in his place, none of this moving scene between Holmes and Watson survives the adaptation. Instead you have the silliness of Watson being wacked by the villian with a diamond cleaver.
All is all this is a very bad adaptation, with some not so good, or even silly acting--I became quite bored with Nathan Garrideb's laughably silly sisters. In this adaptation it is the sisters who contact Holmes rather than Nathan Garrideb. Again, something not indicated in the original story at all. Not being familiar with the Conan Doyle play this adaptation is based on, I'm not sure how much of this is Conan Doyle (who late in his career could write some pretty bad Holmes stories) or due to the adaptaters who wrote the TV script.
6. The Cardboard Box--from the ridiculous to the sublime. This adaptation is almost better than the original story. Even though I knew where it was heading, it really kept up its suspense and the acting, especially by the man who played the sailor husband, was superb. It also was nice to see both Brett and Hardwicke working together again.
The one thing that I really enjoyed in this last of the Granada Sherlock Holmes series was Brett's hair. In some of his later Holmes portrayals, but earlier than these, Brett's hair was cut ludicrously short and he only looked good when wearing a hat. I am aware that the changes in hairstyle may have been related to his various illnesses, but it was nice to see his hair longer again even if he was probably even more ill in these last broadcasts.
Despite some real problems with some of the decisions made by the producers, it was really enjoyable to see Brett essay the Great Detective one last time. Sad that such a great actor had to die so young. The only other thing I've seen him in is the Audrey Hepburn/Rex Harrison film adaptation of "My Fair Lady"; Brett plays Freddie and I wonder if that is really him singing. He looks almost exactly like a younger, thinner version of himself as Sherlock Holmes.
My final assessment: For the most part this is worth the money and the time, but don't expect the perfection of the earliest of the Granada Holmes series.
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