Rating: 
Summary: Not you're average holmes....
Review: Is Holmes gay? That's the first thing addressed in this movie. Fans of Sherlock Holmes will be dissapointed with this rendition of the famous detective. Though his performance is bearable, it's not faithfull to the character. Even less is the portrail of Dr. Watson as a hotheaded and sour man, who gets so flustered with holmes he almsot attacks him. totally out of bounds! The plot it'self is rather conveluted, and mundane, and in the end nothing exciting happens after everything they built up. The first 30 mins of the story is unrelated to the next hour and a half save for establishing that holmes doesn't like women. Which is suppose to shock you as he semi-falls in love with the female protagonist. A boring movie with more of a spoof of holmes than an actual rendition of the character. Don't waste your time.
Rating: 
Summary: 70's Masterpiece finally available on DVD
Review: It's a sad commentary on the films featuring Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, that two of my favorites have nothing to do with Doyle at all. The first is They Might Be Giants (with Joanne Woodard a woman named Watson and George C. Scott as a man who believes he is Sherlock Holmes) and Billy Wilder's late period masterpiece. Stuffed with Wilder's characteristic cynical wit, sophisticated dialog and outstanding performances The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes has been out of circulation for too long. MGM's terrific reissue features a number of extras that make this edition worth waiting for. While it doesn't have the cut scenes reintegrated into the film, it does feature a deleted scenes gallery that suggests how the film might have been had it not been butchered prior to general release. Sadly, there's much missing from this "lost" footage and, as a result, we don't get a restoration as much as a "recreation" with bits and pieces and script segments. While this isn't the best transfer I've seen, the overall look is still pretty good. Yes, the look of the film is a bit washed out (not sure if that's due to the transfer or film stock but, knowing about the instability of film stock and less than pristine storage conditions many of these films were kept in, I'd vote for negative deterioation)but it is presented in its original aspect ratio. The overall presentation is quite good considering what MGM had to work with and, barring a restoration by someone like Robert Harris, this is probably the best version we'll ever see. Christopher Lee shines during his brief screen time as Holmes brother. Lee did eventually get to play Holmes as well so it's rather funny to see him playing Holmes brother (after also playing Baskerville in Terry Fisher's Hound of the Baskervilles). Robert Stephens IS Holmes in this film. He lives and breathes the character in ways that Rathbone and others never quite did. I've seen some criticism of Colin Blakely's Watson here but find it to be little more than critcial bluster. Blakely's take on Watson manages to both tip the hat to Nigel Bruce and satirize the way the character was emasculated in most of the film adaptions of Doyle's work. Oh, I'd like to add The Seven Percent Solution to my list of great Holmes adventures not written by Doyle but, sadly, it isn't available in widescreen(at least I haven't been able to find it) on DVD.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Fun
Review: Leave it to the great Billy Wilder to try and make the definitive Sherlock Holmes movie. I think he succeeded admirably. The touches of humor combined with the action and drama are just the right blend. My only complaint is that I know Wilder intended to make a much longer, more in-depth film. I hope the film studio can find the lost footage and get it out on DVD.
Rating: 
Summary: Something's Been Lost Over the Years...
Review: Let me preface this with the introduction to the "Deleted Scenes" extra on the disc because it describes the film as Wilder had intended: "The original screenplay as described by Billy Wilder was a symphony in four movements. Following a modern day prologue (represented here in still photos and script pages) the intent was to illustrate four stories that Dr. Watson optednot to have published in the 'Strand Magazine'. "Wilder wanted to explain Holmes' distrust of women, his drug addiction, his relationship with Dr. Watson; and, at the same time reveal Holmes' human side. The completed version would run approximately three hours, including an intermission. Upon its release in 1970, Wilder's symphony was presented with only two of its four movements." Two biographies I've read confirm that Wilder cried openly when he saw the final product. This Deleted Scenes section is most intriguing as it meticulously reconstructs as much as possible the four "movements" of Wilder's "symphony" which are titled: "Original Prologue" (including an appearance by 'Dr. Watson' circa 1970), "The Curious Case of the Upside Down Room", "The Adventure of the Dumbfounded Detective/Holmes Recounts an Affair of the Past" and finally "The Dreadful Business of the Naked Honeymooners". As mentioned above, still photos and script pages were used - and a lot of actual filmed footage which is presented with subtitles because the soundtrack could not be located. Taking all of this into consideration, I'm not all that sure that the three-hour version would have worked; and the final cut released by the studio is something of a disappointment. The opening scene nicely introduces a somewhat different interpretation of the main characters, with Holmes complaining that Watson is always exaggerating his exploits and putting words into his mouth; and diluting his "seven-percent solution" of morphine to five. Then they're off to the final performance of Petrova in The Russian Ballet, after which Rogozgin (Clive Revill), Petrova's manager advises that she's retiring. "She's been dancing since she was three-years-old...now she is thirty-eight." "I must say, she doesn't look thirty-eight!" "That's because she is forty-nine." (And that, unfortunately, is one of a mere handful of jokes in the screenplay.) Petrova also wants to have a "beautiful and brilliant child"; she has the beauty, and Holmes has the brains. But something's afoot! This extended 20-minute scene is meant to confirm Holmes' homosexuality and deny that the heterosexual Watson has been his secret lover. The problem is that it doesn't have anything to do with the basic plot, which doesn't kick in for a full thirty minutes. It may have "balanced" Wilder's symphony concept, but out of that context it's totally extraneous. And by comparison to Arthur Conan Doyle's plots, this one is pretty skimpy. It was probably intended as a simple framework to hold your interest while the deleted scenes were to enlighten you about the "private life" elements. This also makes the title of the film misleading. I won't go into the details of the plot or bring up any spoilers for those who want to see it, except to say that it is shamefully simplistic. The acting is topnotch all around and Robert Stevens makes an excellent Holmes, though Colin Blakeley's Watson is sometimes too blustery and exasperated; at times you almost expect to hear that "blowing-off-steam-whistle" sound affect associated with Lou Costello and Oliver Hardy. Christopher Lee as Holmes' brother, Mycroft, steals the few scenes he's in. He also provides and interesting extra titled "Christopher Lee: Mr. Holmes, Mr. Wilder" in which he recalls a few behind-the-scenes tales of working with Wilder (whom he greatly admires), and brief overview of the Holmes legend, some of which was seen on the "The Hound of the Baskervilles" DVD released last year. This is followed by a 30-minute interview Ernest Walker, the film's editor who provides some interesting information on meeting and working with Wilder. There's also the usual Photo Gallery and Trailer. The best part of the film is the beautifully poignant score by Miklos Rozsa, which I wish had been offered as an isolated track. The cinematography is by Christopher Challis ("Sink the Bismarck!", "Two for the Road", "Arabesque", "Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines") - but it's hard to judge his contribution because of the poor quality of the transfer. It looks washed out with dull colors; and several transition scenes (probably reel ends) take on a fogged-up appearance, though not one suggesting a London "shroud". In fact, the film itself isn't much better that the found footage used for the reconstructed scenes. This is surprising coming from MGM whose "Women in Love" DVD is spectacularly lush. For that matter, so are the transfers in their Midnite Movie series. It may have been the original "Private Life..." film stock; but most of the Midnight Movies are cheap exploitation and horror films and I find it hard to believe that, say, Roger Corman, had better film than Wilder. I must be in the minority because on imdb, "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes" has a rating of 7.3 rating (with over 500 votes; and hereAmazon 22 reviews averages a 4 ½ out of 5. Perhaps I should have bought Wilder's "Kiss Me, Stupid" instead.
Rating:
Summary: A great mix of mystery and comedy!
Review: MY RATING- 8.8 Seen this other day! What an homage to Sherlock Holmes! It's a must to any fan of the books dying to see a faithful and 100% victorian version.
It features Colin Stephens as the famous detective, in a acccurate, mysoginist personification and Colin Blakely as an amusing Watson. The cast also has Christopher Lee (one of my fave actors) as the snob Mycroft Holmes and Stanley Holloway in a small part. There's a french actress that is the Holmes only passion in life and she actually has a naked little scene! I guess the 70's permitted that--
Anyway, Billy Wilder couldn't resist putting his comic flair here, and it works surprisingly well, each scene with Stephens and Blakely is delicious.
This don't get the 9 rating cause of my preference of Poirot adaptations. Yet to all Holmes fans- RENT IT NOW!
Rating:
Summary: One of Billy Wilder's Best!!
Review: One of Billy Wilder's Best and most over looked works, this film was designed to be three movies, so we have NEVER seen the complete works. There was talk back in the last 70's that it would be released it is complete form, and we fans of this film waited patiently. Now 25 years later, and we are still waiting patiently. I am hoping with a rerelease on DVD that they finally do the master justice and show it as Billy Wilder intended. This is a mirthful look at the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, lovingly potrayed with a twinkle in his eye by the late great Sir Robert Stephens. The adventures are fun ( the ones we see) but mainly centre around a woman's missing husband. Toss in several hundred canaries, the Loch Ness Monster, missing midgets - the Tumbling Pickaloes to be precise - the mysterious red runner, Queen Victoria, some trapist monks, an anging ballerina that does not 'look 39' - that is because she is 49!! -who wants Holmes to father her child and an amnesiac damsel in distress that temps Holmes, all done with the best British wit and droll sense of humour...and you have a mix that cannot miss. Incisive writing and direction, this fill pay homage to Holmes and Watson, with tongue firmly planted in cheek... Even so, the currently version is a true gem, and so overlooked.
Rating:
Summary: Far and away Wilder's masterpiece.
Review: The Case of Sherlock Holmes appropriately begins with a case, containing all the familiar signifiers of the great detective. Wilder takes the mythic, universal Holmes, and returns him to his origins in the fin de siecle 1880s and 90s, the period of Messrs. Jekyll, Hyde and Gray. Like these, and most Wilde heroes, Holmes is a split personality, damagingly torn between the obligationss of his reputation, and his personal desires. His inability to be a man, a desiring body, turns him into a ghost, present in the world of men, but unable to partake of it. The opening of the case containing Holmes is mirrored by the later opening of a coffin, containing the man Holmes is impersonating. Played like a Wildean tragicomedy, the film also shows, in this celebration of the archetypal reasoner, the roots of the 20th century's barbarous anti-reason - the Boer War victims, Mycroft's scientific militarism, and the burial of the midgets all point to the two World Wars and concentration camps to come.
Rating:
Summary: QUICK, WATSON, THE DVD IS AFOOT!
Review: THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES is often called a "comedy-drama"; it's not, no more than Billy Wilder's other great films -- DOUBLE INDEMINTY, THE LOST WEEKEND, ACE IN THE HOLE, SUNSET BOULEVARD, and the little-known FIVE GRAVES TO CAIRO -- are. Like most of the scripts crafted by Wilder and his major writer-collaborators -- most notably, Charles Brackett, Raymond Chandler, and I.A.L. Diamond -- THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES is simply a drama with trenchant humor that only serves to bring forth the sad, dark, bitter aspects of human nature which Wilder's work inevitably explores. Holmes afficionados generally disdain Wilder's film, partly because they think Wilder and Diamond are mocking their heroes -- which couldn't be further from the truth (imbuing Holmes with such biting wit only magnifies his brilliance), and also because, in the perplexing case that Wilder and Diamond have fashioned, Holmes is, ultimately, outwitted by his adversary. Even this statement is misleading, though. Holmes, to all intents and purposes, allows himself to be outwitted; indeed, he knows that he's allowing his personal feelings for a woman, of all things, to get in the way of his deductive reasoning, knows that this decision to pursue the case in the face of this inevitable defeat will ultimately breach the intellectual armour he's cultivated and fashioned over a lifetime in such a way that it can never be fully mended. That's why Watson failed to chronicle this particular adventure in the pages of the Strand Magazine, as he had the Great Detective's other cases: not merely because it was of "a personal nature," but because of Watson's regard for the very feelings and humanity that Holmes has always taken such great pains to hide. It is rather ironic that the Baker Street Irregulars -- those most rabid of Holmes afficionados -- refuse to accept that the Great Detective is not flesh-and-blood, but merely the product of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's fertile imagination, since they also reject Wilder and Diamond's view of him as fully human, complete with flaws, faults, and failings. It's also a great pity, for in THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES they would at last meet their hero face to face.
Rating:
Summary: Another look at Sherlock...a good look at Mycroft
Review: There are few SHERLOCK HOLMES film adventures that fail to entertain or provide vicarious challenge to join the World's
most famous Consulting Detective(and compadre,Dr. Watson)in whatever criminal "game's a foot".THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (numerous incarnations)and MURDER BY DECREE(a non-Conan Doyle case where Sherlock resovles identity of Jack The Ripper)are often accorded pride of place in cinematic Holmesian annals.THE PRIVATE LIFE of SHERLOCK HOLMES...a classy,if modest imagining by Director Billy Wilder...may bestir renewed interest because of upcoming LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN. Both...particularly the latter...feature 19th Century exploits/machinations of the British Secret Intelligence Service with focus on one ace government deputy and MI-5 superspy named MYCROFT HOLMES. Christopher Lee's cameo as Sherlock's(smarter?)brother and Queen
Victoria's favorite secret agent adds"shaken-not stirred" martini twist making THE PRIVATE LIFE of SHERLOCK HOLMES succeed as kind of Chess Game thriller.The film's been touted as "Billy Wilder's Hysterical Glimpse at the 'Real' Sherlock Holmes" with even some PC-lame homosexual innunedo thrown-in for bad measure.Forget it. Our man Sherlock is God-Save-the-(real)Queen straight as ever;if he occasionally indulges himself in a Seven Per Cent Solution neither Doyle, Watson nor attentive fans seemed to begrudge an extraordinary gentleman hero this failing. THE PRIVATE LIFE is neither(too)extraordinary,nor "bent". With dwarves;the Loch Ness monster;castle keepers;numerous spies and counter-spies competing for an ominous SECRET WEAPON,the story is characteristically non-elementary. It's Top Shelf quality outing with another look at Sherlock and a good look at his mysterious brother,OHMSS, Mycroft Holmes...
Rating:
Summary: So much was LOST!
Review: This film is a cult classic and well deserving of that status. It's one of my favourite films and for YEARS we were promised the excised footage would be replaced and we could finally see this marvellous film in the form Billy Wilder meant it to be. Well, I am sure like all fans of the film, we waited with hope that NOW they would include all these scenes. And while the film transfer is great and I was sad to see there is NO footage to speak of to be added. There are snippets of film of other adventures, stills flashed over a poor soundtrack, but according to MGM there is no extra scenes, they have been lost. WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT! The film is still a must for Billy Wilder, Robert Stephens, Chris Lee or Sherlock Holmes Fans. But just do not expect all the lost footage to be restored. It is a very very funny look at Holmes, a more human look perhaps. This is a mirthful look at the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, lovingly portrayed with a twinkle in his eye by the late great Sir Robert Stephens. The adventures are fun (the ones we see) but mainly centre around a woman's missing husband. Toss in several hundred canaries, the Loch Ness Monster, missing midgets - the Tumbling Pickaloes to be precise - the mysterious red runner, Queen Victoria, some Trappist monks, an ageing ballerina that does not 'look 39' - that is because she is 49!! -who wants Holmes to father her child and an amnesiac damsel in distress that temps Holmes, all done with the best British wit and droll sense of humour...and you have a mix that cannot miss. Incisive writing and direction, this fill pay homage to Holmes and Watson, with tongue firmly planted in cheek... Even so, the currently version is a true gem, and so overlooked,
all we have left of Billy Wilder genius vision.
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