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Murder By Decree (Sherlock Holmes) [DVD]

 Suitable for 15 years and over   DVD
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
Price: £9.24 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Frequently Bought Together

Murder By Decree (Sherlock Holmes) [DVD] + Jack The Ripper [DVD] [1988] + Without a Clue [DVD]
Price For All Three: £18.99

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Product details

  • Format: PAL
  • Language: English
  • Subtitles: Norwegian
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: 15
  • Studio: Optimum Home Entertainment
  • DVD Release Date: 2 April 2012
  • Run Time: 118 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B006C1CJR8
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 15,662 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)

Reviews

From Amazon.co.uk

Murder by Decree has the distinction of being not only one of the best Sherlock Holmes films, but one of the best pastiches (i.e., a Holmes fiction created by someone other than author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) featuring the late-Victorian detective. Christopher Plummer is very good as Holmes, and James Mason redeems the many mishandled screen portrayals of Dr John Watson with a rare, insightful performance.

The story may not be unique in post-Doyle Holmes adventures--the private investigator pursues Jack the Ripper during the latter's murderous reign in foggy London--but the script by John Hopkins (Thunderball) is keenly intelligent, developing concentric circles of power and evil with great subtlety. Before losing himself in Porky's, director Bob Clark did a masterful job of surprising audiences with Murder by Decree, convincing viewers they were watching one kind of drama but then unleashing something very different, very unsettling. --Tom Keogh

Product Description

In Victorian London, famous sleuth Sherlock Holmes (Christopher Plummer) and his trusty sidekick Doctor Watson (James Mason) set out to investigate the case of Jack the Ripper as it is happening, and in so doing stumble across a Masonic mystery at the highest levels of society.


Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Reason run riot, justice howling at the moon... 12 Jan 2007
Format:DVD
Though by no means a perfect Sherlock Holmes film, Bob Clark's Murder By Decree is an intelligent pastiche in which the Great Detective tracks down real-life murderer Jack the Ripper. This premise also informed the earlier A Study in Terror (1965), though this later movie is far more effective in terms of both suspenseful storytelling and emotional impact. That is manages to achieve this whilst subscribing to the most outlandish and unlikely of Ripper theories (it goes for the hoary `Royals and Freemasons' angle) makes it even more impressive. Those who write about this movie seem to either love or hate it; they either take exception to the characterisation of Sherlock Holmes and the attempts to weave him in amongst real-life events, or praise the opulent sets, direction, witty script, and outstanding performances. And though a Holmes fan, I can say that I fall firmly into the latter category; although Christopher Plummer doesn't look or talk like the more obviously faithful portrayals by Peter Cushing or Jeremy Brett, the fact is that their interpretations simply wouldn't have worked within the context of this story, in which Holmes is required to display a social conscience and feel outrage at the authority figures he holds responsible for the Ripper murders. Also, the film scores highly with an absolutely first-rate Dr. Watson from James Mason, who not only avoids making the character a figure of fun, but also invests him with an innate, old-world decency that increases in importance as the movie progresses. Fine performances are given by Frank Finlay as Lestrade, David Hemmings, and Anthony Quayle, and though Donald Sutherland is rather oddly cast as an introverted medium, he is nowhere near as bad as some writers would have you think. The production design is consistently impressive, and Clark stages the murder scenes in horrific fashion, the raddled whores meeting their doom in a realistically squalid Whitechapel. A superior period thriller that overcomes the absurdity of its premise to make some telling comments about the abuse of power, Murder By Decree's proposed solution to the Whitechapel murders ensures that it isn't beloved of Ripperologists, but it still stands as the most intelligent film made on the subject.
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars A lot better than it looks 9 April 2003
By Mick E
Format:DVD
I can imagine that ‘Murder By Decree’ looks a bit ropey on paper. A Sherlock Holmes flick about the Whitechapel murders? But it does work. The plot mixes fiction with fact well, Holmes being brought in to investigate the handiwork of Jack the Ripper by a bunch of locals, concerned about the damage that the crimes may do to local businesses as well as public safety. Holmes and Watson are drawn into a world of political intrigue, clairvoyance, prostitution, anti-Semitism and secret societies in their search for the Ripper in an excellent, twisting plot.
There are some really good performances here; Christopher Plummer and James Mason are in top form as Holmes and Watson, Anthony Quayle snarls through his role as Charles Warren and David Hemmings is good too as Foxburgh but it’s the cameos that really grabbed my attention. John Gielgud is great as the Prime Minister and Donald Sutherland is brilliantly creepy as the medium, Robert Lees. But the scene-stealer is Genevieve Bujold in her brief, moving performance as Annie Crook that makes for the best scene in the whole film. Only niggles are some over-the-top Cockney accents by some of the supporting cast and extras and one or two poor sets. On the whole though, this is a really good view: a thriller that takes one of the most famous crimes in history and adds a touch of dash with the most famous fictional detective in history. Thoroughly recommended.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Possibly the best Holmes movie ever made 2 May 2003
By Darren Harrison VINE™ VOICE
Format:DVD
The New York Daily Post referred to this movie as the "greatest Sherlock Holmes movie ever made" and who am I to disagree with their esteemed reviewer. Well, I write reviews for a large metropolitcan newspaper also, but I have to say I can find no qualms with their opinion.
I grew up watching the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes movies on quiet Saturday mornings on BBC2 in my native Scotland, so I am probably always going to enjoy sitting down to a couple of hours with my longtime detective friend and his faithful sidekick Dr. Watson. Although for me Rathbone will always be the definitive Sherlock Holmes (never really cared for Jeremy Brett)I have to admit to finding Christopher Plummer as an entertaining, if somewhat unusual, Holmes in this late 1970s movie.
Based not on one of the Conan Doyle books but on a notion that the Baker Street detective investigated the Jack the Ripper murders (much like in the lesser production "Study in Terror" a decade earlier) this sceenplay moves along at a fair speed and examines the actual evidence collected at the time to weave together a theory not unlike that of the more recent Johnny Depp movie "From Hell."
What really makes this movie stand out is the quite incredible cast that Clark (yes, incredibly the same guy behind "Porky's") put together in this Canadian production. Alongside Plummer is none other than James Mason as Watson. We also have Anthony Quayle, John Gielgud, Donald Sutherland, Susan Clark, Frank Finley and Genevieve Bujold. Put these actors in a handsomly presented production design (quite incredible actually) and combine it with the intriguing and fast paced script and you have what (I would have to concur with the Post is the best Holmes movie ever put to film.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars What a FABULOUS film.
I have watched this film many times when it ws on the television, and I promised myself I would treat myself to it and I am so glad I did. Read more
Published 5 days ago by Honeybee
5.0 out of 5 stars brill
been looking for this Sherlock holmes movie with Christopher plummer its the best jack the ripper story going watch it you will love it
Published 1 month ago by miss susan rodger
5.0 out of 5 stars Murder by Decree DVD
Its been a long time since I watched this in TV and was not disappointed when I watched it again. Great film to curl up on the sofa with!
Published 1 month ago by julie.cola
4.0 out of 5 stars @ Junius
You do know that Sherlock Holmes doesn't exist either...? If this film had been marketed as a documentary I would be worried about your criticisms. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mr. D. Harris
1.0 out of 5 stars Jack The Rip-off
A mumbled dialogue throughout most of the feature is only the first of my criticisms. Secondly, the original Sherlock Holmes was a fit and able person, capable of defending himself... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mr. Mark Bishop
5.0 out of 5 stars Murder By Decree
One of the best Jack the Ripper movies, and the second one involving Sherlock Holmes. An all-star cast headed by Christopher Plummer (as Holmes) and James Mason (as Watson) make... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mr. R. N. Willcox
4.0 out of 5 stars The best Sherlock Holmes movie?
Quite possibly. Plummer and Mason strike just the right balance for this Canadian funded journey into the genre. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mrs. E. A. Thomas
5.0 out of 5 stars The darkest Sherlock Holmes ever!
Sherlock Holmes stories have often verged into horror, most notably the numerous adaptations of "The Hound of the Baskervilles". Read more
Published 7 months ago by S. Carey
5.0 out of 5 stars Ripping good yarn.
I have alwaysloved this film,it's so heavy on atmosphere you can almost touch the fog.Christopher Plummer,who by the way is Nigel bruce's cousin,Watson to Basil Rathbone's... Read more
Published 7 months ago by philip foy
3.0 out of 5 stars Murder by Decree
A noir production which seems a little dated! Most of the actors are now dead but I guess that at the time it was an exciting thriller.
Published 9 months ago by Pete Sparks
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