I’ve
always been a big fan of the movies starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock
Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson, even if the films weren’t always
particularly faithful to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. After the first two
Victorian era Sherlock Holmes films were produced, 20th Century Fox sold
off the rights to Universal, who modernized the characters into a WWII
setting and created a series of programmers featuring Rathbone and Bruce.
During my childhood, the Rathbone/Bruce Sherlock Holmes films always
seemed to play on television and I was always tuning in to watch them. As
I grew older and got into Laserdisc and then DVD, I had hoped to acquire
the Rathbone/Bruce films on disc, but had always been disappointed by the
worn, poor quality 16mm prints used to master these films to video (except
for the two Fox films). Now thanks to the UCLA Film and Television
Archive, the series has been digitally restored to its 35mm glory- down to
the Universal logos. MPI Home Video has issued the first four films on DVD
for $69.98 as THE SHERLOCK HOLMES COLLECTION: VOLUME ONE, with the
individual films that comprise the collection also being made available
for $19.98 each.
SHERLOCK
HOLMES AND THE VOICE OF TERROR is loosely adapted from Conan Doyle’s
His Last Bow and finds the services of Holmes and Watson
being engaged by the British Inner Council to deal Nazi saboteurs, as well
as the propaganda radio broadcasts that announce these acts of terror just
as they occur. In SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE SECRET WEAPON faces off
against his greatest adversary Professor Moriarity (Lionel Atwill), who is
working with the Nazis to kidnap a Swiss scientist, whose latest
development will significantly increase the accuracy of high altitude
bombing raids. SHERLOCK HOLMES IN WASHINGTON finds Holmes and
Watson sent to Washington D.C. to track down some missing microfilm, after
the courier transporting the top-secret information disappears. SHERLOCK
HOLMES FACES DEATH gets the series back to familiar territory, with
its adaptation of The Musgrave Ritual, a story that finds
Holmes and Watson investigating a murder in an English manor, which is
being used as a convalescent home for shell-shocked officers. The
supporting players in these first four Holmes offerings include Henry
Daniell, George Zucco, Reginald Denny, Evelyn Ankers, Hillary Brooke,
Montagu Love and Ian Wolfe.
With
only some minor variations in quality SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE VOICE OF
TERROR, SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE SECRET WEAPON, SHERLOCK
HOLMES IN WASHINGTON and SHERLOCK HOLMES FACES DEATH all look
terrific on DVD. MPI Home Video offers each of the four films in a truly
fine black and white transfers that frame each in the proper 1.37:1
theatrical aspect ratio. The image quality of these DVD is absolutely
stunning in comparison to the atrocious video incarnations that fans have
had to suffer throughout the years. Everything appears wonderfully crisp
and very nicely defined. Blacks are deep and velvety, while the whites are
solid and stable. Contrast is great, as is the grayscale, which produced a
great variety of shades that adds considerably to the depth of the image.
As for the restored film elements, only the most minor of flaws remain- an
occasional blemish or minor scratch is usually about the worst of it. A
grain structure is noticeable in various places throughout the
presentations, but it is never excessive and helps to create a very film
like appearance for the movies. Digital compression artifacts are never a
cause for concern on any of the DVDs.
All
four films that comprise THE SHERLOCK HOLMES COLLECTION: VOLUME ONE
come with fine sounding Dolby Digital monaural soundtracks. Most traces of
background hiss and surface noise have been cleaned up during the
restoration and mastering efforts for these films, leaving clean and crisp
sounding tracks. Of course, fidelity limitations remain, but even the
Universal stock music manages to sound rather pleasant with a bit of
amplification applied. Speaking of the stock music, I had to chuckle at
some of the more familiar cues, which I could swear were used in
everything from Universal horror movies to the Abbott and Costello films.
Dialogue is always completely understandable and Rathbone’s voice
maintains its distinctive sense of character. No other language tracks are
included, although English subtitles are provided.
Music
underscores the basic interactive menus, which allow one access to the
standard scene selection and set up features. Supplemental materials are
provided for the four-disc collection, but not on the individual releases
of SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE VOICE OF TERROR, SHERLOCK HOLMES AND
THE SECRET WEAPON, SHERLOCK HOLMES IN WASHINGTON and SHERLOCK
HOLMES FACES DEATH, which were provided for this review, instead of
the box set. Supplements should include an audio commentary with author
David Stuart Davies, a photo gallery and original movie poster art.
After
suffering through horrible incarnations of these films for years, THE
SHERLOCK HOLMES COLLECTION: VOLUME ONE should come as quite a
revelation to fans of the series. SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE VOICE OF
TERROR, SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE SECRET WEAPON, SHERLOCK
HOLMES IN WASHINGTON and SHERLOCK HOLMES FACES DEATH all look
terrific on DVD- thus making them a must have for any Holmes or Rathbone
fan. Very highly recommended.
I’ve
always been a big fan of the movies starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock
Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson, even if the films weren’t always
particularly faithful to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. After the first two
Victorian era Sherlock Holmes films were produced, 20th Century Fox sold
off the rights to Universal, who modernized the characters into a WWII
setting and created a series of programmers featuring Rathbone and Bruce.
During my childhood, the Rathbone/Bruce Sherlock Holmes films always
seemed to play on television and I was always tuning in to watch them. As
I grew older and got into Laserdisc and then DVD, I had hoped to acquire
the Rathbone/Bruce films on disc, but had always been disappointed by the
worn, poor quality 16mm prints used to master these films to video (except
for the two Fox films). Now thanks to the UCLA Film and Television
Archive, the series has been digitally restored to its 35mm glory- down to
the Universal logos. MPI Home Video has issued the first four films on DVD
for $69.98 as THE SHERLOCK HOLMES COLLECTION: VOLUME ONE, with the
individual films that comprise the collection also being made available
for $19.98 each.
SHERLOCK
HOLMES AND THE VOICE OF TERROR is loosely adapted from Conan Doyle’s
His Last Bow and finds the services of Holmes and Watson
being engaged by the British Inner Council to deal Nazi saboteurs, as well
as the propaganda radio broadcasts that announce these acts of terror just
as they occur. In SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE SECRET WEAPON faces off
against his greatest adversary Professor Moriarity (Lionel Atwill), who is
working with the Nazis to kidnap a Swiss scientist, whose latest
development will significantly increase the accuracy of high altitude
bombing raids. SHERLOCK HOLMES IN WASHINGTON finds Holmes and
Watson sent to Washington D.C. to track down some missing microfilm, after
the courier transporting the top-secret information disappears. SHERLOCK
HOLMES FACES DEATH gets the series back to familiar territory, with
its adaptation of The Musgrave Ritual, a story that finds
Holmes and Watson investigating a murder in an English manor, which is
being used as a convalescent home for shell-shocked officers. The
supporting players in these first four Holmes offerings include Henry
Daniell, George Zucco, Reginald Denny, Evelyn Ankers, Hillary Brooke,
Montagu Love and Ian Wolfe.
With
only some minor variations in quality SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE VOICE OF
TERROR, SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE SECRET WEAPON, SHERLOCK
HOLMES IN WASHINGTON and SHERLOCK HOLMES FACES DEATH all look
terrific on DVD. MPI Home Video offers each of the four films in a truly
fine black and white transfers that frame each in the proper 1.37:1
theatrical aspect ratio. The image quality of these DVD is absolutely
stunning in comparison to the atrocious video incarnations that fans have
had to suffer throughout the years. Everything appears wonderfully crisp
and very nicely defined. Blacks are deep and velvety, while the whites are
solid and stable. Contrast is great, as is the grayscale, which produced a
great variety of shades that adds considerably to the depth of the image.
As for the restored film elements, only the most minor of flaws remain- an
occasional blemish or minor scratch is usually about the worst of it. A
grain structure is noticeable in various places throughout the
presentations, but it is never excessive and helps to create a very film
like appearance for the movies. Digital compression artifacts are never a
cause for concern on any of the DVDs.
All
four films that comprise THE SHERLOCK HOLMES COLLECTION: VOLUME ONE
come with fine sounding Dolby Digital monaural soundtracks. Most traces of
background hiss and surface noise have been cleaned up during the
restoration and mastering efforts for these films, leaving clean and crisp
sounding tracks. Of course, fidelity limitations remain, but even the
Universal stock music manages to sound rather pleasant with a bit of
amplification applied. Speaking of the stock music, I had to chuckle at
some of the more familiar cues, which I could swear were used in
everything from Universal horror movies to the Abbott and Costello films.
Dialogue is always completely understandable and Rathbone’s voice
maintains its distinctive sense of character. No other language tracks are
included, although English subtitles are provided.
Music
underscores the basic interactive menus, which allow one access to the
standard scene selection and set up features. Supplemental materials are
provided for the four-disc collection, but not on the individual releases
of SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE VOICE OF TERROR, SHERLOCK HOLMES AND
THE SECRET WEAPON, SHERLOCK HOLMES IN WASHINGTON and SHERLOCK
HOLMES FACES DEATH, which were provided for this review, instead of
the box set. Supplements should include an audio commentary with author
David Stuart Davies, a photo gallery and original movie poster art.
After
suffering through horrible incarnations of these films for years, THE
SHERLOCK HOLMES COLLECTION: VOLUME ONE should come as quite a
revelation to fans of the series. SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE VOICE OF
TERROR, SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE SECRET WEAPON, SHERLOCK
HOLMES IN WASHINGTON and SHERLOCK HOLMES FACES DEATH all look
terrific on DVD- thus making them a must have for any Holmes or Rathbone
fan. Very highly recommended.