Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Series [Blu-ray]

This is the original Sherlock Holmes of BBC and it is the best

I must say that it is great to now own the ITV restorations on blu ray. I purchased the previous DVD set for about the same price as this set. It, too, featured the restored transfers, albeit in SD.That being said, these are the exact same transfers, just presented in the high definition they were originally mastered in. As other posters have mentioned, these same transfers have been issued on BD already in other countries.ADVENTURES and RETURN are each presented over 3 platters, with CASEBOOK, MEMOIRS, and FEATURE FILM COLLECTION over 2 platters each. All of the bonus content is exactly the same as on the DVD set, right down to the booklet authored by Richard Valley.The only negative I can mention about the set (and granted, a minor quibble) refers to the cheapness of the packaging. Instead of the nice sturdy box used for the DVD set, MPI have opted for a faux texture resembling that box. The problem is, it's a cheap thin cardboard sleeve that contains a book-like stack of digipacs with two discs per "leaf."I only mention this as a heads up for those expecting nice luxury packaging. That, however, should not detract one from enjoying the contents, which are exceptional. Frankly, if it served to keep the cost of this set down so that more folks could buy and enjoy it, then I'm all for it!Addendum:This set is region free, and listed as such on the back cover.

Either you think Jeremy Brett was Sherlock Homes or you don't. I do, because I saw much of the original series on TV as a kid. And now this set has my fifteen-year-old son thinking Jeremy Brett is Sherlock Holmes, even after he's watched multiple seasons of Cumberbatch Holmes (I like too) and the Downey Holmes movies (fun but disposable). There are many excellent reviews on this site that I don't see the point of retreading, so just a few bullet points from me.Positives:1..Jeremy Brett.2..Both Watsons are equally good.3..The sets. Oh the sets! What sets!4..The first two series (Adventures and Return) were the golden age of Brett Holmes and the scripts stay close to the books.Negatives:1..Casebook and Memoirs feature Brett during his years of physical decline and you can sometimes see the great actor struggling to keep it together. Heartbreaking to watch at certain points.2..The Blu-ray transfer sometimes accentuates imperfections of lighting and sound in the original tapes, but this is a minor quibble.3..The feature-length movies have a made-for-TV feel.But I knowingly paid the full price of the set to get Adventures, Return and Hound of the Baskervilles in Blu-ray. I had Adventures and Return on DVD for many years and I wanted them clearer with the slightly enlarged aspect ratio, and I am more than satisfied!

I love Jeremy Brett as Sherlock the most, even though Robert Downey Jr. is a close second for me. Basil Rathbone never gelled with me, but I might give his Sherlock another look.At any rate, Jeremy threw himself heart and sole into the role of Sherlock, to the point where it may have been what did him in at the end! Even when Jeremy was sick and basically dying, he used his illness to great effect as the often-times drug-motivated sleuth. The Blu-Ray is great, and they treated the film with great care in the transfer. I observed no transfer issues to speak of but then again, I'm usually so engrossed in the story anyways that I might have missed minor transfer flaws.There are a few noticeable sound issues at some points in "The Empty House" and "The Man With the Twisted Lip", but other than those sound issues (which seem to be noticeable volume discrepancies between scenes), the stories are superbly played.It's hard to imagine an actor today - even Robert Downey Jr. - acting at Jeremy's level to re-create all of this series - other than the masterful David Suchet who did just that with Hercules Poirot which series I also love.

Referring to the MPI version of the complete Blu Ray series. This was mastered in the US, it plays fine on UK players with the exception of the 'Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes' episode 'The Three Gables'. This was (unlike all the other High Definition episodes, which look wonderful) upscaled from Standard Definition. So the picture is only as good as the dvd versions, but for some reason, they decided to make it run at its original speed (PAL AND the US TV systems run at different speeds; the way they 'corrected' this was to remove every 24th frame - or so I've gathered this from various sites' discussion groups). So it's not as clear, but also it's slightly jerky. I kept my original dvd version; it looks the same and doesn't jerk. I gather the Spanish import version may not suffer from this, and that this may be corrected in a later pressing of this edition. It shouldn't spoil your enjoyment too much, the rest of the episodes look fabulous, and Brett will always be THE Holmes for me. The title sequence and music was homaged in the 2015 BBC/Cumberbatch 'Sherlock' special.