The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes Collection

Finally, MPI media is releasing the fourth installment of the critically-acclaimed Granada Television "Sherlock Holmes" series on DVD! Suffice it to say these are the finest and most "authentic" productions of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes ever made. Most fans consider the late Jeremy Brett to be the quintessential Holmes, and Edward Hardwicke is a fine actor in his own right and a most excellent Dr. Watson.Sadly, Jeremy Brett was in quite bad health when these final episodes were created and would die several years after. Too bad. He was a gifted actor and should rightly be credited with "bringing to life" one of the 20th Century's most beloved fictional characters.People may quibble about liberties taken here and there with the stories, but for the most part the "Casebook" series, like all the others, is very high quality, well-written, produced, and acted. Again, I'm anticipating techno-files may complain about the "transfer" as they have on past releases, but I believe MPI has done the best they can and the DVD is still FAR superior to owning these on videocassette.Don't purchase these as an introduction to the series, start with the "Adventures of Sherlock Holmes." However, if you're here, its probably because you already own the 3 prior DVD packages, "Adventures," "Feature Film Collection," and "Return," all of which are excellent.Are these worth purchasing? Absolutely. High quality, intelligent, and family-friendly entertainment you can enjoy for a lifetime. Pull out every couple of years to watch them over and share with friends and family.

"The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes" is the third installment of Grenada Television's one hour episodes featuring Jeremy Brett as the superlative master sleuth and Edward Hardwicke as his faithful and patient collaborator Dr. Watson. This DVD set features six episodes, adapted for television from the originals scattered across Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories."The Disappearence of Lady Frances Carfax" actually comes from the "His Last Bow" collection and centers on the mysterious disappearance of a gentlewoman from a lakeside resort. Dr. Watson carries much of the load in this case for a mostly off-screen Sherlock Holmes. "The Problem of Thor Bridge", "The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place", and "The Illustrious Client", all from "The Casebook", are classic and fairly straightforward cases of detection in the best Holmes tradition. "The Boscombe Valley Mystery", from "The Adventures", concerns a murder perhaps motivated by the mysterious past of two men in Australia. "The Creeping Man", also from "The Casebook", may be the most unique story of this series. Holmes investigates the strange case of a mysterious simian creature menacing the inhabitants of a country home. As presented, it is something more of a horror story than a straight-up tale of detection.Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke are old hands at their increasingly nuanced partnership as Holmes and Watson by this series. As the stories bring out, Holmes depends on having an audience in Watson and ocassionally imposes on that long-suffering and loyal gentleman. The disease that would ultimately take Jeremy Brett's life has by this series made him look increasingly haggard and begun to erode his screen time and energy. Fans can rest assured, however, that Brett's characterization of Holmes continues to be absolutely first-rate.This DVD collection is very highly recommended to fans of the Grenada Television series on Sherlock Holmes.

Having seen the original series on pbs years ago-I was reaquainted with the series on dvd last month ordering the first 3 dvd's from Amazon. These episodes have not been on public tv for years, in NYC at least. so I was overjoyed to see them. Even seeing Jeremy older and bloated and more haggard-with what he had to endure -no wonder!!,his dynamic and mercurial persona are undiminished.All kudos to Basil Rathbone, who was a different Holmes-his radio episodes and films were excellent in their time.!!The stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle are not as strong and dynamic in these later episodes-taken from after the turn of the century-so it is not fair to blame the somewhat diminished quality on these episodes on Jeremy and Edward. The acting is superb. Frankly, There really was no was no story with the dynamic appeal of the adventure of the Adventure of the Speckled Band written by Conan Doyle after 1900.I would like to think Jeremy's Brett stuggle with life's hurdles would somehow mirror Sherlock Holmes. Perhaps it does, since Holmes is a work of fiction, we can imagine his end in any way we wish. But I wish to imagine Jeremy, like Holmes fighting the good fight to the end. God bless you Jeremy for the gift you gave us.