Murder by Decree has the distinction of being not only one of the best Sherlock Holmes films, but one of the best pastiches (i.e., a Holmes fiction created by someone other than author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) featuring the late-Victorian detective. Christopher Plummer is very good as Holmes, and James Mason redeems the many mishandled screen portrayals of Dr John Watson with a rare, insightful performance. The story may not be unique in post-Doyle Holmes adventures--the private investigator pursues Jack the Ripper during the latter's murderous reign in foggy London--but... the script by John Hopkins (Thunderball) is keenly intelligent, developing concentric circles of power and evil with great subtlety. Before losing himself in Porky's, director Bob Clark did a masterful job of surprising audiences with Murder by Decree, convincing viewers they were watching one kind of drama but then unleashing something very different, very unsettling. --Tom Keogh [show more]
We will publish your review of Murder By Decree [1980] on DVD within a few days as long as it meets our guidelines.
None of your personal details will be passed on to any other third party.
This site uses cookies.
More details in our privacy policy
