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By
SCOTT D. O'REILLY
Sherlock Holmes is without a
doubt the most filmed character in cinematic
history. Most often the emphasis is on the
super-sleuth's crime fighting abilities or his
extraordinary intellect. Billy Wilder's "The
Private Life of Sherlock Holmes" takes a decidedly
different tack, highlighting the legendary
detective's tragic relationship with members of
the opposite sex. The end result is one of the
most compelling, richly textured, and poignant
portraits of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's protagonist.
Billy Wilder was one of Hollywood's most
innovative directors. Films like "Double
Indemnity," "The Lost Weekend," and "Sunset
Boulevard," are renown for their witty scripts and
inventive storytelling techniques. His comedies
like, "Some Like it Hot, "The Fortune Cookie," and
"One, Two, Three" are virtually peerless in their
intelligence. Wilder's "The Private Life of
Sherlock Holmes" falls somewhere in between being
a drama and a comedy, and this maybe one reason
why the film is rarely mentioned as one of
Wilder's best.
Another reason Wilder's Holmes film is sometimes
overlooked has to do with fact that the film
Wilder originally intended - a three hour film
with 4 acts - exists today only in version running
just two hours with two acts entirely cut.
Although this is the same theatrical version
released to the public in 1970, Wilder envisioned
a "symphony like" composition with four
interlinked 'movements.' Truncated as it is, the
film is nevertheless one of Wilder's gems.
If "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes" is a gem
then M-G-M's DVD is something of a treasure chest
filled with extras that mine the full potential of
the DVD format. Contained with the bonus features
is an extensive collection of deleted scenes,
screenplay directions, production notes, stills,
and illustrations which help recreate the missing
segments of the film originally intended by
Wilder. 'The Curious Case of the Upside Down Room'
and 'The Strange Business of the Naked Newlyweds"
are two of the segments with footage, voiceovers,
and stills discovered from M-G-M's vaults that
help recreate the missing footage. Also included
are two superb featurettes including interviews
with Christopher Lee -- who played Holmes's
smarter brother Mycroft in the film -- and an
interview with editor Ernest Walter. Add a photo
gallery and the original trailer and you have one
of the most generous DVDs put out on a single
disk.
The bonus material adds significantly towards
appreciating an already rewarding film. Robert
Stephens as Holmes doesn't quite capture the manic
brilliance of Basil Rathbone's characterization -
which set the standard against which other Holmes
are measured -- but Stephen's portrayal may be
more subtle and finely shaded. Colin Blakely is
exceptionally effective as Dr Watson, imbuing his
character with warmth, humor, and depth. And
Christopher Lee makes and indelible impression as
Mycroft, Sherlock's smarter brother! Incidentally,
The versatile Lee had himself previously played
Sherlock Holmes on film, and also Sir Henry of
Baskerville in Hammer Studio's 1959 version of
"The Hound of the Baskervilles."
Fans of Billy Wilder and Sherlock Holmes will not
be disappointed. From Miklos Rozsa hauntingly
beautiful score to Christopher Challis's lush
cinematography every aspect of Billy Wilder's film
is deeply satisfying. And the world inhabited by
Sherlock Holmes has never looked better in color.
A dense fog drapes London as a British bobby
stares down a looming threat. An ancient Scottish
castle looms at the water's edge, but does it
harbor a criminal enterprise within its walls? The
game's afoot in Wilder's Holmes whodunit, so be
prepared to don a deerskin cap, and sift through
all the tantalizing clues that come your way in
this marvelous movie mystery. |
