Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		2.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

Sherlock Holmes Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 28, 2023

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Severin Films' Cushing Curiosities set.

Severin has celebrated arguably lesser known efforts featuring one of the more legendary horror actors often associated with Hammer Studios with both The Eurocrypt of Christopher Lee Collection and The Eurocrypt of Christopher Lee Collection 2. Now they're doing similar service for that other legendary horror actor often associated with Hammer Studios, and one who of course famously co-starred with Lee in any number of films. As the title of this collection may suggest, the offerings in Cushing Curiosities are a bit peculiar at times, but that perhaps only gives them added allure for a certain demographic. Severin has assembled an impressive array of supplements, including some excellent commentaries by Jonathan Rigby, who also contributes an incredibly thorough overview of Cushing's career in a perfect bound booklet included with this set. Adding to the allure here are some generally solid technical merits (with perhaps one notable exception).

Basil Rathbone? Sure. Jeremy Brett? Of course. Matt Frewer? Well, two out of three ain't bad. There have memorably been scores of notable actors who have taken on the part of Arthur Conan Doyle's intrepid detective, but kind of interestingly, few seem to remember that in addition to essaying the role in the 1959 version of The Hound of the Baskervilles, Peter Cushing also portrayed Sherlock Holmes in what was kinda sorta the second season of a BBC television series, albeit one whose first season had aired several years previously with Douglas Wilmer in the title role. BBC wasn't especially careful with its curation of the series, and so the six episodes aggregated in this two disc collection are thought to be the only extant examples available.

The fact that Wilmer didn't return in the role may be salient since Wilmer wasn't especially shy about discussing what he felt were deficits in the series from the get go, and the truth is, the six episodes included in this set probably unavoidably pale when compared to their "kin" in the Brett versions, probably the most analogous overall to this outing. Production values are decent but never outstanding, and while Cushing is certainly intelligent and even passingly obstreperous at times, he never quite attains the same almost patrician superiority that was part and parcel of Brett's characterization in particular.

Sherlock Holmes Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Sherlock Holmes is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with AVC encoded 1080p transfers in 1.25:1. For my "cut to the chase" reaction to the appearance of these episodes, I'll simply refer those to my reviews of another British icon, namely releases like Doctor Who: Jon Pertwee: Complete Season Two from the relatively early years of that long running institution. Those releases, like this one, simply can't evade their upscaled source material, though I have to say even the filmed sections (typically on location) here may not offer the same admittedly minor upticks in detail that some of the early Doctor Who outings can show. As can be seen pretty easily in some of the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review, the on set video scenes can look decidedly ragged, with wavering color, baked in deficiencies like ghosting and some pretty bad pixellation. Occasionally, though, especially when extreme close-ups are utilized, detail levels can actually be relatively decent (see screenshot 6 for one example). The filmed moments may be marginally better, but that's probably damning with faint praise.

Sherlock Holmes Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Luckily, the soundtracks of these episodes have weathered the gauntlets of time and tide considerably better than the video side of things, and the DTS- HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono tracks sound nicely problem free. There's still some obvious differences in ambience between set bound and location sequences, and the relatively paltry budgets mean there aren't a glut of sound effects (even where you might expect there to be, as in The Hound of the Baskervilles). Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Sherlock Holmes Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc One

• Audio Commentary for A Study in Scarlet with Kim Newman, Author of Anno Dracula, and David Stuart Davies, Author of Starring Sherlock Holmes: A Century of the Master Detective On Screen


• Audio Commentary for The Hound of the Baskervilles: Part One with Barry Forshaw, Author of Brit Noir, and David Stuart Davies, Author of Starring Sherlock Holmes: A Century of the Master Detective On Screen


• Audio Commentary for The Hound of the Baskervilles: Part Two with Barry Forshaw, Author of Brit Noir, and David Stuart Davies, Author of Starring Sherlock Holmes: A Century of the Master Detective On Screen

Disc Two

• Audio Commentary for The Bascombe Valley Mystery with Kim Newman, Author of Anno Dracula, and Barry Forshaw, Author of Brit Noir


• Audio Commentary for The Sign of Four with Kim Newman, Author of Anno Dracula, and David Stuart Davies, Author of Starring Sherlock Holmes: A Century of the Master Detective On Screen


• Audio Commentary for The Blue Carbuncle with Kim Newman, Author of Anno Dracula, and Barry Forshaw, Author of Brit Noir


• Illustrated Peter Cushing Interview with David Stuart Davies, Author of Starring Sherlock Holmes: A Century of the Master Detective On Screen (HD; 18:09)


• Lost Segments by Jonathan Rigby, Author of English Gothic, and Horror Historian Kevin Lyons (HD; 8:20 offers the few remaining snippets of other episodes. An optional commentary by Rigby and Lyons is offered.

Sherlock Holmes Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

One of the really "curious" things about this collection is seeing Cushing play roles that he frankly may not have been perfectly cut out to play, and while I'm still trying to erase memories of Matt Frewer as far as miscast actors playing Holmes goes, Cushing, while certainly preferable to Frewer, doesn't quite have the snap of Brett. These surviving episodes should certainly be of interest to Cushing completists, though, even if the video is pretty lackluster. All of the commentaries are first rate, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.