Product: Seven Per Cent Solution [VHS] (1976)
Rating: 5.0
The greatest Holmes derivative film of all time (original, correct screen format)
After many years of only the Americanized 4:3 version on VHS and very, very short supply of a few DVDs, THIS Blu-ray release finally puts an end to the unbelievable mistake of not producing this movie in it's original screen display format. It was not shot in full cinematic widescreen but is very close to our typical 16:9 TVs. Two years ago the VHS versions of this movie had become so scarce that some were offered on auction sites for up to $125.00 each. In Britain, the original format DVD was available in PAL. There were many bad pirate versions out there. This Bluray offering includes the film in it's original screen format on one DVD disc and on one Blu-ray disc. The movie is fascinating because it is based on a best-selling novel that.. while entertaining some wild extrapalatorical plot devices, stays truer to most of Doyles character development than the typical Sherlock Holmes screenplays. Alan Arkin cast as Freud is one of the greatest castings of all time. Duvall's Watson is the weekest link in the production, but is aging well due to his fidelity to "the limp." This is Vanessa Redgrave's finest part ever (she is more radiant than her Isadora). While Sir Olivier had only a small roll as Prof. Moriarty, he aced it (as you would expect). The one bonus feature is a dusey, where the author of the book explains his work and total surprise at it's massive acceptance. Some rather inexperienced reviewers have compared this film to "Sherlock Holmes" movies but the film can only really be described as the best possible, ever Holmes derivative book and film.