Jekyll & Hyde - The Musical (2001) Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm suspecting that there are two types of people who are approaching this DVD, a filmed version of the stage production of "Jekyll & Hyde". One, someone familiar with the show--perhaps saw it and liked it or has the soundtrack--and wants to check out this variation. Or two, someone discovering it anew. It tempts me to write two reviews because while I love "Jekyll & Hyde", it's slightly unfortunate that this is the production most people will get a chance to judge.
So let me preface this by saying that I really am a fan of this show. Some people consider "Jekyll" sort of a "Phantom-lite". I, myself, have never been the biggest supporter of "Phantom of the Opera". It's fine, full of bombast, but hardly the revolutionary experience that people give it credit for. "Jekyll" does play to similar themes, but has a stronger overall soundtrack. Instead of a couple of showstoppers like "Phantom", "Jekyll" is filled with memorable power ballads. Not the most complicated show musically, it is very accessible. And when you have great singers, these simpler and emotionally charged songs become pop opera and quite moving.
So, without hesitation, I recommend the original Broadway Cast recording!!! Robert Cuccioli, Linda Eder and Christiane Noll are superb. You couldn't hope for better.
But here's the problem with this DVD, it's not this great cast--NO, the star is David Hasselhoff. So you see my problem, don't you? Look, I'm not going to be unkind--it's an easy target. Let's just say this. If you're a fan of the show, he doesn't completely ruin it. And it's not like there are any other versions to add to your collections. If you are new to the show, I'm still recommending it provisionally. I wish there were another option. If you like the show, though--and I think you will--please rush over and buy the 1997 Cast recording. Treat yourself to how "Jekyll & Hyde" should really sound.KGHarris, 10/06.

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The longest-running show in the history of Broadway's Plymouth Theatre, Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical brings new life to Robert Louis Stevenson's classic story of romance and the epic battle between good and evil. A whirlwind odyssey pitting man against himself is set in motion when the brilliant Dr. Jekyll's medical experiment backfires, giving life to his evil alter ego, Edward Hyde. The show won a legion of repeat visitors (dubbed by the press as "Jekkies") and spawned hit songs on the pop charts with "Someone Like You" and "This Is the Moment."

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Naked City - Criterion Collection (1948) Review

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(More customer reviews)I can't remember another movie that took as many chances as THE NAKED CITY and successfully pulled it off. It doesn't look quite like any movie I've seen before and doesn't play quite like any other movie.
The story is simply enough - a young model is found murdered and the Homicide Squad is called in to solve the case.
Even before the murder, though, we're introduced to something new. We're given and aerial sweep and pan shot of the skyline of New York City. A voice over narrator emphatically tells us that this movie was NOT photographed in a studio; the stars perform "in the streets, in the apartment houses, in the skyscrapers of New York City itself." And so it is. No matter how well the set is designed, you can usually spot it as quickly as you can CG animation, and this ALL looks like NYC to me.
The casting is out of the ordinary, as well. I mean, Barry Fitzgerald as top-star in a crime story? Come on. Get serious. Yeah, maybe if you want a pleasant little slightly inebriated Irish chap - but a homicide detective? Yeah, right.
But it works. Fitzgerald is just right as Lt. Daniel Muldoon because this movie doesn't rely on Mike Hammer-ish brutality, or a brilliant and intuitive crime solver. I think the film makers here were looking for a cast who could meld into the city rather than rise above it, and Fitzgerald is a surprising and inspired choice.
This is a movie about dusting for fingerprints and putting evidence in plastic bags. It's about wearing out shoes interviewing potential witnesses and striking out 90% of the time. The Fitzgerald character works because he fits into the world better than a major star would have. The film-makers seem to be striving for a documentary feel to things (I trying not to use the term cinema veritie here).
Scenes are bracketed by location street scenes - hordes of people entering a subway station, a horse-drawn milk cart and milkman on a quiet city street, two young women admiring a gown in an upscale store window.
There's a price to be paid for relying exclusively on location shots. There are a few scenes that sound like the voice recording were done in an echo chamber. And the film has a flat look to it (not all that bad for a noir-ish crime drama.) The reason we can tell studio shots so quickly is because they look good - the photographer has control over lighting and light sourcing.
If there are detective movies and gangster movies and any number of other sub-genres in the Crime category, I guess you'd call this a police procedural movie. There are a couple of punches thrown and a few guns fired, but for the most part attention lingers on characters and procedures. This is one of the first movies, to my knowledge, that seems to recognize that crimes are more likely solved in the lab than in the brain of an inspired crime fighter.
I unhesitatingly recommend this to everybody. For crime and noir buffs, this is a must see.

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"There are eight million stories in the Naked City," as the narrator immortally states at the close of this breathtakingly vivid film-and this is one of them. Master noir craftsman Jules Dassin and newspaperman-cum-producer Mark Hellinger’s dazzling police procedural was shot entirely on location in New York City, as influenced by Italian neorealism as American crime fiction. A double Academy Award–winner, The Naked City remains a benchmark for naturalism in noir, living and breathing in the promises and perils of the Big Apple, from its lowest depths to its highest skyscrapers.

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Masterpiece Theatre: The Wilkie Collins Set - The Woman in White/The Moonstone (1997) Review

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(More customer reviews)Both of these films are intriguing British pieces. The Woman In White is perhaps slightly over-dramatized in this version, but the heart of the story is well captivated by the actors.
The Moonstone has long been a favorite mystery of mine, and this portrayal is rather brilliant.
It was a good purchase for those anglophiles that enjoy nothing better than a good British period movie.

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Masterpiece theatre productions of the woman in white & moostone.Studio: Wgbh WholesaleRelease Date: 10/17/2006Run time: 224 minutes

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The George Eliot Collection (Middlemarch / Daniel Deronda / Silas Marner / Adam Bede / The Mill on the Floss) (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans) penned many stories and all are worth reading. These wonderful performances do justice to her work. No expense looks spared and the locations are so atmospheric that it all adds to the strong story lines and character development. It is a collection of Victorian life studies worth owning. There is an additional feature called A Scandalous Life...guess who...talk about a woman with real courage...she lived her own life against all the constraints of her time which is hard to fathom in today's world of "free everything". Women lived confined...most authors of the day were men...women wrote romances, so Mary Anne created her "George Eliot" to be taken seriously. You will recognize many of the performers including Sir Ben Kingsley as Silas Marner. The price is great for the set...you won't be disappointed!

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The next collection in the successful BBC Classics line comes to life with an assortment of all-star casts in five of George Eliot's beautifully astute literary works, all lovingly portrayed in critically acclaimed productions from the BBC. This 5-disc set includes Adam Bede, Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe, The Mill on the Floss, Middlemarch, and Daniel Deronda.DVD Features:Featurette:George Eliot: A Scandalous Life (60 min)Featurette:Middlemarch-A Reader's Guide (40 min)Photo gallery

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Death of a Salesman/ Private Conversations (1985) Review

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(More customer reviews)I was glad to find this DVD just shortly after reading the play. While I enjoyed reading it very much, I found the play to be very confusing. Just from the text alone it was hard to tell what was real and what wasn't. Seeing the film version of this triumphant play really helped a lot. "Death of a Salesman" is a sad and tragic drama that emotionally involves you from start to finish.
Willy Loman is a tired and heart-broken salesman who no longer lives in the world of reality. Instead, he is trapped in his world of delusions. Each day that passes by seems to be worse and worse for Willy. He spends way too much of his time in the past when he needs to be focusing on the future. His wife and two sons have no idea what they should do for him as they know that he is heading towards disaster in this unforgettable drama.
Like I said, to actually see this really made me appreciate the play more than just reading it from the text. It can get confusing when you only have the words, but when you see it performed it all comes together and make sense. The acting is terrific. Dustin Hoffman really does an outstanding job of playing Willy Loman. Not only does he just "act" the part out, he "becomes" Loman. I admit that I had my doubts at first, because I didn't see him playing the part. My doubts quickly fled from my mind after the first 10 minutes or so. Everybody else is also terrific as well. (Wow, look how young John Malkovitch looks!) I think the movie does a fine job doing Arthur Miller's play justice.
The DVD is pretty neat as well. The picture quality is good, considering the fact that it is an old movie. The DVD also includes a feature length documentary behind the movie, which is really entertaining, and a still gallery. While it may seem like this DVD doesn't have a lot to offer, the documentary really makes it worth-while.
"Death of a Salesman" is a powerhouse drama that hooks you from start to finish. Reading it is one thing, but to actually see it makes it much more enjoyable. If you just read the play from the text it can be pretty confusing at points. If you're looking for a great dramatic movie with great acting and writing, then this is something you should really think about checking out.

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Willy Loman has spent his entire life believing he and his family are bound for greatness. Struggling day to day as a traveling salesman, Willy begins to lose touch with reality and drifts away into the past. Meanwhile his family, including wife Linda and sons Biff and Happy, attempts to cope with Willy's self-destruction and the still-lingering ghosts of the past. Arthur Miller's timeless Pulitzer Prize-winning play is brought to the screen with a powerhouse performance by Academy Award-winner Dustin Hoffman, who earned Emmy and Golden Globe Awards for this role. The stellar supporting cast features Kate Reid, Charles Durning, Stephen Lang, and in his first breakout role, John Malkovich as Biff, all guided by internationally-acclaimed director Volker Schlondorff (The Tin Drum) and a haunting score by legendary composer Alex North (Spartacus).

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Oliver Twist (Masterpiece Theatre, 1999) (2000) Review

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(More customer reviews)The poor reviews this movie has received (in both the DVD and VHS formats) I feel are totally unwarranted. This is my favorite put-to-film Dickens novel (except for the various "A Christmas Carol's" out there), and I am ecstatic that this version is finally available on DVD.
Now, in this adaption, I believe the prequel works very well. I think it makes this a much more comprehensive movie and gives the characters involved (especially Monks) much more depth. And, because of the length of this version that I am reviewing, it allows the viewer to get to know each character much deeper than the other filmed versions available. We get to know Oliver's parents and Aunt Rose up close, although it is done through liberties taken by the producer and not necessarily Dickens himself. I do feel, however, the great novelist would not particularly mind in this case.
The acting is as good, if not better, than pretty much most period epics I have seen. The actors play off of each other well - they match their roles perfectly. The costumes and sets are excellent. They have captured the early Victorian period so well - both the good and the bad - it's almost as if the viewer is peering through a looking glass into the past.
As for the story following Dickens' original novel...well, I have yet to see any movie follow a novel to a "T." It just doesn't happen, unfortunately, with virtually any put-to-film novel. But this follows the original, as a whole, much much closer than the other versions I have seen - definitely more than "Oliver," and infinitely more than the Disney version with Richard Dreyfuss, which was made into a totally different story than what Dickens had intended.
Don't let the nearly 6 hour length scare you off - there is no time during this whole version where one is bored (unless they are a child - definitely not a children's movie!). Being a fan of epic period movies, I found this to be as enticing as any other epic novels put to the screen.
Bravo to all involved!

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In this extraordinary production, storyteller Alan Bleasdale broadens the scope of Charles Dickens' classic tale of an orphan in 19th century England-and the characters who influence his destiny.Oliver's mother, Agnes, struggles against the tragic circumstances that ultimately leave Oliver a penniless orphan. At the Parish Workhouse, he is forced by other boys to ask for more food, and as a result, is sold as an apprentice to a miserly undertaker. He runs away and is taken in by master thief Fagin, who is in league with a murderous pair determined to see that Oliver never inherits the fortune he deserves. Life twists and turns again and again for Oliver, landing him in alternately dangerous and hopeful circumstances.Oliver Twist is a drama of dark comedy, astonishing vivacity and soaring imagination, but ultimately, it is a story that celebrates the resilience and triumph of a little boy's spirit. Special DVD features include: materials and activities for educators; a link to the Masterpiece Theatre Web site; closed captions; and described video for the visually impaired.On three DVD5 discs.Region coding: All regions.Audio: Dolby stereo.Screen format: Letterboxed.

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Bleak House (1985) Review

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(More customer reviews)Excellent leading portrayals by Elliott Denholm and the great Diana Rigg. The general mood and the dark, misty ambiance of the film reflect the true reality of the Victorian era, its urban plight and pollution. It is truly a cinematic and poignant film about how the different lives were entangled under the whirlpool of the Chancery court. This adaptation has a different ending regarding cousin Richard, which is more dramatic and realistic on the screen. Whether or not you read the book, the ending will be a surprise. By the way, it is a very long book. The performance of Ms. Rigg is a piece of fine art, and it really shows her metier as a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. Only she could have portrayed her undeniable love for Sir Leicester with such a delicate nuance and pure sincerity. Coupled with a haunting chamber music, it is the best 6 hs. one can spend, where one can be entertained with a fine piece of art and at the same time reflect about life's vicissitudes and historical periods. The conflicts and human relations depicted in this masterpiece of Charles Dickens are as timeless as the human condition.

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Studio: Warner Home VideoRelease Date: 09/06/2005Rating: Nr

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The Hound of the Baskervilles (2003) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a wonderful story and production...originally. However, the BBC Video (company) version I purchased which is 100 minutes in length had been edited so much that there were entire scenes missing right from the begining! I know because I taped the original when it aired on Masterpiece Theatre.
Buyer beware: This is not the full length version of the otherwise excellent program.

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In this energetic and bold adaptation, Conan Doyle?s legendary characters are portrayed with a pace and vigor that capture the spirit of the original story. Sir Charles of Baskerville lies dead on the moors of his family estate. The look of abject fear on his face and the presence of animal footprints around his corpse suggest the impossible; that the ghost of a fearsome hound, long feared by the Baskerville family, is responsible for his death. As the new heir, Sir Henry Baskerville takes up residence at the estate, legendary detective Sherlock Holmes and his trusted associate Dr. Watson arrive to investigate the mystery.

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The Dan Curtis Macabre Collection (Dracula (1973) / The Turn of the Screw (1974) / Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1968) / The Picture of Dorian Gray (1973)) (1968) Review

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(More customer reviews)This package contains four films either produced or directed by Dan Curtis, creator of TV's "Dark Shadows." The most successful piece is "The Picture of Dorian Gray", featuring a moodier, more atmospheric interpretation than the classic film starring George Sanders (not yet on DVD, alas). The Dracula adaptation stars Jack Palance as the nefarious Count, and follows the novel much more closely than the Lugosi or Christopher Lee versions. Still, it's not as gripping as it could be.
Palance also stars as Jekyll/Hyde, and this film is easily the weakest of the bunch. Overlong and plodding, it never catches fire. Palance's understated performance is a plus, and there are several strong sequences, especially at the beginning, but towards the end it starts to drag.
The Turn of the Screw is excellent, a definitive adaptation of the Henry James novel. (The review below mentions an audio problem on this disc, but I didn't experience anything like that.) It's not often that I find a horror flick genuinely scary, but this one does the trick.
These films were (I believe) made for TV, so the video quality isn't great and the audio is mono. The films are also sold separately, so you're not forced to buy them all. But this package is the better value.

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DAN CURTIS MACABRE COLLECTION - DVD Movie

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Silas Marner, The Weaver of Raveloe Review

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(More customer reviews)If it weren't for movies based on books today, many of us would never become acquainted with classic literature. Silas Marner is a gem of a movie, obviously based on a classic, and after seeing it, I understand why the book is required reading in many English classes. I myself have never read the book, and therefore appreciate becoming acquainted with it through this movie.
The setting appears to be in the 1600-1700s England. Silas Marner is wrongly accused of murder and is exiled from his community. When he arrives in another village, he becomes the mysterious weaver of fine cloth, who lives alone and rarely speaks to anyone. The squire from whom he rents his cottage meanwhile, is providing for his opium-addicted wife that he has secretly married. He keeps her and their baby daughter hidden from the public in a tiny apartment in the village. Struggling to the squire's mansion one night to reveal her existence to his family, the woman dies in the snow, and Silas Marner finds the toddler in his cottage. Immediately he takes to her, and convinces people he should adopt her. The following part of the movie of his developing relationship with this adorable little acress is precious.
Marner lives frugally, raising the child, but when she is 16, the squire steps in, and Marner and his daughter must make a decision that will test their relationship. There is a subplot concerning the squire's wayward brother whose actions affect all their lives, forcing all the characters to a turning point.
Ben Kingsley's acting is excellent as he goes through the different periods of his life, and the movie does a fine job of portraying the era. The movie, like the book, may not be top-draw, but like the book, it also deserves classic status.

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Silas Marner was a man who had everything - until he lost it all. Falsely accused of theft and driven out of his town, Silas starts life anew. One day, upon arriving home, he discovers a foundling child asleep on the hearth. Could this young girl be the redemption to love and happiness that Silas has been looking for?

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Adam Bede (1992) Review

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(More customer reviews)It is just too bad that they condensed this fantastic story into so short a film. What they have done is done well, but there are so many layers to the characters that are just left out. I think if I had not read the book some of the character's choices and actions would have seemed too sudden or unjustified, due to the lack of character development.
I really enjoyed the portrayal of the characters and the acting itself with one exception. Patsy Kensit, though a fine actress, is too old to be playing Hetty. She also plays her as too worldly wise. Hetty is passionate and selfish, yes, but in spite of her desire to be worldly wise she is still very naive. She is described in the book as being like a soft downy peach with the stone hidden inside. I think the vain ignorance of her own naivitee is sadly lacking in this portrayal and makes you wonder what Adam ever saw in her at all.
Again, the rest of the movie is wonderful. Dinah and Adam and the other characters are spot on, but there needs to be more--especially if you have not read the book.

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Beneath the tranquil surface of George Eliot's tale, passions run deep and the bitter gall of betrayal is all too prevalent. Adam Bede is a hard-working carpenter, with his heart set on marrying his sweetheart, the pretty dairymaid, Hetty Sorrel. Unfortunately, Hetty's affections are captured by the local squire, Arthur Donnithorne.

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Oliver Twist (BBC, 1985) (1985) Review

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(More customer reviews)This version of Oliver Twist was a real pleasure! While a dramatization that stays fairly close to the original, the producers did this one right by giving it the time it needed. While the cast is of people little-known in the US, fans of classic literature should sit up and take notice of this one.
Ben Rodska does a wonderful portrayal of Oliver Twist that really brings home just how difficult life was in the workhouse. Dickens' book brought the plight of the poor into the public light in Britain, causing the dismantlement of the workhouse system and the poor laws. The actors and acresses in this episodic telling of the story convincingly prove to the viewer just how bad life could be in the early-to-mid 1800s.
Bill Sikes is frighteningly well played. Fagin is absolutely disreputable. Nancy is pitiable and trapped in a life filled with misery--and knows it.
Performed in twelve half-hour episodes, Oliver Twist has a simple musical score that enhances the rich visual imagery. People and places abound. This is the England of 1825 you long to see.
Oliver says it best: "Please, sir. I want some more!"

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The classic story of the poor orphan, Oliver experiences the terror and brutality of the criminal world with his companions: a pickpocket, a thief, a prostitute, and a fence. Born and raised in the appalling deprivation of the workhouse, the orphan Oliver escapes only to fall in with a gang of child thieves. Oliver's rescue by the kindly Mr. Brownlow is only the beginning of a series of adventures that lead him to an incredible discovery.

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Hard Times (1995) Review

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(More customer reviews)This disc came with the BBC Dickens set. It is probably the weakest entry. Alan Bates is good as always, but some of the other actors are rather weak. But they don't have much of a script to work with, as the adaptation is poor. It is difficult to make Dickens work with such a short length; the characters and situations never seem to get fleshed out. The production values were poor as well. It makes you realize how much money and effort has gone into other Dickens adaptations.
This story is prime for a remake -- much more than the version of Bleak House that came in the same set (which was quite good).

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HARD TIMES - DVD Movie

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The Oscar Wilde Collection (The Importance of Being Earnest / The Picture of Dorian Gray / An Ideal Husband / Lady Windermere's Fan) (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought this set because it contains two performances by the much beloved late Jeremy Brett. Though I'm happy to say that all four plays, and the fascinating biography on Oscar Wilde are exceptionally well done! The other reviewer summerized the four productions excellently, so I just wanted to add my two cents.
The two Brett plays-The Picture of Dorian Grey, and The Ideal Husband, showcase Mr. Bretts superb acting ability. He's wonderfully dark and morose in Dorian, but equally light, witty and charming in Ideal. This set should be in the Library of any Brett aficionado.
The other two productions-The Importance of Being Ernest and Lady Windermere's fan, are in many ways even surperior to the other two productions. Joan Plowright is exceptional in Ernest and proves why she's a Grand Dame of British threatre. The BBC should be applauded for putting these productions on TV as it enables the everyday person, like myself, to see quality theatrical productions when most would not have the means or ability to do so in person. I hope the BBC brings more plays like these to TV for modern viewers.
All in all, I highly recommend this inexpensive, quality set to any period piece fan. 5 stars!

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OSCAR WILDE COLLECTION - DVD Movie

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Hedda Gabler (1963) Review

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(More customer reviews)It's been so long since I read the play that I can't compare this production, which another reviewer called "truncated," to the original. This is short but the collection of some of the finest actors in England plus Ingrid Bergman in her prime, make this a powerful performance. Ms. Bergman dominates every scene with her amazing presence. I had forgotten what a great actress she was. And, she is absolutely beautiful here. We are fortunate to have this on record.

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This 1962 production of Ibsen's immortal classic features Ingrid Bergman in the title role! Hedda Gabler has just come back from her honeymoon, married to boring but reliable academic George Tesman (Michael Redgrave). Refusing to tie herself down in life and name, Hedda is banking on George being appointed a professorship to secure a better life for the young couple. However, the arrival of cleaned up ex-lover Eilert threatens to destroy everything. Included is the bonus play, The Lady from the Sea starring Eileen Atkins and Denholm Elliott.

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Last Call (2002) Review

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(More customer reviews)Another great movie that I stumbled upon. I cannot believe that there was not more written about this one. The beautiful Neve Campbell delivers a remarkable performance and Jeremy Irons along with Cissy Spacek ensure that you will be taken on a highly interesting ride.
Jeremy Irons - arguably the best living actor - truly becomes "Scott" in this harrowing display of creative downward spirals with momentary glimpses of genius.
Instead of glorifying or overly romanticizing the subject, the director paints a picture of the subtle and not-so-subtle relationship dynamics among the characters; particularly the struggles of Fitzgerald and his lovely, devoted and talented assistant.
This is one of those rare finds in the world of movies that falls under the radar but once discovered, becomes a treasure to the viewer.
Very nicely done.

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F. Scott Fitzgerald spent a lifetime battling demons - alcohol and aschizophrenic wife - and yet, wrote some of the greatest novels in American Literature.Despite a tumultuous relationship with his mistress, his ailing wife, declining health, andhis daily drinking binges, Fitzgerald secretly wrote a scathing novel about the filmindustry which some call his best novel.It was his final triumph. Last Call is based on atrue story about this troubled genius, starring Oscar, Emmy, and golden globe winnerJeremy Irons, Neve Campbell, and Academy Award winner Sissy Spacek.

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Murder Rooms - The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes (2000) Review

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(More customer reviews)"Murder Rooms" consists of five episodes, starring Ian Richardson as Dr. Joseph Bell, the historical personage on whom Arthur Conan Doyle allegedly based Sherlock Holmes; with Dr. Watson based on Doyle himself. The 116-minute first episode ("Dr. Bell and Mr. Doyle, The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes") was a BBC series pilot released in January 2000. In "Dr. Bell and Mr. Doyle...," Robin Laing starred as the young Doyle in medical school. This pilot has been available in NTSC for two years (see Amazon's listing) and IS NOT INCLUDED IN THIS PACKAGE. In the remaining four 90-minute episodes comprising this set (on BBC in September-October 2001), episode chronology begins three years later, Charles Edwards assuming Laing's role as the young, idealistic but adult Doyle with his own medical practice. Information on source books, author David Pirie, screen credits, histories, plot synopses and cast are available at murder-rooms.com
FOR BEST APPRECIATION, ONE MUST TREAT THIS SERIES AS AN INTEGRATED FIVE-PART, EIGHT-HOUR MINISERIES, beginning with the pilot "Dr. Bell and Mr. Doyle..." setting the backdrop against which the other four, described IN ORDER below, play out. Missing "Dr. Bell and Mr. Doyle...," this reviewer STRONGLY RECOMMENDS you purchase this set now and set it aside until that pilot can be seen. In "The Patient's Eyes," a black-shrouded cyclist repeatedly stalks a lady patient cycling to Dr. Doyle eye appointments through eerie wooded terrain, leading to a mysterious abandoned house, love-interest conflicts, betrayal, and murder. (There are striking scene similarities to "The Solitary Cyclist.") In "The Photographer's Chair," a series of murder victim corpses bearing strange marks lead to mesmerism, spiritualism, séances, apparitions, erotic mutilation, daguerreotype photography, and genuinely chilling moments. In "The Kingdom of Bones," the publicized spectacle of unwrapping an apparent Egyptian mummy for scientific study yields highly unexpected results leading to suicide, dinosaur bones, gypsies, kidnapping, attempted murder, multiple murders, and political terrorism. And in "The White Knight Stratagem," Doyle and Bell come to a near falling-out involving a Dickensian business climate leading to suicide and murder; with a curious chess enigma hovering over everything. This last episode concludes the miniseries and should be viewed last.
These adaptations get this reviewer's highest commendation, being at least the equal (or better?) of the David Suchet / Jeremy Brett adaptations in their prime.The general tone is exceedingly dark, uncompromising, and far more menacing than the light-hearted Poirot-Holmes adaptations. (The atmospherics remind this reviewer of that excellent film "From Hell.") Excepting as discussed below, nothing in these episodes is short of first-class: plots, incredible principal and supporting cast, direction, cinematography depicting 1880s Victorian Edinburgh, hauntingly mysterious musical score, period mood, and the appallingly brutal times with modern medicine in infancy. Sound is fine; extraneous background noise is nil; diction is clear with no accent barriers.
So superior is MPI's production that current PAL DVD owners may want to buy the NTSC release anyway! The widescreen 16x9 anamorphic picture is excellent, with night scenes sharp yet still mysterious. This reviewer doesn't know how the original episodes were recorded, but suspects that the widescreen image seen here was likely achieved by slicing off top and/or bottom portions of an original 4x3 TV image: some close-up shots have head-tops suspiciously out of range, a typical symptom. But such trimming is a small price for what one sees on an HDTV system as contrasted to the original PAL release. Unlike that release, MPI also provides both running time display and chapter breaks; and the periodic PAL scene blackout interruptions (presumably omitting advertisements) are gone, greatly enhancing the narrative flow. There are two DVDs contained in one keep-case with an inner leaf. Each DVD has two episodes on the same side with full menu accessibility.

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