Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Series [Blu-ray]

I love Jeremy Brett as Sherlock the most, even though Robert Downey Jr. is a close second for me. Basil Rathbone never gelled with me, but I might give his Sherlock another look. At any rate, Jeremy threw himself heart and sole into the role of Sherlock, to the point where it may have been what did him in at the end! Even when Jeremy was sick and basically dying, he used his illness to great effect as the often-times drug-motivated sleuth. The Blu-Ray is great, and they treated the film with great care in the transfer. I observed no transfer issues to speak of but then again, I'm usually so engrossed in the story anyways that I might have missed minor transfer flaws. There are a few noticeable sound issues at some points in "The Empty House" and "The Man With the Twisted Lip", but other than those sound issues (which seem to be noticeable volume discrepancies between scenes), the stories are superbly played. It's hard to imagine an actor today - even Robert Downey Jr. - acting at Jeremy's level to re-create all of this series - other than the masterful David Suchet who did just that with Hercules Poirot which series I also love.

Firts of all, some have had complains about the package, but I must say it's good enough to contain the discs and, in my case, it arrived in perfect shape. About the Blu Ray, my version is the US one, with english subtitles only (which allows me to follow the even clear dialogues as spanish is my mother language). Also I found it at a great offer price. Quality is supreme. Period. Well, this is an '80s british series and it shows its age, so do not expect the image quality of any recent production. But despites some minor flaws (some grain in some darker scenes), it retains all the flavor of the original prints. You could hardly expect some better quality and probably you have never seen this quality even in the original broadcasting time. Sound is perfect for what it is: a detective drama. No 5.1 or 7.1 Dolby Atmos and such nonsense. And about the series itself, Jeremy Brett was born to play this role. Period. Just sit, relax and enjoy.

I must say that it is great to now own the ITV restorations on blu ray. I purchased the previous DVD set for about the same price as this set. It, too, featured the restored transfers, albeit in SD. That being said, these are the exact same transfers, just presented in the high definition they were originally mastered in. As other posters have mentioned, these same transfers have been issued on BD already in other countries. ADVENTURES and RETURN are each presented over 3 platters, with CASEBOOK, MEMOIRS, and FEATURE FILM COLLECTION over 2 platters each. All of the bonus content is exactly the same as on the DVD set, right down to the booklet authored by Richard Valley. The only negative I can mention about the set (and granted, a minor quibble) refers to the cheapness of the packaging. Instead of the nice sturdy box used for the DVD set, MPI have opted for a faux texture resembling that box. The problem is, it's a cheap thin cardboard sleeve that contains a book-like stack of digipacs with two discs per "leaf." I only mention this as a heads up for those expecting nice luxury packaging. That, however, should not detract one from enjoying the contents, which are exceptional. Frankly, if it served to keep the cost of this set down so that more folks could buy and enjoy it, then I'm all for it! Addendum: This set is region free, and listed as such on the back cover.

Superb set!! Joins on my shelf the blu-ray set of the Rathbone/Bruce films for literary fun galore! Jeremy Brett and his two Watsons (David Burke and Edward Hardwicke) give definitive interpretations. In an era of hit-and-miss "Holmes" projects (ah, the blessings/curses of 'public domain') the Granada series, the most faithful to Doyle's originals) becomes the benchmark for any and all Holmes adaptations! The set it teriffic, excellent picture quality and sound considering the Brit tv-origins of the set. Holmes lovers rejoice!! And---- For variety's sake, I suggest checking out some modern-day "interpretations" of the Holmes Legend. The British series "Sherlock" with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Potter (Smaug & Bilbo, for the uninitiatted) is an intriguiging delight and the American CBS-TV series "Elementary" with Johnny Lee Miller as Holmes and Lucy Liu as a female Watson is a clever present-day, New York-set update-- and in the right spirit. The action films with the talented Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law are lots of fun but NOT "Holmes" in any way. Perhaps they'll bring the kiddies to the books (or to Granada)!!

This is the original Sherlock Holmes of BBC and it is the best

First this is an excellent series. Jeremy Brett is one of the best Sherlocks around. Certainly on a par with Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock. It is easy to imagine Brett as an actual Sherlock back in Victorian England. Two different actors portray Watson and both do a fine job. Some movies and shows portray Watson hours almost a buffoon but this series takes him seriously. While we have not viewed the entire Blu-ray version yet the few that we have seen are excellent. The sound is great the picture is very clear an bright and adds to the mood of the show.

I will start with the Blu-ray disk set, which is awesome. This series on Blu-ray looks as good as it probably will ever look, having been beautifully restored. Both the video and sound are exemplary, and the set has English subtitles as well. As much as I enjoy the series overall, I cannot quite bring myself to give it ***** stars. The production values are awesome with an incredibly detailed recreation of Baker Street having been erected on the Granada shooting lot. Even there I have to point out that 221B is on the wrong side of the street and that Mrs. Hudson's flat occupies the same space inside that is given over to 221 Baker Street, the "Commissioner for Oaths" space when viewed from the exterior. Both David Burke (the first 13 episodes collected as "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" and Edward Hardwicke (remaining 28 episodes) are exemplary as Dr. Watson. I like both so much I would be hard pressed to choose a favorite. Rosalie Williams as Mrs. Hudson is also a standout among a generally excellent cast of regulars and guest stars. Jeremy Brett's performance is more problematic. While he starts off very strong, his declining health (and ultimate death in 1995) due to excessive cigarette smoking seriously affected his last performances. His performances in the last episodes of the series (collected as "The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes" as well as "The Last Vampyre" (the final of five feature films) appear as ghastly parodies when compared to such earlier classics as "The Red Headed League" and "The Musgrave Ritual". In fact, Brett's health was so bad by 1993 that anyone with any sense should have realized that making the "The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes" (1994) as well as "The Last Vampyre" (1993) were not good ideas. Another aspect of Brett's excessive cigarette smoking manifested itself in Sherlock Holmes' frequent on screen cigarette smoking. The Sherlock Holmes of the books seldom smoked cigarettes, preferring his venerable churchwarden pipe. Brett was fanatical about making sure that every detail of the TV series was correct, but was such a compulsive chain smoker that he exempted himself from complying with his fanatical accuracy when he needed a cigarette. Had the series stopped at "The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes" the series would rate an easy *****. As it is I will assign the following ratings to the various series and feature films: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1984-1985) ***** The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1986-1988) ***** The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes (1991-1993) **** (a slight step down but still almost great) The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1994) ** (and I am being generous; production values and Hardwicke are as good as ever but Brett is really losing it) Feature films: The Sign of Four (1987) ***** (far and away the best of the feature films) The Hound of the Baskervilles (1988) **** (others have noted the deficiencies of this program but it is still good) The Master Blackmailer (1992) *** (taken from the short story "Charles Augustus Milverton"; suffers from stretching a short story into a feature length film) The Eligible Bachelor (1993) *** (taken from the short story "The Noble Bachelor"; also suffers from stretching a short story into a feature length film) The Last Vampyre (1993) 0 stars (taken from "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire", a short story; far and away the worst program in the series; absolutely unwatchable) Still, I overall highly recommend this series. The production values alone make it worthwhile, particularly when stacked up with the series of 14 Sherlock Holmes films that Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce made between 1939 and 1946, as the latter suffer seriously from the cheap sets and back lot shooting typical of "B" movies.

Referring to the MPI version of the complete Blu Ray series. This was mastered in the US, it plays fine on UK players with the exception of the 'Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes' episode 'The Three Gables'. This was (unlike all the other High Definition episodes, which look wonderful) upscaled from Standard Definition. So the picture is only as good as the dvd versions, but for some reason, they decided to make it run at its original speed (PAL AND the US TV systems run at different speeds; the way they 'corrected' this was to remove every 24th frame - or so I've gathered this from various sites' discussion groups). So it's not as clear, but also it's slightly jerky. I kept my original dvd version; it looks the same and doesn't jerk. I gather the Spanish import version may not suffer from this, and that this may be corrected in a later pressing of this edition. It shouldn't spoil your enjoyment too much, the rest of the episodes look fabulous, and Brett will always be THE Holmes for me. The title sequence and music was homaged in the 2015 BBC/Cumberbatch 'Sherlock' special.