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Murder by Decree



Murder by Decree (1979):

I love Benedict Cumberbatch; but its always nice to see a traditional Sherlock Holmes. Christopher Plummer plays Holmes with a vigor that reveals how deeply he cares about the victims. Holmes gets emotional more than once and its very interesting to see. He has good chemistry with James Mason's Watson. Its nice to see a Holmes and Watson that aren't at each other's throats.

This movie is the darkest Sherlock Holmes story I've ever seen/read. This isn't surprising, since its based on the same Jack the Ripper theory as the graphic novel From Hell. Despite the film's deconstructive nature, it all feels true to the source material resulting in an authentic but original experience.

Unfortunately, the films sound mixing is horrendous. The actors' voices aren't captured clearly and they're obscured by noisy sound effects, especially in crowd scenes. The dvd I watched had no subtitles, so I missed a third of the dialogue. The pacing gets sluggish at times and the production design sometimes feels fake. But by the end, it was all cool.

Overall, Plummer and the script win over the crappy sound design and pacing errors. I recommend this movie, but make sure you get a version with subtitles.


Drinking Game Idea: Take a drink whenever Holmes tells Watson they're being followed.