Review Category: DVD/Blu Ray

Hammer House of Horror is the best-known of the legendary studio’s forays onto TV, being preceded by the spooky (and long overdue on DVD) late-60s anthology series Journey to the Unknown and succeeded soon after by the middling long-form effort Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense. Produced in partnership with ITC Entertainment in 1980, its 13-episode run on ITV was a pretty big deal at the time, particularly if you were a kid allowed to stay up and watch it. Crewed by many of the same team from Hammer’s cinema era (recently fizzled-out with 1979’s The Lady Vanishes) and featuring an excellent rotation of familiar acting faces, its contemporary-set stories of demonic possession, nasty scientists, spooky hauntings and cannibal children offered a gore-smeared window on the direction Hammer might have taken had it continued on through the Eighties.

The good news is that the series holds up remarkably well; each 50-minute, 35-millimetre film is an ideal late-night treat – preferably with a strong drink to hand. And some Stilton perhaps, because Hammer House of Horror is never less than quality cheese. First episode ‘The Witching Time’ is a case to point that distils many of the elements the series is fondly remembered for. Starring the always-excellent Jon Finch, 1980s sex kitten Prunella Gee (now an addictions psychotherapist, by the way) and the legendary Patricia Quinn as a time-travelling sex-witch, it starts with a nicely-lit shot of Prunella’s naked rear and progresses through the decidedly fruity tale of how Quinn (also naked most of the time, naturally) appears from the past to seduce Finchy and drive him insane while Prunella runs around in a pair of knickers trying to stop her. Along the way we get the series’ signature party piece: loads of blood gouting out of pipes, taps and other everyday objects. Proper, thick Hammer blood, too, not that weak Ribena stuff that Kubrick pumped out of those lifts in The Shining.

Highlights of the run include the rightfully-celebrated ‘Silent Scream’ which stars an alarmingly young Brian Cox as an ex-con who gets trapped in scientist Peter Cushing’s fiendish experiment; ‘Children of the Full Moon’, with Diana Dors memorably caring for a blood-thirsty young brood (“they like their little bit of meat!”) and ‘The House That Bled to Death’, which is one long excuse to show blood spurting from pipes and taps. Its kiddies’ party scene is a grotesque humdinger of horror the likes of which UK telly producers wouldn’t touch with a barge pole these days, the beard-combing, craft beer-supping snowflakes.

The episodes have all been beautifully restored but extras are rather thin on the ground by Network’s usual standards – some raw footage, adverts stings and a wide-screen version of one episode.  A proper retrospective documentary would have been nice to have, but no matter, the show’s the thing.

Hammer House of Horror is a delightfully lurid guilty pleasure from an era when gratuitous nudity, over-ripe melodrama and bloody horror was a great recipe for Saturday night entertainment. Still is, round these parts.

HAMMER HOUSE OF HORROR / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: VARIOUS / STARRING: PETER CUSHING, DENHOLM ELLIOTT, DIANA DORS, BRIAN COX / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

For some of us of a certain vintage, it seems like only yesterday that the Garbage Pail Kids were the talk of the town, the buzz on the playground, and the thing that those high moral-championing sorts were deeming completely inappropriate and throwing the ‘bad taste’ label at. Sadly, that yesterday is now three decades ago, but fear not, for 30 Years of Garbage is here to reopen all of those memories and look back at just why this phenomenon was so special.

When watching a documentary, one of the key elements is that the topic involved is looked at extensively from every angle – and that’s exactly what 30 Years of Garbage does. No snotty stone is left unturned, no trashy trading card tin is left unopened, and no lawsuit is left unaddressed. To put it simply, this is as comprehensive as comprehensive can be, with Joe Simko and Jeff Zapata lovingly delving right to the origins of the Garbage Pail Kids. While many naysayers of the time proclaimed the initial batch of trading cards – not to mention their subsequent follow-ups – as immoral, uncomfortable and indecent, there was a whole lot more to the Garbage Pail Kids than these “will somebody please think of the children” sorts failed to see.

Despite some seeing the property as nothing more than a knock-off Cabbage Patch Kids created purely as a cash-in and done in purely bad taste, what those people were missing was the political commentary, lashings of satire and a sense of genuine humour and smarts to what the likes of Art Spiegelman, Mark Newgarden and John Pound did with Garbage Pail Kids. Of course, to many of us around during the ‘80s and in to the ‘90s, we weren’t aware of any of that stuff; we were just there for the gross and twisted trading cards that seemed a little naughty. And 30 Years of Garbage equally explores that side of things, looking back at why the phenomena was so popular to young children in addition to showcasing the intentions of the creators.

30 Years of Garbage is a marvellous celebration of something that was truly unique and special to so many of us, and this documentary most certainly does justice to such a brilliantly disgusting yet fascinatingly relevant slice of pop culture. For anyone even semi-familiar with the Garbage Pail Kids, this is a must-see documentary that is entertaining, informative and a whole lot of fun that will throw up all kinds of memories from yesteryear.

30 YEARS OF GARBAGE: THE GARBAGE PAIL KIDS STORY / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: JOE SIMKO, JEFF ZAPATA / WRITER: JOE SIMKO / STARRING: ART SPIEGELMAN, JOHN POUND TOM BUNK, JAMES WARHOLA, ADAM F. GOLDBERG / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW (US), TBC (UK)

Following last year’s Return of the Caped Crusaders, Adam West and Burt Ward’s beloved Dynamic Duo are back for yet more cartoon capers. And this time, who’s that along for the ride? Why, it’s the duplicitous DA, Harvey Dent.

In terms of the plot of this animated affair, Professor Hugo Strange – along with his assistant, one Harleen Quinzel – claims to have created a fangled contraption that can remove the evil from those no-good villains who have plagued the streets of Gotham City for so long; most notably, Joker, Penguin, Riddler, Mr. Freeze and Egghead. Of course, all doesn’t go quite as well as promised, and the overworked machine ends up exploding a vat of chemicals all over poor Harvey. From there on out, the nefarious Two-Face rises up to cause all kinds of chaos across Gotham as Batman and Robin are on a race against time to save the day.

For those of you who checked out Return of the Caped Crusaders, you’ll know full well what to expect here. Just like its predecessor, Batman vs. Two-Face is a camp, cheesy and knowing revisit to yesteryear. Full of charm and warmth, the spirit and personality of the classic Batman series of the ‘60s is captured magnificently yet again, all with a loving nod and a wink. With West and Ward once more back in the saddle as the Caped Crusaders – not to mention appearances from fan favourites Julie Newmar and Lee Meriwether – this is a hugely enjoyable trip down memory lane. But while we have appearances from many characters familiar to fans of that original Batman show, the big new addition here is Two-Face. And not just any old Two-Face. William. Shatner. As Two-Face.

To any well-versed in Bat-lore, you’ll remember that Harvey Dent was somebody who never actually appeared in the classic Batman series. Harvey was considered for the show at several points, though, and Clint Eastwood was even being lined up to take on the role before Batman was canned in 1968. In recent years, we’ve seen Two-Face enter this world in DC’s Batman ’66 comic book title, but now he’s finally been brought to animated life. And boy, is it great to see this depiction of him, with Shatner on scintillatingly suave form and meshing marvellously with the already established Batman world.

Contained elsewhere on this release, we have a moving, emotive and hugely entertaining tribute panel to Adam West following his sad passing this June. Despite this movie only being released now, West had actually recorded his vocals for Batman vs. Two-Face back in October of last year, and the does-as-it-says-on-the-tin Adam West Tribute Panel featurette here sees his life celebrated by the likes of Kevin Smith, Ralph Garman and one-time Catwoman, Lee Meriwether. While a tribute to the truly iconic West was expected, it’s another featurette – The Wonderful World of Burt Ward – that threatens to steal the show, looking at Ward’s fascinating post-Robin life in which he specialises in the health and care of dogs (dubbing himself the “Canine Crusader” in a recent interview with ourselves). It really is a marvellous featurette and one that shines a whole other light on the ever-engaging famed Boy Wonder.

Sadly, Batman vs. Two-Face would prove to be Adam West’s swansong, but it’s a worthy way to bring West’s time under the cowl to a close. Rest well, Bright Knight, and thanks once again for so, so many memories. This is certainly a most splendid sequel, and this animated adventure is sure to prove a huge favourite of many genre fans both old and new.

Special Features: Adam West Tribute Panel / The Wonderful World of Burt Ward / Interviews with Burt Ward and Julie Newmar

BATMAN VS. TWO-FACE/ CERT: 12 / DIRECTOR: RICK MORALES / SCREENPLAY: MICHAEL JELENIC, JAMES TUCKER / STARRING: ADAM WEST, BURT WARD, WILLIAM SHATNER, JULIE NEWMAR, LEE MERIWETHER / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

 

One Christmas Eve, three homeless people, grizzled patriarch Gin (Tôru Emori), gay former drag queen Hana (Yoshiaki Umegaki) and teenage runaway Miyuki (Aya Okamoto), discover an abandoned baby while rooting through a pile of trash. They decide to find her parents.

When someone says that Japanese animation is just big robots, dangerously proportioned women, and tentacles, show them Tokyo Godfathers. By turns hilarious, touching, upsetting and even moving, it has more human heart and drama than many live-action movies can muster. The plot allows itself to be a little ludicrous, gleefully throwing absurd coincidences at us, including an attempted assassination and an ambulance crash. But it is always rooted in the human drama that engulfs the lives of the characters.

The three main characters are protagonists so rarely giving top billing in cinema and are a joy to spend time with and get to know. The detailed animation style imbues them with such character and life that they pop off the screen. We get to see how this unlikely trio of friends ended up on the streets and the hardship of living a life as a marginalised citizen.

Director Satoshi Kon, here co-directing with Studio Ghibli animator Shôgo Furuya, is an animation director mostly only known to the cult cinema crowd. His psychological horror Perfect Blue is a horror classic, perhaps even the best horror animation ever made, while his dream thriller Paprika is an obvious influence of Inception, to the point where some people claim Inception is a rip-off. He sadly died in his fifties, and we were robbed of more brilliant work he was sure to make. He proved himself over a very short body of work to be a director of great skill and talent. Tokyo Godfathers stands up as some of his best work, showing his mastery of not only animation but of human drama.

This Blu-ray release contains three featurettes, one behind the scenes, a making-of and an anime festival featurette, as well as an interview with the musical director and US and UK trailers. It’s a little slim and the film is crying out for an extensive special edition release.

With peerless animation, plenty of laughs and just as much heart, Tokyo Godfathers is an absolute joy. It should appear high on your list of alternative Christmas movies.

TOKYO GODFATHERS (2003) / CERT: 12 / DIRECTORS: SATOSHI KON, SHÔGO FURUYA / SCREENPLAY: SATOSHI KON, KEIKO NOBUMOTO / STARRING: TÔRU EMORI, AYA OKAMOTO, YOSHIAKI UMEGAKI, SHÔZÔ ÎZUKA / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

It’s now been well-documented how Space: 1999, the final live-action science-fiction TV extravaganza from Gerry and Sylvia Anderson (although the couple split acrimoniously between seasons) was spawned out of revamped plans for a second season of their signature adult science-fiction series UFO. The exploits of the Supreme Headquarters Alien Defence Organisation had come and gone on UK TV but when the show arrived in the States in the early 1970s it attracted good notices and decent viewing figures and a second season was put into pre-production. But when UFO’s appeal waned as its run progressed its second season was canned but Gerry Anderson craftily retooled many of its concepts and offered up a brand new sci-fi saga which would go on to become the most expensive TV series ever made (in its time) and which, despite lasting for only two seasons (only the first of which was actually much good), is still well-remembered today. Space: 1999, as this chunky, gleaming Blu-ray set proves, demonstrates just how ahead of his time Anderson was in terms of the sheer scope and scale of his imagination; this, like many of his earlier productions, is a series which happily stands up to the visual demands of what we might describe, without irony, as a more sophisticated modern audience.

You know the drill. In September 1999 (this was 1975, remember) the moon is blasted out of Earth orbit by an explosion of nuclear waste stored on its dark side. The crew of Moonbase Alpha finds themselves cast adrift in space, the moon wandering across the Cosmos (there are vague hints in the first series of some great metaphysical power guiding their path, a no more preposterous notion than the idea of the moon becoming a giant spacecraft) encountering hostile alien species and curious space anomalies. The first season is a big, booming, bombastic beast packed with stunning special effects sequences (the great Derek Meddings was yet to move on to a career in feature films) but too often scuppered by pompous pondering stories and populated by a cripplingly-dour cast of characters who rarely crack a smile or display much in the way of real human inter-action across twenty-four episodes. US-appeal stars Martin Landau and Barbara Bain do their best to inject some life into their characters but Bain is often worryingly-wooden and Landau looks visibly frustrated by the limitations of the role and the scripts. Yet when Space:1999 is at its best it’s thrilling; War Games, Death’s Other Dominion, Dragon’s Domain and Matter of Life and Death are series one highlights, broadening the format and exploring the premise of the series in ways many of the more leaden episodes clearly couldn’t.

Season two, however, is an entirely different proposition. With the first season having found little favour in the all-important US market (despite its stars), new producer Fred Freiburger retooled the show to make it leaner, faster and, it has to be said, far sillier. Many of the more appealing cast members are culled, the sets become smaller and the stories drift into silly, shlocky space-opera full of ridiculous bug-eyed monsters and snarling space villains. New characters are introduced – Catherine Schell’s shape-shifting alien Maya is a wasted opportunity – and at least the characters of Landau’s John Koenig and Bain’s Helena Russell are softened a little which allows them to display at least some humanity now and again. Plans to broaden the show’s appeal only served to alienate those who had appreciated the more cerebral approach of the first season and a new audience wasn’t tempted by a show which had clearly become an absurd, rather childish space fantasy.

It’s a game of two halves then, for Space: 1999 although you’re sure to be tempted to take your leave of the series early into its second run if you chose to take a chance on it at all. But even now it’s hard to fault the breadth of the show’s ambition, in its first year at least where there are some riches to be found amongst the narrative stodge and this set, despite the sheer disposability of season two, deserves a place on your shelf whether you’re an Anderson completest or just a fan of classic sci-fi TV in general.

Special features: Commentaries, text episode commentaries, image galleries, textless titles.

SPACE: 1999 – THE COMPLETE SERIES / CERT: PG / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: VARIOUS / STARRING: MARTIN LAUNDAU, BARBARA BAIN, BARRY MORSE, CATHERINE SCHELL, TONY ANHOLT, NICK TATE / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Channel Zero is Syfy’s stake in the modern revival of the horror anthology format. However, it’s somewhat more unconventional than its peers in that each season is an adaptation of a creepypasta.

For those of you not in the know, creepypasta is an internet phenomenon, taking its name from the term ‘copypasta’ – a specific type of meme whereby people share bodies of copied and pasted text around the web. ‘Copy-paste-a’, get it? Creepypasta is the same, but creepy.

Season One of Channel Zero adapts ‘Candle Cove’, one of the most iconic creepypastas to date. The original short is written in the form of a series of message-board posts, as its users reminisce about a scary children’s show from their youth. As far as short stories go, it’s got everything; originality, a genuinely unnerving concept and a killer twist.

That said, if you’ve read it, you might now be questioning how such a short story could possibly sustain an entire season of television. Seemingly, the makers of Channel Zero were savvy enough to realise that it probably can’t. The show saves direct adaptation for a small handful of scenes in the first episode. The rest of the series, very wisely, opts to use the story as a springboard rather than simply attempting to pad it out.

Series creator, Nick Antosca, has said that he wants the series to feel like the nightmare you have after reading the short story rather than a straight-forward adaptation in its own right. That’s exactly what this is; it’s a compelling mystery built from the questions the story raises and true to the horror it evokes. The bulk of the show feels like a love-letter to the more outlandish horror movies of the ‘80s combined with the works of Stephen King. Think Halloween III: Season of the Witch, but good.

That’s not to say that the show is perfect. Whilst much of it is great, the acting and dialogue can be inconsistent, and the pacing of the first couple of episodes suggest that the show might have benefited from a 30-minute runtime.

Yet, what Channel Zero lacks in finesse, it more than makes up for with an abundance of inventive and downright eerie imagery. Throughout the show, you’re bombarded with visual nightmare-fodder ranging from dead-eyed skeleton puppets all the way to a being made entirely out of teeth.

Channel Zero comes to us from a surprising amount of behind-the-camera talent. Atosca is joined on the writing staff by Don Mancini (creator and writer of the Child’s Play franchise), whilst human-marmite, Max Landis, serves as executive producer.

Season One is presented very nicely, with crisp clean visuals and audio, but the special features are, sadly, somewhat lacking. We’re treated to an extensive interview with Antosca, but other than that, all we get is some clean Candle Cove footage, as watched by characters in the show, misattributed as ‘deleted scenes’. Features aside, Channel Zero is a must-watch for horror aficionados – especially those familiar with the world of creepypasta. The show was renewed for a third and fourth season earlier this year, so you’ll want to catch up as soon as possible.

Extras: Deleted scenes / Interview

CHANNEL ZERO – SEASON ONE: CANDLE COVE / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: VARIOUS / STARRING: ABIGAIL PNIOWSKY, KEENAN LEHMANN, AMY FORSYTH / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

There’s a moment in the interview with William Friedkin which forms this Blu-ray disc’s only extra in which he insists that Sorcerer is not a remake of The Wages of Fear, the award-winning and highly praised drama directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot in 1953. But given the dedication to Clouzot which ends Sorcerer, this seems a little disingenuous, especially given that some scenes and even shots are identical, and therein lies the big problem with Sorcerer. Once you have seen The Wages of Fear, this is but a pale imitation.

Four unlikeable men on the run for various crimes are forced to flee their homelands and end up in a godforsaken filthy South American town where they exist rather than live. It’s a hellish existence too, with only the US oil company setting up there offering any kind of work and a potential way out. It comes in the form of a huge pay-out to any four men willing to risk their lives driving two trucks of highly volatile nitro-glycerine across a perilous jungle landscape where it’s needed 300 miles away.

It’s a suicide mission but when you’ve got nothing to lose and the reward will change your life…

Sorcerer is at times a powerful experience and looks great in this Blu-ray edition. Friedkin, on a roll after The French Connection and The Exorcist, piles on the grimness and the last third of the film revs up the tension as the hapless men negotiate storms, bad roads and fallen trees. There’s one scene involving the trucks crossing a derelict bridge over a river in a howling gale which is astonishing to watch (although imagine it taking place in sweltering heat, silence and deathly stillness and you see how tense the film could have been).

Whilst the performances are great, particularly from Roy Scheider, there’s a nagging sense of something missing and that’s the lack of shits we give for these desperate men. They don’t have to be likeable, you just have to care. The Wages of Fear spent its first hour setting up the four relationships beautifully so that, by the time the journey starts, you’re already totally gripped, but here, they barely know each other. In particular, what was a highlight of The Wages of Fear in the relationship dynamic between Yves Montand and Charles Vanal is tossed away entirely as Friedkin uses editing and dramatic situations to create tension instead of characters we care about to create fear.

Back to that interview, which is between Friedkin and Nicolas Winding Refn. In it, Friedkin reveals that he considers Sorcerer to be his best film. It’s far, far from his worst but it’s just not in the same league as his two previous works. Refn is obsessed throughout the 90-minute interview with the film’s catastrophic critical and financial failure and becomes an annoying presence, constantly interrupting Friedkin’s fascinating stories and insights to make his own self-congratulatory points.

Like the film itself, it’s just not as good you want it to be.

SORCERER (1977) / CERT: WILLIAM FRIEDKIN / SCREENPLAY: WALON GREEN / STARRING: ROY SCHEIDER, BRUNO CREMER, FRANCISCO RABAL, AMIDOU / RELEASE DATE: NOVEMBER 6TH

Aerial shot of 42nd Street with just the sound of traffic. Then, just as the iconic wah-wah guitar riff to The Greatest Theme Song in the History of Cinema kicks in, John Shaft (Roundtree) steps out of subway in a turtle-neck and the coolest leather coat you’ve ever seen. He walks with a confidence that can only be explained by a funky soundtrack and a huge libido until he finally utters the movie’s opening line: “UP YOURS!”

That’s basically the review. The rest of the movie is pretty much more of the same except that he switches to an entirely implausible black leather outfit at the halfway point. The titular private dick is hired to track down the kidnapped daughter of the wonderfully named gangster, Bumpy Jonas (Gunn). He pronounces it “Bump-eh”. While it’s great fun, there’s a tad too much early-‘70s misogyny along the way. But, as people have written academic papers on why that is, it’s best we steer clear of that in a 400-word review [So probably best not to have mentioned it then – Ed]. Other than that, we probably need to point out that this was the one of the first Blaxploitation movies and was the one whose mainstream breakthrough led to the explosion of the genre. If there was no Shaft, there’d be no Blacula (1973). Imagine that. Shaft itself managed two sequels and a spin-off series.

If that sounds like your bag, then you’ll want this Blu-ray if only so you can hear Isaac Hayes’ theme played in endless high-quality loops when you leave the menu on. Among the bonus features we’ve not only got the obligatory trailer but also the trailers to both sequels. Strangely enough they’re hilariously funny and tell us that if we want to see these movies, we should ask our ‘momma’. The documentary Soul in Cinema: Filming Shaft on Location is, at 10 minutes, not exactly essential but we do get Isaac Hayes in the studio playing an embryonic version of that theme. But the real curiosity is an episode of the short-lived series of TV movies in which Rountree reprised his role. We can’t honestly say that The Killing is particularly compelling but it’s fascinating to see how it was watered down into a sort of Shaft-lite for the telly. No naughty words and he even wears a V-neck at one point. Very smart.

So, if you’re a fan of this sort of caper, worth owning. He may not be Prince Mamuwalde but, at the end of the day, he’s a complicated man who no-one understands but his woman… Shaft!

Extras: Behind-the-scenes Documentary: Soul in Cinema: Filming Shaft on Location, Shaft: The Killing (1973 TV Episode), 3 Theatrical Trailers

SHAFT (1971) / DIRECTOR: GORDON PARKS / SCREENPLAY: ERNEST TIGYMAN, JOHN D. F. BLACK / STARRING: RICHARD ROUNDTREE, MOSES GUNN, CHARLES CIOFFI, CHRISTOPHER ST. JOHN, GWENN MITCHELL / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Few games have dominated, or captured imaginations, quite as much as Halo. With so much to explore within its mythos, it is therefore unsurprising that it should also spread its tendrils into other media. The universe created by Bungie is so vast that it almost demands further exploration, and undoubtedly supports stories that add depth and texture.

Gathered together on this new Blu-ray are seven such stories, each created by a different filmmaker, with each revolving around the central figures from the games. And they are impressive, but there is little doubt who these are for.

With every story comes a different style of animation, all beautifully created to best convey both the beauty and the horror of the universe. And the stories are interesting to a point, with different aspects and “morality messages” delivered largely with subtlety and style. The problems come from the prior knowledge required to fully appreciate what you’re watching. If you’re a passing visitor to the Halo world, perhaps someone who has played games in the past from time to time, much of the mythology referred to will provide more questions than answers.

For those viewers, the extras will provide the greater interest. Two prologue animations detail the history of the Halo universe, providing backstory and filling in many gaps, although not always enough to make some of the stories fully relevant. But the most watchable inclusions are the mini-documentaries – the making-of pieces if you will – with interviews from all the creative people behind the games. These provide an insight into how one of the most successful game series ever created came into being, and how it is has continued through various sequels and incarnations.

So, one for the hardcore fans then? Well, yes. If you are, or know of someone fully embedded in this world, then this anthology would make an excellent addition to the collection. Those less committed may still find it interesting, and although it may well make you want to dust off your old Xbox and check if the original game still works, it will provide little more than a mildly entertaining couple of hours viewing.

HALO: LEGENDS (2010) / CERT: 12 / DIRECTORS & SCREENPLAY: VARIOUS / STARRING: LUCI CHRISTIAN, ATSUKO TANAKA, JOSH GRILLE, JOVAN JACKSON / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Sherlock Holmes vs Jack the Ripper is a solid gold idea and one that’s shown up a few times on cinema screens.  This 1979 film from director Bob Clark and writer John Hopkins imagines the murders already in progress in Whitechapel and the shopkeepers of the area recruiting Holmes to do what the police seemingly cannot and stop the madman.  Holmes is played here by Christopher Plummer with James Mason assisting as a very capable Watson.  As they investigate further the duo will uncover a conspiracy that stretches into the very highest areas of society.

Clark really hit big in the ‘80s with comedy films like Porky’s and A Christmas Story amongst others but before this had directed low-budget horror classics like Black Christmas and Deathdream in the ‘70s. Between these two periods he made a couple of thrillers, one of which was this Holmes pastiche. It is made with reference to the Rathbone films of a few decades before and in every way resembles a Sherlock Holmes story, just here placing him in the real world of London in 1988. For the most part it’s successful as both drama and thriller, although there’s some elements that don’t work.

Unlike most Holmes stories here Plummer gives us a great detective who is either a passive observer of events or a driver of convenience, getting knocked out or otherwise distracted when solving the case gets close. This is understandably necessary because Clark and Hopkins can’t have Holmes solve a crime that is still a cause of huge debate to this day. This means that the artifice of the insertion of Sherlock into this world is problematic and consequently certain elements of the plot just don’t hang together satisfactorily.

Happily, there’s plenty to recommend, not least Plummer’s performance as a more emotionally engaged and less distant Holmes. Mason is a great Watson and the supporting cast is made up of a parade of very fine actors, including a late film cameo by John Gielgud. The atmosphere, direction, design and score are of a high standard and Clark uses that horror background to stage some effective set pieces. It might not really work as it could, but it’s still a gripping film and worth seeking out.

This Umbrella Entertainment release is sadly as barebones as it gets, with nothing of added value. The print is acceptable, but there’s no retouching or remastering been done and without any extras or additional content it’s difficult to imagine who needs to put down money for this. It might not be an all-time classic, but Murder by Decree deserves at least a little more love than it’s received so far on home releases.

MURDER BY DECREE (1979) / CERT: 12 / DIRECTOR: BOB CLARK / SCREENPLAY: JOHN HOPKINS / STARRING: CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER, JAMES MASON, DAVID HEMMINGS, SUSAN CLARK, ANTHONY QUAYLE, JOHN GIELGUD / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW