Touches You

Fresh and Exciting

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

He is (was) wonderful in this role, beyond any expectation of a Basil Rathbone fan. There is NO thought or emotion that does not reflect in his face, and each separately at that. No mush. And always a sense of mystery about him. It's why the camera focuses so much upon his face. Without meaning to insult Basil Rathbone, Jeremy Brett is the consummate Holmes. Any aspiring actor should watch his face, his sudden physical actions and responses, his equally sudden humor... I don't know how he was in any other performance, but his Holmes is the winner of winners. As far as Dr. Watson himself, the film production, location, costuming, the other character actors - all brilliant. brilliant.

They say television is a medium, because it is neither well done nor rare. This is the series that puts that statement to bed. So incomparably produced, written, and best of all acted, it stands alone as one of the finest television has to offer, 25 years after being produced. Jeremy Brett, an actor who so completely encapsulates everything Sherlock Holmes is and was. Brutally efficient, calculating, precise, and clever. There has hardly ever been a better pairing of character and actor, so brilliant was Brett's portrayal. Alongside Holmes, is his ever present companion and house mate, Dr. Watson. Played by two separate but distinct actors, David Burke in the earlier series run, and later Edward Hardwicke. They both complement Holmes with the audiences' eyes and ears. They are Holmes' most delightful targets as they are confounded by Sherlock Holmes' amazing abilities to deduce the most incredible conclusions from the smallest details. Along the way, we watch with amazement as Holmes and Watson decipher some of the most ingenious criminal plots ever put onto paper courtesy of Mr. Arthur Conan-Doyle. What a pleasure this series is to watch, every detail is picture perfect, and you are taken away to Victorian London, to walk alongside Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. One episode that is a particular favorite is 'A Scandal in Bohemia' A classic if there ever was one ! Highly Recommended!

I have reviewed a ton of Sherlock Holmes films over the years since I am a huge fan of the original Conan Doyle stories. However, despite enjoying these films, I must admit that the many movies up until "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" have really done a disservice to the stories. Part of this is because they so often strayed from the original stories (which were gems) and partly because they portrayed Holmes in ways that were totally different from the stories.The Sherlock Holmes the public assumes is from the Conan Doyle stories is actually mostly the product of the actor William Gillette. On stage and in silent films, he popularized the image of the deerstalker cap (which Holmes only really wore when traveling in the country--if even then), the curved pipe and the phrase "elementary, my dear Watson". Instead, in the books the Conan Doyle character would have dressed and acted exactly the way Jeremy Brett did in these TV mini-movies.It's obvious that the makers of these films really cared. Holmes was like Holmes and the plots were almost always exactly like the stories with only the smallest of changes to fit the time frame and tell a cohesive story.See these films. They are literate, intelligent and trust the original source material. I congratulate all those involved in these beautiful shows. Unfortunately, however, Jeremy Brett passed away a few years back and we won't see any more of these Holmes shows, though it is fortunate that before his death they brought so many of them to the screen. Too bad one of my favorites ("The Four Orange Pips") wasn't one of them. However, my very favorite ("A Scandal in Bohemia") was!

Before commenting on Mr. Brett's performances, read the books. Otherwise, you have no idea of what Sherlock demands as a character!!! Some previous disparaging comments base an assessment on the stereotype found "in the movies". Sherlock should be smart, upper crust and stylish? NO - read a book if you can. Basil Rathbone's Sherlock fought the Nazis for god sake. Don't you see something wrong with that? Jeremy Brett not only plays t-h-e definitive Sherlock, He plays the most beautifully drawn, and accurate, characterisation; Standing clear yards above a-n-y other performance to date! The only performance full enough to satisfy anyone who has come within a whiff of Mr.A.C.Doyle's books!