Murder by Decree [Blu-ray]

Overview

Sherlock Holmes is once again on the case, this time looking into the murder spree committed by Jack the Ripper. The canny detective (Christopher Plummer) and his resolute sidekick Watson (James Mason) investigate a series of killings focusing on London prostitutes and find a government cover-up behind much of the case.

Product Details

Release Date:	06/23/2020
UPC:	0738329247447
Original Release:	1979
Rating:	PG
Source:	Kl Studio Classics
Region Code:	A
Language:	English
Time:	2:04:00
Sales rank:	20,874

Special Features

Audio Commentary with Director Bob Clark; Theatrical Trailer; Audio Commentary by Film Historians Howard S. Berger and Steve Mitchell

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Christopher Plummer	Sherlock Holmes
James Mason	Dr. John H. Watson
Donald Sutherland	Robert Lees
David Hemmings	Inspector Foxborough
Anthony Quayle	Sir Charles Warren
Frank Finlay	Inspector Lestrade
Genevieve Bujold	Annie Crook
John Gielgud	Prime Minister
Susan Clark	Mary Kelly
Roy Lansford	Sir Thomas Smiley
Peter Jonfield	William Slade
Tedde Moore	Mrs. Lees
Catherine Kessler	Carrie
Ron Pember	Makins
Ken Jones	Dock Guard
Arthur Conan Doyle	Actor
Cliff Culley	Actor
Carl Zittrer	Actor,Composer
Robert A. Goldston	Actor
Dennis Drummond	Actor,Actor
Len Herberman	Actor
Wayne Griffin	Actor
Donald	Actor
David Arquette	Actor
David Zucker	Actor
Terry Duggan	Actor
June Brown	Elizabeth Stride
Hilary Sesta	Catherine Eddowes
Paul Zaza	Composer

Technical Credits

Arthur Conan Doyle

John Hopkins

Bob Clark	Producer,Director
Rene Dupont	Producer
Len Herberman	Executive Producer
David Appleby	Sound/Sound Designer
Joe Grimaldi	Sound/Sound Designer
Arthur Conan Doyle	Screenwriter
Robert A. Goldston	Producer
Cliff Culley	Special Effects
Dennis Drummond	Sound Effects,Sound Effects
Wayne Griffin	Sound Effects
John Hopkins	Screenwriter
Kenneth Heeley-Ray	Sound Editor
John Hopkins	Producer

Editorial Reviews

Murder by Decree is an unusual take on both a Sherlock Holmes movie and the Jack the Ripper murders. Unfortunately, unusual is not always good. What's strangest about Bob Clark's film is that it abandons everything viewers have come to expect from a portrayal of the world's most famous detective. Christopher Plummer is a fine actor, but his Holmes is everything the iconic version of the character is not -- emotional when he should be detached, impetuous when he should be rational, morally indignant when he should follow the evidentiary path with neutral disinterest. Instead of cerebral, this Holmes is a man of action, getting into numerous dust-ups and even lunging to strangle a character he considers unjust. When Murder by Decree is not taking itself too seriously, it's taking itself too lightly, framing the relationship between Holmes and Dr. Watson (a passive and ineffectual James Mason) as whimsical fodder for a weekly buddy television series, something like Magnum P.I. The film's small scale also mimics that of TV -- Clark's team floods his locations with fog, ostensibly creating an air of mystery, but actually trying to cloak the fact that his London is just three streets on a small set, shot from different angles. Excepting a few sudden action scenes, the film is basically two hours of turgidly paced talking-head sequences, capped by Holmes prancing around a courtroom, dramatically pointing the finger of blame at every British official short of the Queen of England. Since John Hopkins' script does a poor job generating sympathy for the victims or establishing any sense of London torn asunder, it's hard to understand why Holmes is so agitated.