Review(s): DVD Sherlock Holmes Collection Volume 3 (Dressed to Kill/In Pursuit to Algiers/Terror By Night/The Woman in Green)
Satisfied but Bewildered
After having spent years watching all 14 of the videos from Key, I recently purchased volume 3 of the Sherlock Holmes Collection. Everything they've said about the enhanced picture/sound quality is true, however, the DVD extras are missing. Am I the only one? The DVD extras promoted on the back of the case include: audio commentary with Stuart Davies, footage of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, production notes by Richard Valley and Photo Gallery/Original Movie Posters. I don't have any of the extras. It's still worth the buy and a five star gem.
Most favorite Holmes movies.
I couldn't wait to get this set of Holmes. My all-time favorite is Terror by Night. They are super quality and even better than the Key Vidio editions. This volume is NOT COLOR...it's B & W. Amazon...PLEASE CHANGE THIS ASAP!!!! It's deceiving!!! I would have bought it from you but it said that it was COLOR. I went and called Suncoast Pictures and they said it was B&W so I got it there. Fans...it IS B & W. What would a Rathbone, Holmes movie be without it being B & W.
Thanks Amazon,
Larry
...too bad...
Too bad they won't be putting ALL of the Rathbone-Holmes' out on DVD. What's missing? CRAZY HOUSE (features H & W in cameo); a 1950 TV pilot called SHERLOCK HOLMES; and the 1953 SUSPENSE episode ADVENTURE OF THE BLACK BARONET, with Rathbone as Holmes. It would also be nice to see HOUSE OF HORRORS on DVD (with Rondo Hatton as The Creeper, the character he originated in the Holmes movie THE PEARL OF DEATH, so it ties in) as well as the oddball film SPIDER WOMAN STRIKES BACK. Oh, well, I'll keep waiting ...
Related DVD's Sherlock Holmes Collection Volume 3 (Dressed to Kill/In Pursuit to Algiers/Terror By Night/The Woman in Green)
Here are four strong entries (each beautifully restored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive) from the peak of Basil Rathbone's prolific, seven-year run as a definitive Sherlock Holmes for the big screen. Three of these films were released in 1944 alone, beginning with the gripping Pearl of Death, a then-contemporary update (set in the World War II years, as with most of the Rathbone-Holmes features) of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Six Napoleons."
A reluctant Holmes agrees to help a London museum recover a stolen, rare pearl. But the investigation takes a strange turn when the great detective and his sidekick, Dr. Watson (Nigel Bruce), find their mystery linked to a series of odd murders involving the destruction of porcelain china. Typically, "Pearl of Death" has its... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Basil Rathbone DVD Release Date: Released the 25 November 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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I very much enjoyed this offering. Anyone who is familiar with this series of movies knows that the content is excellent, so I won't go into that.
As to the collection,it's excellent also. The audio and video qualities are top notch. The picture quality is actually better than the originals as seen on tv. More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Basil Rathbone - Nigel Bruce Director(s): John Rawlins DVD Release Date: Released the 28 October 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce star in this 1939 adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's frequently filmed novel, and the result is one of the most atmospheric and purely enjoyable versions of The Hound of the Baskervilles. Except for minor changes, the script is true to Doyle's enthralling mystery about a centuries-long curse against heirs to the Baskerville estate, situated within the haunting and deadly Dartmoor in the southwest of England. With the arrival of a new master, Canadian Henry Baskerville (Richard Greene), Sherlock Holmes (Rathbone) and Dr. Watson (Bruce) are called upon to solve the strange case of the "gigantic hound" that may be readying to savage the poor fellow. Wonderful sets, crisp performances, and Rathbone's accessible but no-nonsense take on the Great... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Basil Rathbone - Nigel Bruce Director(s): Sidney Lanfield DVD Release Date: Released the 27 April 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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One of the most engaging features from 20th Century Fox's Holmes series, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is also of historical interest as it based on a hugely popular, early 20th century stage play written by and starring William Gillette. Basil Rathbone cuts a fine figure as the lean, hawkish Great Detective, drawn into a complicated conspiracy by fiendish Dr. Moriarty (George Zucco) to distract Holmes while quietly preparing to steal the Crown Jewels. Nigel Bruce is on board as a buffoonish Dr. Watson, and British-born Ida Lupino is very good, and quite gorgeous, as a young woman who may be the target of a family curse. True-blue Sherlockians know that very little of Gillette's tale, and next to nothing about Zucco's or Bruce's performances, have anything to do with Sir Arthur... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Basil Rathbone Director(s): Alfred L. Werker DVD Release Date: Released the 27 April 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Though the Charlie Chan film franchise has earned brickbats for its casting of Caucasian actors as the Asian sleuth, the movies have retained popularity among aficionados of '40s-era B-crime pictures, and the six-disc Charlie Chan Chanthology, all featuring Sidney Toler as Chan, should please that crowd. The Missouri-born Toler starred in 11 Chan pictures for Fox before purchasing the rights to the character from creator Earl Derr Biggers's widow and bringing it to budget studio Monogram, where he starred in 11 more Chans before his death in 1947 (Roland Winters replaced him in six more features until 1949). At Monogram, Chan became a Secret Service Agent (a move calculated to cut down on exotic locations and sets), and comedy was integrated into the plots via Mantan Moreland's... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Sidney Toler DVD Release Date: Released the 06 July 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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