Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Collection [DVD]

Love this TV series he is the best Sherlock Holmes I believe better than Peter cushion!!!

THE LATE JEREMY BRETT POTRAYED SHERLOCK HOLMES BRILLIANTLY AND ACCURATELY. HE WAS AIDED BY BOTH ACTORS, NAMELY DAVID BURKE IN THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES AND, LATER, BY EDWARD HARDWICKE FOR THE CHARACTER OF DOCTOR JOHN WATSON.ALTHOUGH IT CANNOT BE DENIED THAT BOTH ACTORS POTRAYED THE CHARACTER OF JOHN WATSON BRILLIANTLY, EDWARD HARDWICKE GAVE THE PORTRAYAL MORE AUTHENTICITY BUT SLIGHTLY LACKING IN WARMTH WHICH DAVID BURKE HAD. EVEN SOMETIMES DAVID BURKE 'S WARMTH IN DOCTOR WATSON APPEALED TO ME AS I WATCHED HIM PERFORM:- IT HAD THE YOUTHFULNESS OF THE CHARACTER WHICH EDWARD HARDWICKE'S PERFORMANCE LACKED.THE COMPLETE SERIES WAS CONSIDERED WELL DIGITALLY MASTERED EVEN THOUGH IT IS IN DVD AND VERY ENTERTAINING TO WATCH. ALTHOUGH IT IS PERFECTLY SUFFICIENT ENOUGH TO VIEW THE SERIES WITH A DVD PLAYER WITH A HIGH SPEED HDMI CABLE HOOKED UP TO AN LED TV, A BLU RAY PLAYER WOULD GIVE A MUCH BETTER RESOLUTION. THUS, I VIEW THIS DVD SERIES WITH THE SONY BDP S 4100 AND 32 INCH SONY EX 710 LED TV. THE PICTURE PRODUCED WAS SLIGHTLY SMOOTHER AND SHARPER IN RESOLUTION AT 50P/1080. I ALSO VIEW THE DVD SERIES WITH MY SONY DVD HP728, WHICH I HAVE IN MY POSSESSION, AND I FIND THAT, AS IMPRESSIVE THE RESOLUTION MAY BE, IT LACKS SOME ADDED SMOOTHNESS THAT THE BLU RAY PLAYER HAS WITH THE DVD.THE DEPICTION OF THE SERIES RANGED FROM FAIR TO THE CLOSEST ADAPTATION OF SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE'S CANON.UNFORTUNATELY, THE SEQUENCE OF THE SERIES WAS NOT IN ACCORDANCE WITH WHAT WAS LAID DOWN BY THE LATE AUTHOR. AS SOME REVIEWERS MAY HAVE SAID, SOME "RETURN SERIES TITLES " APPEARED IN " THE ADVENTURES SERIES " IN ITS OWN CLUSTER OF ARRANGEMENT. DESPITE THIS, IT IS INTERESTING TO NOTE THAT SOME OF THE SHERLOCK HOLMES'S DIALOGUE AND OTHER CHARACTERS ' DIALOGUE IS TAKEN OUTRIGHT FROM THE DOYLE'S ORIGINAL BOOK.HOWEVER, SOME TV SERIES ADAPTATION LOOKED MUCH BETTER DONE THAN THE CANON ITSELF, ELSE THE TITLE ON FILM WOULD HAVE APPEARED STOICALLY UNIMPRESSIVE AND PERHAPS SHORTER. FOR EXAMPLE, IN "THE LAST VAMPYRE", ADAPTED FROM "THE SUSSEX VAMPIRE" OF THE CONAN DOYLE'S ORIGINAL CANON, THE TITLE IN THE TV SERIES IS GIVEN ALMOST A COMPLETELY NEW DIMENSION AND LONGER TREATMENT WHERE A DUBIOUS CHARACTER STOCKTON IS ADDED TO IT AND THE REST OF THE SUPPORTING CHARACTERS COME TO LIFE TO MAKE IT EVEN MORE INTERESTING.IN "THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES", SHERLOCK HOLMES AND WATSON ARE TO WAIT FOR THE ARRIVAL OF SIR HENRY BASKERVILLE AND DOCTOR MORTIMER IN THE ROOM AT 221B BAKER STREET IN THE MORNING, BUT IN THE TV SERIES THIS SCENE HAS BEEN CHANGED TO A BREAKFAST SCENE AT NORTHUMBERLAND HOTEL. SIMILARLY, THE ROLE OF LESTRADE IN "THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES" IS TAKEN OVER BY DOCTOR MORTIMER WHILE BOTH SHERLOCK HOLMES AND WATSON LIE IN WAIT TO NAB STAPLETON IN THE TV SERIES. ANOTHER INTERESTING YET UNEXPECTED TURN OF EVENTS WOULD BE IN THE CASE OF "THOR BRIDGE", IN THE ORIGINAL DOYLE'S CANON, MR.GIBSON THE GOLD KING IS SUPPOSED TO COME BACK TO SHERLOCK HOLMES AFTER SHERLOCK HOLMES HAS DISMISSED HIM FOR REFUSING TO TELL HIM THE TRUTH RELATING TO THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MISS DUNBAR AND HIM, BUT IN THE TV SERIES THIS HAS BEEN CHANGED TO THE SCENE WHERE SHERLOCK HOLMES IS SITTING IN HIS ROOM WAITING FOR MR.GIBSON'S RETURN ANXIOUSLY AND PERHAPS TOO CONFIDENTLY, BUT TO NO AVAIL. IN THE END, AS SEEN IN THE TV SERIES SHERLOCK HOLMES, THROUGH WATSON'S INGENUITY, HAS TO USE GIBSON'S LETTER TO SECURE AN APPOINTMENT WITH MISS DUNBAR IN THE PRISON THROUGH GIBSON'S LAWYER.THERE WAS ONE DISAPPOINTING FACT:- NOT ALL TITLES, ESPECIALLY "A STUDY IN SCARLET ", APPEARED ON THE TV SERIES. FURTHERMORE HAD JEREMY BRETT NOT BEEN SO ILL, I SUPPOSE THAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HOW HE WOULD HAVE GONE ON TO ENACT ANOTHER TWO TITLES FOR THE TV SERIES, NAMELY "THE THREE STUDENTS" AND "THE MISSING THREE -QUARTER".DESPITE THIS, THE SERIES WAS MOST ENTERTAINING TO WATCH AND JEREMY BRETT WAS SO EXCELLENT ON HIS POTRAYAL OF SHERLOCK HOLMES THAT NONE OF THE TITLES BORED ME ENTIRELY.ALL SUPPORTING ACTORS WERE CAST BRILLIANTLY IN THEIR ROLES :- CHARLES GRAY( MYCROFT HOLMES) , ROSALIND WILLIAMS( MRS. HUDSON), COLIN JEAVONS( LESTRADE) AND ERIC POTTER (MORIARTY) ARE AMONG THOSE WHO GAVE SUPERB PERFORMANCES IN THEIR RESPECTIVE ROLES.DESPITE HAVING A COMPLETE COLLECTION SERIES OF THIS TITLE IN DVD AS WELL AS IN BOOK BY THE LATE AUTHOR HIMSELF, I FIND THAT I SHALL NEVER BE SATISFIED IF MY COLLECTION WOULD NOT BE ENTIRELY COMPLETE WITHOUT THE COMPLETE SERIES OF THE BLU RAY SET, WHERE -APART FROM THE TWO VERTICAL BLACK BARS- THE QUALITY OF THE REMASTERED TITLE IS EVEN VERY MUCH BETTER.I URGE ALL SHERLOCK HOLMES FANS TO ACQUIRE BOTH THE DVD SERIES AND THE BLU RAY SERIES OF THE TITLE :- IT IS MOST ENJOYABLY INTERESTING!!! YOU SHALL NEVER REGRET THIS. THE LATE JEREMY BRETT IS REALLY SHERLOCK HOLMES!!

As an avid and life long Sherlock Holmes disciple, I well remember as a child spending many many hours of my youth reading through the stories of his exploits whilst neglecting home or house-work, a lot of those hours were spent 'under the blanket' trying to read the fine print with a torch and remain still as my mothers hearing was that of a hawk and many a time 'turn out that light' could be heard from the lounge downstairs, this explains why my eyesight is not exactly 20/20 and NOT for any other reason! I have been very fortunate, thanks to my longevity, in having seen on the big screen, such wonderful and distinguished actors attempt to portray the master detective. Actors such as Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Basil Rathbone, Douglas Wilmer and Ronald Howard have all tried with varying success to bring Holmes to life, there were many more, too many to mention whose portrayal doesn't warrant their naming. However, not one of the above mentioned masters of acting even comes close to Jeremy Bretts portrayal of Sherlock Holmes. To me, he IS, Sherlock Holmes, the master of intrigue, unraveller of mysteries, sword of justice and the shining light in the darkness under the bed or behind the door. I recall reading that Mr Brett not only re-read the entire works to understand the character he was to play but after a while he BELIEVED that he was Sherlock Holmes. That, to me, explains why he stands head and shoulders over everyone else, a truely inspiring actor. There is a point in one episode (The Black Pearl) where Colin Jeavons (Inspector LeStrade) tells Holmes that Scotland Yard is PROUD of Holmes and if you watch Jeremy Bretts face you can see tears in his eyes, as if the compliment was genuinely for him, not just lines spoken by another actor, brilliant. The entire series is so beautifully put together, even if they dont actually follow Conan Doyles written story-lines, that they entrance you and its very difficult to actually stop watching another episode even if getting up for work in the morning is to be a problem. It would be remiss of me to not mention the actors who played the part of Dr J H Watson, David Bruce and Edward Hardwicke. David Bruce, the original Watson, must have read the books prior to filming starting as it is evident in his portrayal. Watson LOVES Holmes, no not in some perverted man-man way, but as a brother or as a father with a wayward son, proud of his accomplishments yet wary of the fine line he treads between genius and insanity. Watson was the 'constant' in Holmes life, not opium, and David Bruce played the part with genuine affection, understanding and reverence. The two, Brett and Bruce, showed the world what Holmes and Watson would have been like in real life, one the spontaneous combustion the other the cooling water. It was such a shame when Mr Bruce decided that he was not to play Watson in the remainder of the series as he wanted more time with his wife (Anna Calder Marshall) in Shakespearean plays, seems odd that she also starred in a later episode (The Eligible Batchelor), but thats by the by, his loss was a loss for the whole series. Then Edward Hardwicke appeared! It is plain where Bruce read and understood Watsons role Hardwicke didn't. Where Bruce was subservient to Holmes (as Doyle describes) Hardwicke tries to take the lead. Its as if his selection for the role of Watson was only based on his moustache! There is NO gelling between the 2 actors, presumably Hardwicke insisted that his role was expanded and more interactive as he was, after all, to have joint billing. When you watch the episodes where he is Watson, you will immediately understand my comments, he isn't Watson and will never be Watson which is a shame as it destroys what is undeniably a brilliant series, it did for me anyway you may be of a different opinion. Bruce sat in the back-ground giving advice or just 'being there' Hardwicke IS the back-ground. Having seen him in other shows my opinion of him doesnt lessen in any way. So be aware that he may grate at your nerves. Apart from that, I cannot recommend this series highly enough. I have 2 copies, both have been watched so often that the discs no longer sit snugly in their cases, they all have slight marks to their surfaces but none of this detracts from the pleasure i get when watching each episode time and again. There will never be another actor who will portray Sherlock Holmes like Jeremy Brett, buy the series and keep his Holmes alive.

Normally try to avoid buying from private vendors and only buy directly from Amazon themselves, but had no choice here and yet the service was ace. Super fast dispatch, and the item arrived pristine and exactly as expected.As for the product itself, it is every bit as pleasurable a viewing experience as it was when it aired back in the 90's, and it's been masterfully transferred to DVD with a slight bump in picture quality too.Highly recommend both the product and the seller!