8.7 | / 10 |
Users | 3.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Sherlock and Watson journey to the 19th Century to solve a puzzling case of a murderer who has apparently returned from the grave.
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Una Stubbs, Rupert Graves, Louise BrealeyMystery | 100% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Crime | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Sherlock has now joined in the grand U.K. tradition of the holiday special, releasing a separate
episode for broadcast on New Year's Day 2016 both abroad and at home. In England, an even-more-special version appeared in cinemas with
behind-the-scenes footage. Now, just ten days
later, BBC Home Video has released Sherlock: The Abominable Bride on Blu-ray.
U.K. holiday specials are an unpredictable breed, but they typically depart from the episodic
format with which a show's fans are familiar. The Abominable Bride was preceded by months of
feverish speculation, as the BBC released production stills of Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock
Holmes and Martin Freeman's John Watson in Victorian garb, looking very much like characters
directly out of the pages of Arthur Conan Doyle. How would series creators Steven Moffat and
Mark Gatiss manage to send this quintessentially 21st Century pair back in time? What turn of
fate would transform them, and might it possibly involve a crossover with the creators' other hit
show, Dr. Who? Would Sherlock and Watson commandeer the TARDIS?
To the disappointment of many, The Abominable Bride delivered nothing remarkable on the
time-travel front. Without spoiling any plot elements for those who have yet to view it, let's just
say that the device used to transplant our heroes to the era of horse-drawn carriages is both
simple and familiar. Even though The Abominable Bride racked up impressive viewership
numbers, cries of disappointment and betrayal from long-time Sherlock fans could be heard from
both sides of the Atlantic even before the final credits rolled.
Having watched The Abominable Bride a second time on this superior Blu-ray presentation, I
view it differently. While there is admittedly an element of bait-and-switch in the Victorian
packaging, Sherlock's New Years special turns out to be about something even more interesting
than time travel. To employ a word heard repeatedly during the episode, the special takes a "deep"
dive into Sherlock's own psychology, exploring issues that have been lurking in the shadows of
the series since it began. Perhaps that sounds cryptic, but not all Sherlock fans have yet seen The
Abominable Bride, and this review will not reveal its central mechanism.
(Note, however, that events from the first three seasons of Sherlock are freely discussed.
Newcomers take heed.)
Sherlock: The Abominable Bride was shot on the Arri Alexa by cinematographer Suzie Lavelle, whose credits include Dr. Who and Ripper Street. With due allowance for the Victorian production design, which lends this special episode a darker and richer palette than one usually sees on Sherlock, the presentation on BBC Home Video's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray is consistent with the look of Sherlock's Season Three, which my colleague Kenneth Brown justly praised for its detail, contrast, black levels and lack of aliasing, banding or other artifacts. The average bitrate of 25.99 Mbps bespeaks a healthy allotment of bandwidth and digital real estate.
Add The Abominable Bride to the growing list of Blu-rays released with a Dolby Atmos soundtrack (which most current systems will decode as Dolby TrueHD 7.1). Presumably the recourse to the latest and greatest in digital sound formats was undertaken in view of The Abominable Bride's release in cinemas, but it's kind of the BBC to include the track for Blu-ray collectors, especially after the lossy DD 5.1 track of Seasons One and Two. The additional channels allow for some wonderful surround effects, such as the ghostly voice of Emilia Ricoletti circling the room and much more impressive presentation of the expositional sound effects that accompany Sherlock's recreations of events as they are related to (and visualized by) the great detective (e.g., the Ricoletti murder and suicide). Several other impressive effects cannot be described without spoilers, but the mix sets a new benchmark for Sherlock. Nor have the sound mixers fallen short in keeping the dialogue intelligible and in showcasing the familiar score by David Arnold and Michael Price.
Spoiler warning: None of these extras should be viewed before watching The Abominable Bride.
The conclusion of The Abominable Bride points us back to the riddle posed by Moriarty's
reappearance in "The Final Vow", and it may be that the Bride's psychological hijinks cannot be
fully understood until Season Four of Sherlock, when we discover just what the deceased
mastermind's video image really means. Until then, The Abominable Bride is best enjoyed as a
historical fantasia on the contemporary world of Sherlock, an opportunity to review and reflect on
the twisty path that Sherlock and Watson have traversed not only in their three seasons of modern
adventures but in the century and a quarter since Conan Doyle first brought them together. The
Blu-ray is a superior presentation with entertaining and informative extras.
2010
2010
2012
2014
2017
2017
50th Anniversary Special
2013
2013
1943
The Sign of Four / The Hound of the Baskervilles / The Master Blackmailer / The Last Vampyre / The Eligible Bachelor
1987-1993
2018
1995
1996
1948
2013
10th Anniversary Edition
2006
2009
Sherlock Holmes
1945
2019
2018
1979
4K Restoration
1973
1988
1948
2009