Product Description

While Sigmund Freud psychanalyzes Sherlock Holmes' addiction to cocaine, Holmes devotes himself to solving a mystery involving the kidnapping of Lola Deveraux.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #45749 in DVD
• Released on: 1998-04-08
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 113 minutes

Amazon.com
Writer Nicholas Meyer (who went on to write two of the best Star Trek films) made his bones with his adaptation of his bestselling novel, directed by Herbert Ross. Fanciful and entertaining, it imagines what might have happened had Dr. Watson (Robert Duvall) convinced Sherlock Holmes (Nicol Williamson) to seek a cure for his cocaine addiction from Dr. Sigmund Freud (Alan Arkin). This meeting of the minds takes a turn into adventure when Holmes and Freud team up to solve a kidnapping mystery. Arkin is intriguingly likable as Freud, while Williamson makes a keen and frenetic Holmes. Duvall is almost unrecognizable as the avuncular, phlegmatic Watson. Laurence Olivier turns up as Professor Moriarty, who is hardly the criminal mastermind that the drug-deluded Holmes believes. --Marshall Fine

Customer Reviews

True to the spirit of Sherlock Holmes
In my opinion, this is probably the best Sherlock Holmes film ever made, and one of only a couple that ring true as being faithful to the spirit of the original stories. This is no Hollywood butchery pitting Sherlock Holmes against Jack the Ripper or Dracula, but a truly excellent film.

The story centers around a cocaine-addicted Sherlock Holmes beginning to lose touch with reality, and the effort by Watson to save him from this fate by recruiting the aid of none other than Sigmund Freud. The three lead actors are thoroughly outstanding. This is especially true for Robert Duvall as Dr. Watson, who is really the lynch-pin of the film. It is a pleasure to see Dr. Watson portrayed well (a doctor and accomplished chronicler after all!) instead of nothing more than the stereotypical bumbling oaf. The story is compelling and entertaining with action and humor in just the right measures. Tennis, fencing, and high-speed chases (by train)!

I can imagine that some Holmes purist might take exception to film, but I think that this original flight of fancy is far better than anything out of Hollywood based on stories that Conan Doyle did write. And the film itself even takes a bit of a bow to the Holmes mythos and Doyle's own designs. I won't give it away, but just listen the last lines in the film as Holmes says goodbye to Watson.

As to the quality of the DVD, however, this one is unexceptional. Just try to let yourself enjoy this 5-star film and don't get too caught up in the media (still, to be fair, the DVD has too lose a star because of the DVD, even if the film itself is great).

This is an off-beat Sherlock Holmes film that rings true. If you're looking for pure fare, just the way Doyle wrote it, look for something by the BBC, such as the Jeremy Brett series of the past decade. If you like this film, try "They Might Be Giants" starring George C. Scott. It, too, is a bit of a 'strange' Sherlock Holmes film that nevertheless seems right.

Stylish deconstruction of a hero
When Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote the original Sherlock Holmes stories, little did he expect they would become the stuff of classics. He thought of them as throw-off stories, light fare, not the serious stuff he wanted to be known for. When he killed off the character at one point, there was such a huge outcry that he had to unwillingly create a miraculous recovery and continue writing about Holmes.

Eventually Doyle made it clear that he didn't care what happened with Holmes after his own death, inviting others to write stories about the famous "consulting detective" in whatever way they saw fit (in absolute diametric opposition to Ian Fleming, who guarded his James Bond character with virtual electric fences to prevent others being unfaithful to his vision).

Fast forward to the early 1970s, and a new Sherlock Holmes novel is released by Nicholas Meyer. It is widely hailed (and rightly so) as the best Holmes novel not written by Doyle himself, although many other mediocre ones ("Enter the Lion," etc.) and abominable ones ("Sherlock Holmes in Dallas") have been published. The famous subject and #1 best-seller status of the novel ensure that this story will be turned into a major film.

And so we have it. However, like most films made from books, something fails to make the transition. Perhaps it's the awful miscasting of Robert Duvall as Dr. John Watson (!) While Duvall plays the role true to the original character Doyle created (as opposed to the laughable buffoon from the 1930s/40s films), his dreadful accent and lost expression give the impression of one on the outside looking so far in as to seem from another world.

Much more on target is Nicol Williamson's wonderful turn as Holmes. His intensity and obsessiveness are done beautifully, and Alan Arkin's Freud is interesting as well.

The story ultimately retains two of the more disappointing aspects of the novel: The partial tearing down of the Holmesian persona as a nearly infallible detective, and Meyers' revelation of the always elusive Moriarty (Olivier wasted in this role). I won't go into great detail to spoil it for any prospective viewer, but the whole experience leaves one a bit uncomfortable, and not in a way that necessarily leads to enlightenment or profitable discussions.

The visual style with which the story is presented, however, is one of the things that saves it (along with Williamson's portrayal of Holmes). The sets, costuming, and cinematography make for some breathtaking moments (the horse stampede being the most memorable), and these things ultimately push it from two stars to three for me. Definitely worth seeing once, for those Holmes fans who have not had the chance. Rent it, if possible, before you make a decision on purchasing.

Perfect Pastiche
From the opening to the closing credits, filled with illustrations that originally accompanied Doyle's stories in the Strand, the details of the movie are painstakingly accurate when compared to those in the canon. This is one non-canonical Holmes story that exists in the same world as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes.

The movie takes the liberty of assuming that all of Dr. Watson's accounts of Sherlock Holmes are true, except for one. That would be "The Final Problem", in which the great detective supposedly dies at the hands of his arch-enemy Professor Moriarty. The movie suggests that this story is merely a cover up for a period in time in which Holmes was getting help with his cocaine addiction from none other than famous psychiatrist Sigmund Freud.

The settings and characters ring true to both Doyle's mysteries and the Sydney Paget illustrations that accompanied them. Sherlock Holmes' deerstalker and cloak, though never mentioned by Doyle, look more like Paget's illustrations than ever before, more rugged than in most film interpretations. American actor Robet Duvall, despite sometimes struggling with the British accent, portrays Watson as an intellectually and physically fit comrade for Holmes, not a bumbler. Laurence Olivier's Prof. Moriarty matches the vision of Doyle and Paget rather than the cliché mustache twirler of other movies. Only now, Moriarty isn't really a criminal mastermind. He's Holmes' childhood math tutor.

Alan Arkin depicts Freud as a man of intelligence, insight, and above all, honor.

The inclusion of lesser known characters like Mycroft Holmes and Toby is a plus. There are also references, both direct and sly, to canonical Holmes stories.

While Nicol Williamson's performance as Sherlock Holmes lacks the vigor and spark of Basil Rathbone or Christopher Plummer, Williamson succeeds in showing Holmes as a troubled individual rather than a god. The movie mixes drama, subtle humor, mystery, and even action, finally showing Holmes as the capable fighter he was in the canon. The end of the film strays from the books in order to explore the uncharted territory of Holmes' childhood, providing a deeply moving climax.

This may come truer to Sir Arthur's original vision than any other pastiche written for film so far.