Sherlock Holmes-Volume 2 (1994) |
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General | Extras | ||
Category | Mystery | None | |
Rating | ? | ||
Year Of Production | 1994 | ||
Running Time | 304:04 | ||
RSDL / Flipper |
No/No Multi Disc Set (3) |
Cast & Crew | |
Start Up | Menu | ||
Region Coding | 4 | Directed By | None Given |
Studio
Distributor |
Universal Pictures Home Video |
Starring |
Jeremy Brett Edward Hardwicke Charles Gray Ciaran Hinds |
Case | ? | ||
RPI | $59.95 | Music | Patrick Gowers |
Video | Audio | ||
Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None | English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) | |
Widescreen Aspect Ratio | None | ||
16x9 Enhancement | No | ||
Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
Original Aspect Ratio | 1.33:1 | Miscellaneous | |
Jacket Pictures | No | ||
Subtitles | None | Smoking | Yes |
Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
Action In or After Credits | No |
I enjoy the Sherlock Holmes stories and was pleased to be able to get the chance to review this second set in the series. The series in question was produced for Granada Television in the UK between 1984 and 1994. In total 45 episodes were made, some of 50 minutes and others of feature length. The star is Jeremy Brett, who makes a wonderful Sherlock Homes, with all the character's foibles and strengths on show. He is not just the great detective, he is also the difficult and annoying man, whose friends, such as Dr Watson, sometimes have trouble putting up with him. Dr Watson was played by two different actors during the series, however only one of them appears on this particular set, Edward Hardwicke. He is a good Watson, brave, a true friend, and an intelligent if somewhat linear thinker. This particular set although released as Volume 2 of 8 is actually the final series, from 1994, also known as The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. Jeremy Brett, who does not look well throughout this series, died in 1995 of heart failure, due to childhood illness and a long history of smoking.
The set contains 6 episodes each of approximately 50 minutes duration. Strangely, they are actually in reverse order with Disc 1 containing the last two episodes of the series. They are (in the order on the discs):
Generally, this is a very high quality television production, always watchable and generally intriguing. My only minor criticism is that the director in a number of these episodes seems to be very excited about showing scenes through windows and having the windows covered in reflections. This technique is used far too often and becomes quite annoying.
Fans of the books of Arthur Conan Doyle, or the character Sherlock Homes, should definitely consider this set.
The video quality is reasonable but nothing more. It is certainly an improvement over Volume 1 but is still nothing spectacular.
The feature is presented in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio, which is the original aspect ratio.
The picture somewhat lacking in sharpness and was also affected by some quite bad grain. There was no evidence of low level noise. The shadow detail was average.
The colour was fairly good considering the source but reasonably dull. There were some colour artefacts in the form of green patches or tinges from time to time, where there was no green colouring.
Artefacts were not too bad, including various flecks and specks, some macro-blocking especially on faces, some jumps especially in Episode 6 and surprisingly some microphony in Episode 1 at 47:24.
There are no subtitles.
Sharpness | |
Shadow Detail | |
Colour | |
Grain/Pixelization | |
Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
Film Artefacts | |
Overall |
The audio quality is quite good considering the source.
This DVD contains one audio option, an English Dolby Digital 2.0 surround soundtrack encoded at 192 Kb/s.
Dialogue was clear and easy to understand and there was no problem with audio sync.
The music by Patrick Gowers is a little overbearing at times but is generally suitable to the material.
The surround speakers were used quite regularly when played with ProLogicII. They included crowd noises, music, atmosphere and resulted in quite an immersive sound field.
The subwoofer was not used.
Dialogue | |
Audio Sync | |
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts | |
Surround Channel Use | |
Subwoofer | |
Overall |
None!
The menu included only the ability to select each episode and a still photo.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
This series is formatted quite differently in Region 1, and there seems to be no appreciable difference in video quality, so you may as well go for the local version. In Region 1 individual discs were released containing two episodes each.
The video quality is at best reasonable.
The audio quality is good.
The disc has no extras.
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Audio | |
Extras | |
Plot | |
Overall |
Review Equipment | |
DVD | Pioneer DV667A DVD-V DVD-A SACD, using Component output |
Display | Sony FD Trinitron Wega KV-AR34M36 80cm. Calibrated with Digital Video Essentials (PAL). This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 576i (PAL)/480i (NTSC). |
Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
Amplification | Pioneer VSX-511 |
Speakers | Bose 201 Direct Reflecting (Front), Phillips SB680V (Surround), Phillips MX731 (Center), Yamaha YST SW90 (Sub) |