The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Vol. 4 (The Greek Interpreter / The Norwood Builder)

Rating:
Summary: Anothe classic and fitting tribute.
Review: One must give Granada Television credit for taking the time and especially the care to bring these DVDs of Jeremy Brett's excellent portrayal of Sherlock Holmes to the market.

Given that this is, at best, a rather specialist market, it is a huge investment by the makers of good faith. To take the time and money to produce these with the bonus material is fantastic.

Brett always wished to achieve his personal goal of recording every one of the Holmes stories before he finished his acting career. Sadly he was unable to achieve his ambition but he got most of them. In his first season in the role, he certainly portrayed Sherlock with a seriousness that no other has brought to the part. His fastidious attention to detail and his legendary readings of the original stories and taking voluminous notes gave him a deep insight which he was to inject into the future seasons of the Great Detective.

These two stories are both superb, with excellent perfomances by all concerned. One of the little things that I liked so much about these series is the care which went into details such as keeping the apartment as little changed as possible throught the life of the shows, not changing it like M's office, for every show.

Hopefully, the DVD series will continue until all of the stories are available. This is British drama at it's best and Jeremy Brett is the cream of the crop.

Rating:
Summary: Another wonderful chapter in a brilliant series
Review: This is the fourth DVD of the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and it presents two of the best mysteries that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote. They both succeed to varying degrees.

The Greek Interpreter- The title character is abducted and forced to aid two villains who are torturing a Greek speaking man to get him to sign a mysterious paper. This was the only story where Sherlock's brilliant elder brother Mycroft is shown. (I do not know if he appears in other episodes of the series) Doyle's short stories are so short that all of the TV series episodes had to pad to fill out the hour running time and so this episode has a longer and much more drawn out ending than what was originally in the story. All around very good.

The Norwood Builder- A house burns down and the fireman find a body in the cinders. They suspect a young lawyer who begs Holmes to look after his case since he claims to be totally innocent. But all appearances are against him and it appears that Holmes may finally have a case that is unsolvable. This is one of the best of the series, totally enjoyable.

One note, I found that most of the DVDs in this series choked on my DVD player unless they are scrupulously cleaned and totally lint free. I don't know if anyone else has this problem, I have not run into it from other DVDs. However, the discs run very well in my computers DVD drive. Just a side point.

This is a wonderful series crammed full of great acting and amazing set design, this is one of the best entries and I hope everyone will want to try it out.

Rating:
Summary: the Greek Interpreter/The Norwood Builder
Review: What can I say that has not been said before about this great series. Brett is most definatly the quinticential Holmes and these two episodes are definatly "up there" with his oh! many fine performances. In "The Greek Interpreter" Holmes is in a race against time to save the life of a terrified Greek immigrant, forced against his will to consent the hand of his sister in marriage to a most vile suiter. With a small but none the less treasured performance by Charles Gray as Holmes's brother Mycroft, the Victorian sleuth must see if he can overcome a womans love for her lover over that of her brother.
In "The Norwood Builder". Why on earth would a wealthy builder bequest his entire estate to a total stranger, namely the very solicitor he employs to make his Will. But when the builder dies in suspicious curcumstances the solicitor is most certainly the likely suspect. Holmes is in his element as he pits his wits against the energetic "Lestrade" of Scotland Yard. Is the hapless lawyer the perpertrator, or himself a victim of a more materialistic plot linked to a long standing need for revenge.

Rating:
Summary: the Greek Interpreter/The Norwood Builder
Review: What can I say that has not been said before about this great series. Brett is most definatly the quinticential Holmes and these two episodes are definatly "up there" with his oh! many fine performances. In "The Greek Interpreter" Holmes is in a race against time to save the life of a terrified Greek immigrant, forced against his will to consent the hand of his sister in marriage to a most vile suiter. With a small but none the less treasured performance by Charles Gray as Holmes's brother Mycroft, the Victorian sleuth must see if he can overcome a womans love for her lover over that of her brother.
In "The Norwood Builder". Why on earth would a wealthy builder bequest his entire estate to a total stranger, namely the very solicitor he employs to make his Will. But when the builder dies in suspicious curcumstances the solicitor is most certainly the likely suspect. Holmes is in his element as he pits his wits against the energetic "Lestrade" of Scotland Yard. Is the hapless lawyer the perpertrator, or himself a victim of a more materialistic plot linked to a long standing need for revenge.

Rating:
Summary: "Working the Room..."
Review: While many famous actors have portrayed the detective quite well over the years, it cannot be denied that Jeremy Brett captured the very essence of the Sherlock Holmes character.

Christopher Lee, Christopher Plummer, Ian Richardson, and of course, Basil Rathbone all put their own spin on Holmes. For the most part, these interpretations are satisfactory and entertaining, but no one other then Brett had seriously attempted to portray the character as written by Doyle.

Here we have two of the very, very best of the Granada series (1984). Both "The Greek Interpreter" and "The Norwood Builder" have much to recommend them, including a fine performace by Charles Gray as Mycroft in the former, and an insufferable, never more smug Lestrade shown in the latter.

Incredible cinematography permeates "Interpreter," with excellent use of shadows aboard a blazing red, fire-lit train, in the Scotland Yard offices, and in the closed mansion that serves as a prison for a hapless Greek citizen.

"Builder" has other singular elements, such as the aforementioned smug Lestrade (Colin Jeavons putting his stamp on the character, just as David Burke and Edward Hardwicke did Watson, and Brett did Holmes). We also have a frustrated and depressed Holmes, desperate to solve a case where Lestrade seems to hold all the cards.

However, one element I would like to illuminate which bears out my sentiment of "true-to-Doyle" is how Brett "works the room."

In "The Resident Patient," (available in Volume 5 of this collection), Brett truly displays what it must have been like to actually see this amazing detective in his element, as he "works the room" in Blessington's home, decucing the facts that occured when that character met his death.

Never more brilliantly portrayed than in "The Resident Patient," we nonetheless have an excellent example of Brett using Holmes' methods here in "The Norwood Builder," while investigating the remnants of the fire, the upper floors of the house, and the surrounding grounds.

We see the intensity and frenetic energy of the famous consulting detective, crouching, scurrying, examining in minute detail the invisible evidence, hunting up the clues unobserved by others.

We also have samples of Holmes (and Mycroft) deducing the lives of people they observe both on the train and in Mycroft's club.

For those unfamilliar with the Granada series, this may not be the best place to start, because the cases are more obscure than the more famous "The Speckled Band" or "The Crooked Man." However, for those familiar with Brett & Co., this disc is indispensible.

Rating:
Summary: Jeremy Brett at it again!
Review: Wow!! These 2 stories are some of the best out there! Very great edition to add to your DVD library.

These Sherlock Holmes DVDs put out by MPI Media are great. I remember watching these when I was little on A & E, although these episodes originally aired on Grenada Television.

I think the Sherlock Holmes portrayed by Jeremy Brett is FAR better than any others. He plays such a credible role into the life of Sir Arthur Doyle's most famous creation.

Rating:
Summary: Jeremy Brett at it again!
Review: Wow!! These 2 stories are some of the best out there! Very great edition to add to your DVD library.

These Sherlock Holmes DVDs put out by MPI Media are great. I remember watching these when I was little on A & E, although these episodes originally aired on Grenada Television.

I think the Sherlock Holmes portrayed by Jeremy Brett is FAR better than any others. He plays such a credible role into the life of Sir Arthur Doyle's most famous creation.