The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Volume 8

Once was a time when I thought that anyone who challenged the supremacy of Basil Rathbone as the film persona of Sherlock Holmes was a fool and an idiot.

Now of course we know better. Basil had his glorious days and years, and still deserves an honoured place in the pantheon. But now, as the supreme Holmes of video-record, we have Jeremy Brett, and this set of two discs brings us two adventures of meaty content. These are two more examples of the greatest screen incarnation yet of The Great Detective.

The Sign of the Four from 1987 sees Holmes and his faithful chronicler Dr Watson (Edward Hardwicke) pursue a mysterious benefactor of the young and very beautiful Miss Morstan. Just who is giving her a very large and rare pearl each year, and why? The questions are dangerous enough -- the answers are downright hazardous.

Five years later Granada brought us The Eligible Bachelor. By now, as I chronicled in my reviews here of the first five Holmes box-sets from Universal, a sad aspect of the series is the way it records the physical disintegration of Jeremy Brett, as he slowly succumbs to the illnesses and mental depression that finally killed him. His health problems are very evident in this episode. And director Peter Hammond chooses to create a hokey Grande-Guignol atmosphere which is not really up to the mark of the earlier episodes.

But if you're a Brett/Holmes fan, you'll have to have this set, if only for the superior The Sign of the Four. And, after all, when considering The Eligible Bachelor, an out-of-form Jeremy Brett and a relatively mediocre episode of the Holmes saga is still a league ahead of most rubbish on DVD.

This Granada television production comes across relatively well -- primary source seems to be tape rather than film, but as long as you're aware of the limitations that imposes, and of the general murkiness you'll find in gloomy indoor or outdoor scenes, then you won't be too disappointed.

The sound is a tad on the thin side at times, but is clearer than the soundtrack on the comparable Region One offering. It is standard two-channel mono, but renders dialogue and soundtrack score well enough.

There are no extra features of any kind. The American Region One edition was almost featureless, but did offer up a picture-gallery of illustrations taken from the first magazine publication of the Holmes stories in the Strand Magazine.

If you have collected all the sets to now, then you have no choice. This one completes the set, and the stories are worthwhile.

However, if you haven't ventured into Holmes territory, then I'd start with the proper television series first.

Universal made a total foul-up of issuing this set, with release of the episodes totally out of original production or screening order. To see them properly, you would have to start with either volumes six or seven (it's just quesswork which, since I haven't sighted them yet) and then work backwards from there, finishing with Volume One. Yes, it's confusing. But it's not me, it's Universal at fault......