Sherlock Holmes in New York Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Sherlock Holmes in New York Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 21, 2024

Boris Sagal's "Sherlock Holmes in New York" (1976) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Signal One Entertainment. The only bonus feature on the release is an archival audio commentary recorded by Roger Moore and critic Henry Holland. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Hundreds of pounds of gold? All of it gone?

Initially, and reportedly even after production had started, Roger Moore repeatedly showed great enthusiasm for Sherlock Holmes in New York. I find this peculiar for several different reasons. For example, the scope of the project, which was always meant for TV, is limited, and this was clear to everyone who agreed to do it. The Persuaders!, which is another TV project Moore did several years earlier, looks like Ben-Hur when placed next to Sherlock Holmes in New York. Also, Moore had already done a couple of James Bond films and was not desperate to find work. Why was he excited about Sherlock Holmes in New York, then? Was it the opportunity to face off with John Huston? If it was, it is a tremendous misjudgment because Huston’s part is tiny, and he does not show enthusiasm for it. Or was it the opportunity to work with Patrick Macnee, an actor Moore liked a lot? If this was the main reason, it was again an odd misjudgment because Alvin Sapinsley’s screenplay does not provide quality material for potentially historic character transformations. The opposite is true. Moore and Macnee’s legendary characters look very ordinary, almost like in-progress versions of characters that will take plenty of time to mature.

Boris Sagal was a hardworking director with a solid reputation who had already done The Omega Man and contributed to a lot of great TV shows like T.H.E. Cat, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., and Columbo. Was Moore enormously excited to work with Sagal? It would have made sense only if Moore replaced Charlton Heston in The Omega Man, a big-budget project that treated its main protagonist like a legitimate star. In Sherlock Holmes in New York, Moore is not mistreated but is not provided with quality material and is not required to lead as a star. This most important detail is difficult to miss.

The story that is told in Sherlock Holmes in New York has three uneven parts. In the first, set in London, Sherlock Holmes (Moore) attempts and fails to capture his famous nemesis, the evil Professor Moriarty (Huston). But before Holmes loses him in the thick shadows of the night, Moriarty announces that he will soon pull off the crime of the century and irreversibly damage his reputation. In the second part, Holmes and his partner, Dr. Watson (Macnee), travel to New York, where Inspector Lafferty (David Huddleston) and several top banking officials are running out of time to avoid a catastrophe with unpredictable international consequences. They ask Holmes to help them find a massive load of gold that belongs to various countries, which has been stolen from one of New York’s safest locations. After realizing that Moriarty has something to do with the stolen gold, Holmes agrees to help, but quickly becomes entangled in a kidnapping case that reunites him with a former flame (Charlotte Rampling). In the final part, Holmes offers a brilliant explanation of how the gold was stolen and what it would take to recover it.

Moore’s performance is the only strength of Sherlock Holmes in New York, which is disappointing because it is not enough to redeem it. For example, the second part of the story, where all the crucial developments are, barely even uses Huston, whose character is supposed to be the catalyst of all the excitement. Also, Moore’s relationship with Macnee is presented only as a friendship in which the intellectual superiority of the former constantly dominates every conversation between the two. Needless to say, the classic relationship between the two famous characters they play is a lot more complicated and intriguing.

Cinematographer Michael Margulies struggles to produce visuals capable of convincing that Moore and Macnee are in New York, too. Only the streets and a few historic relics that are mentioned reveal that Moore and Macnee are no longer at home in London.

Signal One Entertainment's release presents two versions of Sherlock Holmes in New York: one in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and one in the theatrical ratio of 1.78:1.

Sherlock Holmes in New York Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in aspect ratios of 1.33:1 and 1.78:1, Sherlock Holmes in New York arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Signal One Entertainment.

I viewed the entire film in the 1.33:1 ratio and thought that it looked very good. Obviously, the master that was used to source this release is not new, but it is not plagued by digital corrections and it produces healthy organic visuals. Delineation, clarity, and depth are typically very good. Only in some of the darker visuals occasionally the grain becomes a tad noisy, so these are area where some encoding optimizations could have been introduced. Color balance is very convincing. In fact, I do not think that there is any room for meaningful improvements. At best, in a few areas, some of the supporting nuances can be strengthened a bit more and select highlights rebalanced. Image stability is good. I did not see any distracting age-related anomalies to report in our review. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Reigon-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Sherlock Holmes in New York Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless track is very good, perhaps even excellent. While Sherlock Holmes in New York does not have a big and diverse soundtrack, there is plenty of good music and some action material that produce lovely dynamic contrasts. All exchanges are clear, sharp, and easy to follow, too. Is there any room for improvement? If there is, the improvements would be cosmetic and addressing minor unevenness.

Sherlock Holmes in New York Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Theatrical Version - presented here is the widescreen theatrical version of Sherlock Holmes in New York. 1.78:1. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.

• Commentary - this archival audio commentary was recorded by Roger Moore and critic Henry Holland. I listened to it in its entirety because I wanted to understand how Moore became involved with Sherlock Holmes in New York and why he had such a high opinion of it. Apparently, Oliver Reed was invited to be part of it, but declined the offer. Moore also has some very interesting comments about his take (and understanding of) Arthur Conan Doyle's famous character.

Sherlock Holmes in New York Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

On paper, Sherlock Holmes in New York sounds like an intriguing project, but the sum of its parts is enormously underwhelming. A lot of people have claimed that it is what it is because it was a TV project, but this is an odd excuse because there are many terrific TV projects that are vastly superior without having a comparably impressive cast. I suppose Sherlock Holmes in New York could be of interest to diehard Roger Moore fans, but it won't meet the expectations of casual viewers who are familiar with Arthur Conan Doyle's writings. The release we have reviewed is sourced from an older but good organic master.