The Return of Sherlock Holmes Collection

Starring:Return of Sherlock Holmes
Studio: Mpi Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Granada Television followed The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes with The Return of Sherlock Holmes, 11 more episodes of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective played by Jeremy Brett. After his apparent demise at the hands of Professor Moriarty, Holmes is resurrected in "The Empty House." Brett is outstanding as the famed sleuth, whose return from what Sherlockians call the Great Hiatus is challenged by one of Moriarty's most murderous lieutenants (Patrick Allen), already a killer on the run in London. "The Abbey Grange," a bloody mystery with significant moral and ethical implications, was also an early episode in the new onscreen association of Brett and Edward Hardwicke (who ably replaced the departed David Burke as Dr. Watson), and the two actors seem as perfectly meshed as their allied characters. Arguably the most entertaining and satisfying episode from the entire series, "The Second Stain" finds Holmes facing intertwining problems, each with very different consequences. The look of epiphany on Brett's face when the ever-clueless Inspector Lestrade (Colin Jeavons) tells Holmes about an odd detail in the murder victim's home is enormous fun.

Counselor Troi from Star Trek: The Next Generation--or rather actress Marina Sirtis--is part of the cast of "The Six Napoleons," a wild mystery that suggests that a madman with a grudge against Napoleon Bonaparte is smashing clay busts of his likeness all over London. "The Priory School," one of the most interesting stories from Doyle's Holmes canon, makes for a particularly taut and exciting episode in which Holmes and Watson are summoned by the desperate founder of an exclusive prep school for boys to locate the missing son of a duke. An extreme rarity in the Holmes canon, a policeman of real competence named Inspector Baynes (Freddie Jones), is also on the case in "Wisteria Lodge," making this tale all the more interesting for Holmes fans interested in comparing and contrasting investigative styles. "The Devil's Foot" finds Watson pressuring the exhausted sleuth into joining him on a vacation on the Cornish coast. Instead of relaxation, however, Holmes and Watson encounter one of the most horrifying multiple murders they have yet come across.

Doyle caught a fair amount of flak for getting a lot of details wrong in "Silver Blaze," a story about the training and racing of horses. Nevertheless, it is one of his most popular yarns and makes a fine basis for a keen mystery with one of Doyle's most inventive solutions. A strong story with some of the sleuth's most impressive investigatory work, "The Bruce Partington Plans" also saw the return of Mycroft Holmes (Charles Gray), brother of the Great Detective and indispensable repository of government business. Holmes's methodical approach to the arcane problem in "The Musgrave Ritual" is a lot of fun, and Brett and Hardwicke seem to be having a particularly good time outdoors, pursuing the solution under a bit of sunshine. "The Man with the Twisted Lip" is one of the most ingenious of the Holmes stories, satisfying from beginning to end, with a witty conclusion and unexpected moral about class pressures. --Tom Keogh
Description
THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES DVD COLLECTION The celebrated duo of Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke are back as the masterful Sherlock Holmes and his faithful cohort Dr. Watson. Based on the original stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the spellbinding adventures of THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES are packed with mystery and suspense. Don't miss a single clue in these deadly games of cat and mouse! Produced by Granada Television and filmed on location in London.
Includes:
Disc One: THE EMPTY HOUSE & THE ABBEY GRANGE
Disc Two: THE SECOND STAIN & THE SIX NAPOLEONS
Disc Three: THE PRIORY SCHOOL & WISTERIA LODGE
Disc Four: THE DEVIL'S FOOT, SILVER BLAZE & THE BRUCE PARTINGTON PLANS
Disc Five: THE MUSGRAVE RITUAL & THE MAN WITH THE TWISTED LIP
DVD Extras:

Amazon.com

Granada Television followed The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes with The Return of Sherlock Holmes, 11 more episodes of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective played by Jeremy Brett. After his apparent demise at the hands of Professor Moriarty, Holmes is resurrected in "The Empty House." Brett is outstanding as the famed sleuth, whose return from what Sherlockians call the Great Hiatus is challenged by one of Moriarty's most murderous lieutenants (Patrick Allen), already a killer on the run in London. "The Abbey Grange," a bloody mystery with significant moral and ethical implications, was also an early episode in the new onscreen association of Brett and Edward Hardwicke (who ably replaced the departed David Burke as Dr. Watson), and the two actors seem as perfectly meshed as their allied characters. Arguably the most entertaining and satisfying episode from the entire series, "The Second Stain" finds Holmes facing intertwining problems, each with very different consequences. The look of epiphany on Brett's face when the ever-clueless Inspector Lestrade (Colin Jeavons) tells Holmes about an odd detail in the murder victim's home is enormous fun.

Counselor Troi from Star Trek: The Next Generation--or rather actress Marina Sirtis--is part of the cast of "The Six Napoleons," a wild mystery that suggests that a madman with a grudge against Napoleon Bonaparte is smashing clay busts of his likeness all over London. "The Priory School," one of the most interesting stories from Doyle's Holmes canon, makes for a particularly taut and exciting episode in which Holmes and Watson are summoned by the desperate founder of an exclusive prep school for boys to locate the missing son of a duke. An extreme rarity in the Holmes canon, a policeman of real competence named Inspector Baynes (Freddie Jones), is also on the case in "Wisteria Lodge," making this tale all the more interesting for Holmes fans interested in comparing and contrasting investigative styles. "The Devil's Foot" finds Watson pressuring the exhausted sleuth into joining him on a vacation on the Cornish coast. Instead of relaxation, however, Holmes and Watson encounter one of the most horrifying multiple murders they have yet come across.

Description

THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES DVD COLLECTION The celebrated duo of Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke are back as the masterful Sherlock Holmes and his faithful cohort Dr. Watson. Based on the original stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the spellbinding adventures of THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES are packed with mystery and suspense. Don't miss a single clue in these deadly games of cat and mouse! Produced by Granada Television and filmed on location in London.
Includes:
Disc One: THE EMPTY HOUSE & THE ABBEY GRANGE
Disc Two: THE SECOND STAIN & THE SIX NAPOLEONS
Disc Three: THE PRIORY SCHOOL & WISTERIA LODGE
Disc Four: THE DEVIL'S FOOT, SILVER BLAZE & THE BRUCE PARTINGTON PLANS
Disc Five: THE MUSGRAVE RITUAL & THE MAN WITH THE TWISTED LIP
DVD Extras:

-"Elementary, My Dear Watson: An Interview With Edward Hardwicke"
- Director's Commentary with John Madden
- Production Notes

Customer Reviews:

Timeless.......2007-06-27

Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke are superbly compelling in their roles. It matters not if you know every story and every line of dialogue by heart - these stories never fail to engross,and transport you to another time and place!

"It's devilish, Mr. Holmes, devilish!" .......2007-06-08

There is no doubt that this DVD collection is essential viewing for any Sherlock Holmes buff. For me, like many people out there, Jeremy Brett and Sherlock Holmes have always been one. I first discovered the dark and dangerous world of Holmes and Watson as a child during the mid to late-eighties, when Brett and Hardwicke were brilliantly bringing to life the most famous duo in literary history on PBS. Then I did not see these programs for so long, but to have them come out on DVD is truly wonderful. Just hearing the haunting opening bars of the period music composed for this magnificent series was enough to put a mischievous smile on my face!
This dvd collection features many of the detective's greatest exploits, including "The Empty House," which features the emotional reunion of Holmes and Watson, and one of my very favorite tales, "The Devil's Foot," which has one of the most intriguing plots in the Canon. The film sequence when Holmes and Watson experiment with the deadly African root powder is extraordinary, especially when Holmes wakes from his horrifying hallucination and cries out to his companion, "John!" As any Sherlockian knows, this line does not appear in the original story, but Brett says it with such conviction and emotion that it doesn't really matter. Nor can one forget Holmes' unforgettable encounter with Leon Sterndale:
"How do you know that?"
"I followed you."
"I saw no one."
"That is what you may expect to see when I follow you."

Equally powerful is the touching scene when Holmes literally cracks open the case of the Six Napoleons in front of Watson and Inspector Lestrade.

"Well," said Lestrade, "I've seen you handle a good many
cases, Mr. Holmes, but I don't know that I ever knew a more
workmanlike one than that. We're not jealous of you at Scotland
Yard. No, sir, we are very proud of you, and if you come down
to-morrow, there's not a man, from the oldest inspector to the
youngest constable, who wouldn't be glad to shake you by the
hand."
"Thank you!" said Holmes. "Thank you!" and as he turned
away, it seemed to me that he was more nearly moved by the
softer human emotions than I had ever seen him."

To watch Brett choke up during this scene is pure magic.
These episodes remain quite faithful to the stories for the most part, but take a little artistic license at times, for instance in "Wisteria Lodge: and also the Bruce-Partington Plans. Also the end of the atmospheric "Priory School" features a very dramatic scene which significantly deviates from the original tale, and in fact may be an improvement! One of the extra features is a very enlightening commentary with director John Madden and John Stuart Davies about how they made "The Priory School." The interview with Edward Hardwicke on disc 1 is also fascinating. As a whole, these are the finest and most satisfying film versions of the Canon ever produced or ever likely to be. If you follow the original stories as you watch them, as I have done, you'll discover much of the dialogue is taken straight from the horse's mouth! (Sorry about the pun, but I just watched "Silver Blaze"!) So do yourself a huge favor, and get this set today. These dvds offer countless hours of enjoyment and inspired deduction. The game is afoot!

Very good.......2007-05-07

The discs are securely cased. Reproduction is very good, except for a bit of wavy introductory music on one disc. However, this does not affect the video. I consider the set a good purchase.

Sherlock Holmes with Jeremy Brett DVD collection.......2007-03-30

I highly recommend thie set of DVD's.I purchased these as a birthday present for my husband and he LOVES them!He is a big Sherlock Holmes fan and Jeremy Brett is his very favorite Holmes.We also own The Return of Sherlock Holmes and it is very good as well.We were very pleased with the service we recieved from Amazon,we recieved our order in just a couple of days and will definitely be using them again.Hope you enjoy these as much as we have!

The world of deduction.......2007-01-18

The facinating stories of Sherlock Holmes.
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