Sherlock Holmes: Complete Series [Blu-ray] [US Import]

Superb box set

ITV3 here in the UK are showing the entire series daily at present and while I'm not receiving it in HD it is - nonetheless - superb, with exceptional detail and brilliant (widescreen) print quality: the colours are truly exceptional after having lived with dreadful murky reprints for decades. I don't know why it is not going to be available in the UK but that is par for the course with a lot of PBS stuff.

This is an absolute amazing boxset. It is region free (ABC), the aspect ratio is 4:3, and apart from a couple of the episdes in the wrong order, it is a brilliant Blu-ray to have!

The picture jumps throughout The Three Gables and the sound is out of sync with the picture in The Golden Pince-Nez and The Red Circle. These technical issues are very disappointing and detract greatly from what should have been the definitive box set. The picture quality of all other stories is excellent. The performances and production values of the episodes are outstanding.

As you probably know, the series is excellent. The writing, acting, production, and the source material are all top rate. This IS Sherlock Holmes. And this is fantastic entertainment. As for the Blu-ray, the whole series has been rescanned from the original film negatives at HD. It's the best it has ever looked and ever will look, and is VERY nice. This certainly does NOT look like 1980s TV! The sound is the original. It has not been re-imagined or turned into faux surround sound but is presented as lossless LPCM2.0. This is a fantastic presentation of a fantastic series. It's a must for Holmes fans, mystery fans, BritTV fans, and classics fans.

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.

Firts of all, some have had complains about the package, but I must say it's good enough to contain the discs and, in my case, it arrived in perfect shape. About the Blu Ray, my version is the US one, with english subtitles only (which allows me to follow the even clear dialogues as spanish is my mother language). Also I found it at a great offer price. Quality is supreme. Period. Well, this is an '80s british series and it shows its age, so do not expect the image quality of any recent production. But despites some minor flaws (some grain in some darker scenes), it retains all the flavor of the original prints. You could hardly expect some better quality and probably you have never seen this quality even in the original broadcasting time. Sound is perfect for what it is: a detective drama. No 5.1 or 7.1 Dolby Atmos and such nonsense. And about the series itself, Jeremy Brett was born to play this role. Period. Just sit, relax and enjoy.

The delivery was way before it was promised. Unfortunately the DVDs are region 2. I had to return them which was not a problem. I feel like it was not anyone’s fault and I just happened not having a region 2 or multi region DVD Player.

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.