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Without A Clue [VHS] [1988]
 
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Without A Clue [VHS] [1988]

VHS ~ Michael Caine
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Actors: Michael Caine, Ben Kingsley, Jeffrey Jones, Lysette Anthony, Paul Freeman
  • Directors: Thom Eberhardt
  • Writers: Gary Murphy, Larry Strawther
  • Producers: Ben Moses, Diana Buckhantz, Marc Stirdivant
  • Format: Dolby, PAL, Surround Sound
  • Language English
  • Classification: PG
  • Studio: ITV DVD
  • VHS Release Date: 10 April 2000
  • Run Time: 102 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00004S8G2
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 13,075 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

The basic joke of the would-be romp Without a Clue is that Dr Watson (Ben Kingsley) is a detecting genius who has had to hide his light under a bushel by hiring an alcoholic ham actor Reginald Kincaid (Michael Caine) to pose as his imaginary alter ego Sherlock Holmes. He is now frustrated because the blundering idiot is hailed as an infallible hero while he is forever being pushed out of the picture. To really work, the film should have cast a leading man who gives the impression that he might make a good serious Holmes, but Caine is all too credible in his idiot act. In one of the best jokes Watson covers up a faux pas by complementing Holmes on his convincing disguise as a drunken lout, and so the laughs that should come in a flow only manage to trickle.

The actual plot is about forged bank-notes ruining the Empire but is constructed to allow for the usual excursion by picturesque steam train to a clue-ridden holiday destination and some dirty deeds down by the docks. The leads coast through their routines but the supporting cast has an appropriately rat-like and embittered Inspector Lestrade from Jeffrey Jones, a winsomely duplicitous Victorian heroine from Lysette Anthony and a rather good goateed sadist Professor Moriarty from Paul Freeman. It can't hold a magnifying glass to Billy Wilder's The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, but as a Holmesian footnote it edges a deerstalker or so ahead of Gene Wilder's The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother. It certainly beats the Peter Cook-Dudley Moore Hound of the Baskervilles and John Cleese in The Strange Case of the End of Civilisation as We Know It.--Kim Newman



Synopsis

A madcap comedy which takes a fresh look at the classic Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson escapades. Holmes is actually a figment of Dr. Watson's own success in crime detection, a character who Watson uses when he writes in `The Strand' magazine. But when the printing plates for five pound notes are stolen Queen Victoria calls for the country's greatest detective...

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Customer Reviews

13 Reviews
5 star:
 (10)
4 star:
 (3)
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Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Lots of laughs in gentle comedy-thriller, 8 April 2003
By Libretio - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)      
This review is from: Without A Clue [DVD] [1988] (DVD)

WITHOUT A CLUE
(UK - 1988)

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Theatrical soundtrack: Dolby Stereo

'Sherlock Holmes' turns out to be a ham actor (Michael Caine), hired by brilliant detective Dr. John Watson (Ben Kingsley) to play a character whose adventures are dramatised by Watson and published in a popular weekly magazine. But the two men are forced to set aside their differences when Prof. Moriarty (Paul Freeman) hatches a fiendish plot to destabilise the British Empire...

An unexpected gem. Thom Eberhardt's clever reworking of the mythology surrounding Holmes and Watson relies for the most part on character-based comedy rather than puns and sight-gags, and a wonderful cast of experienced British thesps plays it with just the right amount of reverence and mockery (Caine and Kingsley, in particular, make a formidable comic team). However, the script - by Gary Murphy and Larry Strawther - is entirely faithful to the spirit of Conan Doyle's most famous creation: Despite Holmes' incompetence and Watson's escalating outrage, the central mystery is genuinely skilful and engrossing, the clues are delightfully outlandish, and the Victorian atmosphere is conveyed with elegant simplicity, thanks to stylish art direction (by Brian Ackland-Snow) and costume design (by Judy Moorcroft).

However, the writers aren't afraid to poke gentle fun at the established conventions, particularly Holmes'/Watson's uncanny ability to draw conclusions from even the most obscure scraps of evidence, and the climax manages to combine warm-hearted comedy and genuine thrills during a final showdown with Moriarty in an abandoned theatre. Sadly, the movie failed to make a splash at the UK/US box-office when released in 1988, but it deserves more than a second chance on DVD. Highly recommended.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent slap stick, 6 May 2004
By Swiss expat (Switzerland) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Without A Clue [DVD] [1988] (DVD)
Simply put ~ hilarious! Micheal Caine is great as a drunken incompetent theatrical actor who is hired by Watson (great plot line ~ huh!) to play Sherlock to make his writing come alive and save his flagging career.... the result is someone who knows nothing about sleuthing, but lots about how to drink and get himself into tricky situations and even a hilarious scene with a dog! The usual Holmes characters appear (i.e. bungling policemen and villanous Moriarty) and it brings a level of light relief to all the other Holmes films we have seen on our screens. In my view streets ahead of them all.

If you like Caine then you will love this movie, it has some lines in it which you will quote in conversation for years to come, delivered in normal "Caine cockney full volume"! Watson played by Kingsley is the straight man in the comic duo, and the partnership works well.

BUY IT - you won't be disappointed! Great for Holmes fans, and great for comedy fans... a winner for the family!

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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars i cry laughing just thinking about this film, 28 April 2004
This review is from: Without A Clue [DVD] [1988] (DVD)
tears streaming down my face as i barely contain myself, laugh out loudfunny. Caine is superb as is kingsley, i am only sorry i only saw thisfilm for the first time a few weeks ago! Please add this film to yourcollection, some truly pricelessly hilarious moments.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Holmes with a twist!
Two actors in full force, great humor & a wonderful new twist on the standard Holmes movies.

Nice wide screen copy.

You just can't go wrong with this.
Published 9 days ago by Andy B

5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece
It's amazing that this film isn't more widely known and that the critics were so lukewarm about it. I've just watched it for the first time and found it hilarious. Read more
Published 1 month ago by oldbillie

4.0 out of 5 stars An amusing Holmes pastiche, worth having
Dr. Watson has a problem. He's always been the brains behind Sherlock Holmes, a fictional character he dreamed up as cover for the cases he has solved. Read more
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5.0 out of 5 stars Fun, wit and humor are by essence British
Only The Brits can both reinvent Sherlock Holmes and make fun of him, or rather of us, the audience who made Sherlock Holmes into a reality, who was nothing but the figment of one... Read more
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5.0 out of 5 stars This is a great movie!
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5.0 out of 5 stars A Side Spliting Comedy
From the moment you begin watching you start laughing . It put me in mind of the type of humour of Laurel and Hardy and Danny Kaye ,The humour comes naturally it is not forced it... Read more
Published on 7 Jan 2003 by Vaughan Jones

5.0 out of 5 stars A HILARIOUS TWIST ON AN OLD FAVE
Without a Clue is without doubt one of the funniest films I have ever seen. This is certainly in my all time top 10 films list. Read more
Published on 8 Aug 2002 by kryters

4.0 out of 5 stars A Clever twist on the Sherlock Legend
This is such an under rated film. It boasts a great comic performance from Caine and a clever and witty script. Read more
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5.0 out of 5 stars Ingenious Sherlock Holmes spinoff!
"Without a Clue" is without a doubt one of the best comedies I have ever encountered. No matter how often I watch the film I laugh as if someone is forcing me to do so... Read more
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5.0 out of 5 stars Very, very funny. Don't argue.
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