HotToastyRag No offense to Christopher Plummer, but the most memorable part of this Sherlock Holmes movie is James Mason's adorable, disappointed pout as he laments, "You squashed my pea!" It's so cute; I'm sure everyone who sees it wants to rush out and cook him a new side of peas just to make him smile. James Mason is one of the lucky actors who, when he aged, was still handsome and charming enough to show audiences the extremely handsome man he used to be. Even if Murder by Decree is the first of his movies you've seen, you'll probably surprise yourself by taking a fancy to an "old man".But let's get to the plot: Christopher Plummer plays Sherlock Holmes, and as the character is always written and played, he's eccentric, rude, and a jerk. It's not his fault that he's so unlikable, and if you happen to like mean guys, you might develop a little crush on Chris, since this is the era of his prime in the looks department. The bad guy in Murder by Decree is Jack the Ripper, and the supporting cast includes John Gielgud, Genevieve Bujold, Donald Sutherland, Frank Finlay, Anthony Quayle, Susan Clark, and David Hemmings.I'm not a fan of the modern Sherlock Holmes reboots, so if you are, my recommendation might not be relevant. I really like Murder by Decree because of the lovely yet creepy surroundings and production values. There's humor in the script, but when the scenes turn scary, there's very good reason to hide behind your pillow. As usual, the actor who plays Holmes isn't likable and the actor who plays Watson adds class, but just like the original Hercule Poirot movies in the 1970s, there's something special about this one. It feels like the filmmakers really had respect for the story and characters, instead of just wanting to feel important by redoing them and placing a new spin on things.

tedg The detective film is an essential component in how movies work. I'm trying to abstract the components that work, what doesn't and why. And that is taking me through many detective films, and every Holmes film is a must. Putting Holmes in perspective: he was just at that period where science was news, a period roughly from Darwin to Einstein. The caché was less the scientists as celebrities, but the tantalizing notion that at some time there will be an explanation for everything including human behavior. The author of the Holmes stories took this as far as his own science of spiritualism, complete with notions of the fourth dimension.For these stories to work, then, we have to have two parts. We have the detective, the scientist. He has a collection of facts, a powerful ability to reason and an irrepressible desire to understand. This is not a detective that solves crimes by stumbling about valiantly, but one that collects facts and assembles them.And we need, absolutely need, a second component, the world. Holmes tries to master an understanding of the world as it works naturally. He can deduce that a man is a one legged tailor because the world is so ordered that observations mean something. This world has to be following natural laws. People have to be doing what normal people do.In other words, Holmes makes no sense in a world of unnatural dynamics, a world manipulated by powerful forces. There can be no conspiracy making things happen that naturally would not. You cannot have secret, all-powerful societies with grand plans that bend the laws Holmes works with.This movie is based on just that premise. So Holmes cannot be the Holmes we know. He is PI Magnum, or Sam Slade or someone else. (Moriarty has complex plans, but he is a lone genius and all he — and Mycroft — add is the ability for Holmes to have someone like himself in the world he sees.One thing they did do well, I believe. We are always getting the story that Watson writes after the fact. He is our representative in the story. They did well enough with this. That story has to unroll in the way that Holmes and Watson encounter it. They didn't do this well.

Rueiro Being as I am a Sherlock Holmes enthusiast, I find very fascinating the idea of having the detective investigating the infamous Ripper murders. It is an idea that never occurred to Doyle or, at least, he never materialised on paper. The first Holmes adventure, A Study in Scarlet, came out in 1887, just one year before the murders. This is an impeccably atmospheric depiction of Victorian London with a top-notch cast of the sort you will hardly see in a film today, and the sequence of events is so suspenseful that keeps you engaged until the very end.But you mustn't take the conspiracy theory seriously, because it is totally ludicrous. I have never read the Stephen Knight book from which this film borrows the idea of the Royal family and the Freemasons' association with the mysterious killer or killers. But although it sounds fascinating and there must be people who truly believe it, when you think a little about it you realise its absurdity. The heir to the throne falling for a commoner and marrying her in secret? A so high and mighty a person as a Victorian royal could be, knowing that if the affair ever came to the public knowledge the Monarchy would be ruined? He might seduce her, (after all, many kings in the past used to have mistresses and they fathered bastards), but never get mixed-up with the girl to the point of marrying her. That is totally preposterous. And then, how the conspirators did know whom the girl had revealed her secret to? She moved among the East End crowds and could have told just anyone. How could the murderers know which persons in particular she had been talking to so they could silence them forever? Nevertheless, despite all of these questions that make the famous conspiracy theory totally implausible, if we watch the film just as the piece of entertainment it is, with a fascinating blend of fiction with real-life characters of the Ripper's time (Sir Charles Warren, Robert Lees, Mary Kelly and the Prime Minister Lord Salisbury), this is an excellent suspense film to kill a couple of hours on a Saturday night.

jc1305us Christopher Plummer and James Mason step into two of the most famous roles in literature, those being Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in this absolutely wonderful tale set during the Jack the Ripper murders in whitechapel. What sets this movie above many others in not only the Sherlock Holmes adventures but the thriller genre itself is the excellent script, along with the totally convincing performances by the leads. This movie totally draws you in to its dark and sometimes horrifying world, where the seamy underbelly of Victorian life is on display. Congratulations must go the production designer who immerses us in the London fog and dark backstreets of 1880's England. Add a beautiful, haunting score and wonderful direction and this rivals the best thrillers I've ever seen. Highly recommended!