Friday, July 1, 2022

'Sherlock Holmes Vault Collection' BD and DVD: Watching the Detectives Has Never Been More Fun

 


The recent Film Detective separate Blu-ray and DVD releases of "The Sherlock Holmes Vault Collection" awesomely resurrect several of the rarest film adventures of the first consulting detective. This franchise still going strong more than 100 years after the first mystery proves that the game still fully is afoot.

The even better news is that Detective paired the "Holmes" releases with a reviewed equally expertly restored version of the 1947 biopic "The Fabulous Dorseys." This educational and entertaining depiction of big band legends Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey, who star in the roles that they were born to play. is music to the ears of both audiophiles and anyone who does not experience brotherly love.

Detective shows what becomes a legend most as to the following promo. One unsolved mystery regarding this amusing "but wait there's more" presentation is whether every set includes the advertised tote-bag and 13-month calendar. The set sent to your not-so-humble reviewer lacks those items. Not that there is anything wrong with that.


"A Study in Scarlet" (1933) is the centerpiece of this quartet. It stars well-known Holmes portrayor Reginald Owen in the titular role. This one somewhat typically finds our hero trying to protect an "innocent." The damsel in distress this time is a young woman facing having to pay for the sins of her father in a tale that is reminiscent of the truly classic star-studded non-Holmes thriller "The List of Adrian Messenger" (1963). 

"Scarlet" also is noteworthy for being the film that includes the always spectacular Ballyhoo Motion Picture documentary that adds great value to Detective  releases. Ballyhoo outdoes itself this time by providing an in-depth look at the source material and the early live-stage and film productions of the adventures of the resident of 221-B Baker Street.

"Sherlock Holmes Fatal Hour," "The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes," and "Silver Blaze" all star Arthur Wontner as the man who will psych you out in the end. Wontner plays his role well, but the other Ian Fleming particularly shines in his portrayal of pal and confidante Dr. John Watson.

All three films are well-worth watching. "Blaze" stands out for being a sequel to the classic Holmes tale "The Hound of the Baskervilles." This one also entertainingly oddly embroils Holmes in the sometimes-dirty world of horse racing.

Detective additionally outdoes itself as to the plethora of vintage shorts that each film includes. Highlights include a "Felix the Cat" cartoon and the hilarious "Sherlock Holmes Baffled" (1900) that puts the then-new technology to good use by showing that the god must be crazy."

The "but wait there's more" element of this must-own set extends to the written essays that one could picture the late-great film host Robert Osborne reading before each screening. The final element is the high-quality postcard replica of the movie poster for each film. One truly could not ask for anything more.

The bottom line is that it is elementary that anyone who loves Holmes, enjoys a good mystery, or is even a moderate cinephile should buy this set. 

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