A Study in Terror R1 DVD in The World of Sherlock Holmes Forum

0 Points

Forum Jump

A Study in Terror R1 DVD

Author	Comment
Bill Warren		#21	[-]
Dec 23 09 5:39 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I didn't care much one way or the other about the Jack the Ripper plot of MURDER BY DECREE, partly because it's based on a theory that was thoroughly discredited when the movie was made--and yet has been the basis of at least two more films since then. But I loved Plummer and Mason's work together; it's clear that Watson has to put up with Holmes--a major change for a feature film--and that both men like the other very much. I loved a scene in which Watson enthusiastically outlines a theory on the blackboard while Holmes watches--but he's watching Watson, not what Watson's doing, and he's watching him with great affection.
	Remove this ad
HalLane		#22	[-]
Dec 23 09 6:53 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Bill Warren wrote: I didn't care much one way or the other about the Jack the Ripper plot of MURDER BY DECREE, partly because it's based on a theory that was thoroughly discredited when the movie was made-- That's interesting. Are you saying that a work of imagination needs to be based on absolute authenticity before you can care about it one way or the other? If it's a plausibly constructed fantasy, what difference does it make if it did or didn't happen?
Wich2		#23	[-]
Dec 23 09 11:28 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I think horrorfilmx is on to something with the theory that DECREE's Holmes and Watson are somewhat based on the hazy/nostalgic duo found in pop culture, more than the multifaceted/grittier (?) ones found in the base stories. As far as Plummer & Mason's relationship, I do think it's well-played and warm. But the idea that it's somehow magnitudes better than other excellent pairings - Brett/Burke, Brett/Hardwicke (was that man twice-blessed, or what?), Cushing/Morrell, even (within its odd parameters) Rathbone/Bruce - doesn't fly for me. Merriest, -Craig Last Edited By: Wich2 Dec 23 09 11:32 PM. Edited 1 times.
Richard		#24	[-]
Dec 23 09 11:58 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I think the Plummer / Mason interplay as Holmes and Watson magnitudes better because it is understated and genuine. The director, in his commentary, comments that these two actors had great respect for each other and a genuine rapport which is certainly apparent, to me, when I watch the film. I don't agree with the criticism that Mason plays Watson as a bumbling fuddy-duddy, either. He plays Watson as an older, traditional Englishman, which Mason was, but also as a very capable man. Richard "If you can't learn from history, you can't learn." Charlton Heston
Bill Warren		#25	[-]
Dec 24 09 12:25 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	HalLane wrote: That's interesting. Are you saying that a work of imagination needs to be based on absolute authenticity before you can care about it one way or the other? Huh? I'm flabbergasted by that question. MURDER BY DECREE was about the Jack the Ripper murders; they really happened, they're still unsolved. I feel it's perfectly reasonable to object to this part of the story, since it's based on reality, by saying that this particular interpretation, which involves people who really lived, can be criticized for having been totally discredited. This does NOT apply to, for example, A STUDY IN TERROR, which places the Ripper murders entirely within a fictional context. It's also not like INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, which does involve real history, but then deviates from it sharply. MURDER BY DECREE sticks strictly to the facts >and< injects Holmes, Watson etc. It's reasonable to criticize it for presenting a disproven explanation for real-life murders. Richard wrote: I think the Plummer / Mason interplay as Holmes and Watson magnitudes better because it is understated and genuine. The director, in his commentary, comments that these two actors had great respect for each other and a genuine rapport which is certainly apparent, to me, when I watch the film. I don't agree with the criticism that Mason plays Watson as a bumbling fuddy-duddy, either. He plays Watson as an older, traditional Englishman, which Mason was, but also as a very capable man. I agree. I don't see anything like the Nigel Bruce interpretation in Mason's performance. It also helps that Plummer and Mason were world-class actors, not "merely" the very good ones of some of the other Holmes-Watson pairings. Last Edited By: Bill Warren Dec 24 09 12:27 AM. Edited 1 times.
HalLane		#26	[-]
Dec 24 09 8:27 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Bill Warren wrote: I'm flabbergasted by that question.... Thanx for the input, Bill ~ not trying to be a smartass or anything ~ I'm genuinely interested in the degree to which authenticity affects a work. The dividing line, in this case, between your reactions to it in MURDER BY DECREE and A STUDY IN TERROR is intriguing. I'll be bearing it in mind when, hopefully, I watch the latter for the first time in a day or two.
Wich2		#27	[-]
Dec 24 09 9:25 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	There was a fun episode of the first TWILIGHT ZONE revival that had JFK involved with time travel before Dallas. I think most of us would consider that story element "discredited," but it didn't make the story work less well as fiction. As far as Plummer & Mason being somehow some form of Ascended Masters of their craft, as opposed to such lowly fellow practitioners as Basil Rathbone, Robert Duvall, Jeremy Brett, Colin Blakely, and many others, I respectfully, but very strongly, disagree. Merriest, -Craig
Ted Newsom		#28	[-]
Dec 24 09 1:07 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts
Koukol 5		#29	[-]
Dec 24 09 3:29 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Well I'm a big fan of MURDER BY DECREE for the atmosphere alone. I've never read any of Doyles work so I have no opinion on what Holmes should be like. Richard mentioned he didn't like the gore in it which I did... The scene with with Holmes looking in the window with the "doctor" surgically removing body parts is one of the most nightmarish and haunting scenes i've ever seen on film. I've yet to see A STUDY IN TERROR...looking forward to it.
Ted Newsom		#30	[-]
Dec 24 09 4:34 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	What you can see briefly through the window in that shot accurately duplicates the photo of the Ripper's final victim. Except that's in black and white...
	Remove this ad
cjh5801		#31	[-]
Dec 24 09 5:41 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Thanks for the SILVER BLAZE clip, Ted. I've been trying to track that one down for a long time--though it looks a bit pricey on the Phoenix Learning Group site. - Clark hollowaypages.com
Lawrence Nepodahl		#32	[-]
Dec 24 09 10:28 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	In the commentary on the DVD of Murder by Decree, I found it interesting that at first, they were to cast Peter O'Toole and Laurence Olivier, but O'Toole said that he couldn't work with Olivier. I wonder what that spat was all about? Although I'm not particularly fond of Plummer's performance as Holmes, I still think he is better than O'Toole would have been. I can't help think of his (O'Toole) lack luster voice for the S.H. animated work.
cjh5801		#33	[-]
Dec 29 09 4:00 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Horrorfilmx sez: Murder by Decree lost me the moment they showed Holmes wearing a deerstalker and cape to the opera... Having just seen the film again, I think this may have been intentional. Remember as they leave the opera, Watson complains about Holmes choosing an open-air cab in such cold weather, and Holmes is seen looking about for no particular reason. It makes me think that the point of all this was a play to Holmes' vanity. He wore the deerstalker and cape and chose the open-air cab because he hoped he'd be recognized in public. - Clark hollowaypages.com
Gord Shriver		#34	[-]
Dec 29 09 5:50 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	On the opposite side of the wardrobe issue, I watched THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES again this weekend (one of the best Holmes films and of Billy Wilder's), and in it, Robert Stephens chastises Watson for his florid writings and mentions "the costume I'm expected to wear". I can cetainly see Peter O'Toole as Holmes, capturing the character's eccentricities and sometimes fey manner.
cjh5801		#35	[-]
Dec 29 09 7:31 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Although I have a fondness for A STUDY IN TERROR, I just watched it again last night and was struck by how ineffectual Holmes is in it. John Neville made an excellent Holmes, but he never really seems to deduce anything of importance. When all is said and done, he claims to have focused on the culprit because he noticed his familiarity with surgical instruments--but since the suspect volunteered at a charity hospital, why would such familiarity have been so unusual? A lot of other characters in the film could have had equal familiarity with surgical instruments, and they didn't turn out to be Jack the Ripper. - Clark hollowaypages.com
horrorfilmx		#36	[-]
Dec 30 09 1:00 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Gord Shriver wrote: On the opposite side of the wardrobe issue, I watched THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES again this weekend (one of the best Holmes films and of Billy Wilder's), and in it, Robert Stephens chastises Watson for his florid writings and mentions "the costume I'm expected to wear". I can cetainly see Peter O'Toole as Holmes, capturing the character's eccentricities and sometimes fey manner. I wish I could like Private Life more. I'm a huge fan of both Holmes and Wilder so the fact that this movie only moderately entertains me is disappointing. I was listening to it while I worked last week and, hearing only his voice, I was surprised how much Robert Stephens reminded me of Rex Harrison. Then again, Higgens was a lot like Holmes.
horrorfilmx		#37	[-]
Dec 30 09 1:06 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	cjh5801 wrote: Although I have a fondness for A STUDY IN TERROR, I just watched it again last night and was struck by how ineffectual Holmes is in it. John Neville made an excellent Holmes, but he never really seems to deduce anything of importance. I actually thought the level of Holmesian deductions was fairly high, for example in the way he traced the medical kit back to the proper pawn shop by noting, among other things, the way the velvet lining had faded in the sunlight. It had a true Conan Doyle flavor (like the parsley sinking into the butter).
sirharryflashman		#38	[-]
Dec 30 09 1:25 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The single best on-screen Holmesian deduction sequence still lies within that most revisionist of films: THE SEVEN-PER-CENT SOLUTION. The sequence in Freud's office just crackles with energy and has, for my money, never been beaten. Cheers, Charles Prepolec Gaslight Grimoire Blog: News, Interviews and Updates Sherlock Holmes News: Sherlock Holmes in Films, Books and Media
cjh5801		#39	[-]
Dec 30 09 1:33 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	horrorfilmx sez: I actually thought the level of Holmesian deductions was fairly high, for example in the way he traced the medical kit back to the proper pawn shop by noting, among other things, the way the velvet lining had faded in the sunlight. It had a true Conan Doyle flavor (like the parsley sinking into the butter). Yeah, but what did that actually have to do with solving the case? It got him interested in the case, which is what Angela Osborne wanted, but she didn't know who the murderer was either. - Clark hollowaypages.com
Steve R		#40	[-]
Dec 31 09 6:09 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I saw Study in Terror for the first time just now. Thanks Uncle Ted (TCM). While there are others that have better engery and certainly better Holmes, this one was nicely done. I really liked the set design. It almost had that Hammer feel to it. I am such a sucker for that sound of boots scuffing on the cobblestones. It was nice to see Holmes holding his own in the fight scenes and affording himself very well with the sword cane. I thought the nod to the Blue Carbuncle with the hat at the end was a nice nod. For more modern updates, gotta give Seven Percent Solution the top notch. However I really did enjoy Young Sherlock Holmes. Haven't seen it in years though After seeing Study in Terror will have to give Murder By Decree a revisit soon.
	Remove this ad

<< Previous Topic Next Topic >>

Add Reply

Yuku free message boards

A Study in Terror R1 DVD