Madacy has a winner with its tin box on Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes: Collector's edition (2007) (tin box set--5 DVDs)
SOURCE: Madacy c2006; UPC: 628261045891; DVD Release: 04/10/2007
I've not been a fan of Madacy Entertainment because of its many shoddy releases of public-domain films, quality usually much worse than that of Alpha Video (LaserLight). However, Madacy has a winner here with its tin box collection devoted to Sherlock Holmes. The box itself is very attractive, with an embossed cover. It contains the following:
1) Incident at Victoria Falls (1991) (TV)(2 DVDs)
2) Sherlock Holmes and the leading lady (1992)(TV) (2 DVDs)
3) The secret identity of Jack the Ripper (1988) (TV)(1 DVD)
4) A 32-page booklet reprinting Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's first Holmes short story, "A scandal in Bohemia" (1891)
The two movies feature Christopher Lee (1922-) as Holmes and Patrick Macnee (1922-) as Watson in final cases before Holmes's retirement to Sussex, with Jerome Willis as Mycroft Holmes,...
Lee as Holmes
Victoria Falls was excellent. I was less thrilled with The Leading Lady, primarily, I think, because on my copy the soundtrack was misaligned with the video, and I felt like I was watching a (badly) dubbed film. Additionally, Ms. Fairchild was not overly convincing as Irene Adler, and the age discrepancy (some thirty years) between Ms. Fairchild and Mr. Lee renders their relationship a bit implausible, particularly since Ms. Fairchild has aged well and does not look to be in her 40's. Mr. Lee looks excellent for his age, but rather older than Holmes' stated age (mid-50's). Patrick McNee is thoroughly amusing as Watson.
That said, I enjoyed both films (but then I'd enjoy watching Mr. Lee read a telephone book), and the wardrobe and scenery in both films are outstanding and almost worth the price of admission.
Sherlock in a Tin...nice packaging!
I wanted to own both of the Christopher Lee, as Sherlock Holmes and Patrick Macnee, as Dr. John Watson, movies made for television for a while, but thought that the price, individually, for Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady (1991) and Incident At Victoria Falls (1992) was too steep. But, put both these TV-Movies into one attractable tin box and add a very interesting Documentary (of sorts) about Jack the Ripper and you have me purchasing. They threw in the "Short" story that started it all; A Scandal in Bohemia, which a novice Sherlockian can read, to discover the true creation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. As far as the two tele-films... Christopher Lee fits the part of Holmes like a hand to a glove, albeit, a withered hand and a weathered glove. It's too bad that he wasn't given a chance to portray the part in his younger career. Well, he did, back in 1962, but his rich voice was dubbed and the script was pretty poor. I'd recommend this collection, if you are a Christopher...
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