Cheap Sherlock Holmes Collection (DVD) (Rodney Gibbons) Price

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Customer Reviews of Sherlock Holmes Collection

Though they have many positive attributes, they also have a few, mainly minor 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 that he's almost painful to watch. 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, 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.

Different, but quite fun!
Although Jeremy Brett will always be my ideal Sherlock, Matt Frewer gives an absolutely terrific performance as the great detective in this 4 episode DVD collection.
While Brett portrays Holmes as brooding & meticulous, Frewer's interpretation is definitely more playful. Depending on how you expect your Holmes to be, you'll either love it or dispise it. As for myself, I enjoy all aspects and interpretations of Sherlockian, so I was able to incorporate it into my pantheon of Holmes personas. And if Frewer doesn't rock your boat as Sherlock, I think you might like the actor who plays Dr. Watson, who has become my favorite Watson to date.
The price for this DVD collection is very reasonable, so give it a try! It may surprise you.

family fun for sure
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.