In 1888 East End London, the notorious killer Jack the Ripper is on the loose and killing prostitutes in grisly fashion. Sherlock Holmes, the master sleuth himself, is not contacted to investigate the killings but eventually is dragged into the proceedings. Mr. Holmes finds out that these killings and the identity of the Ripper may in some way be connected to some very powerful people.
A masterpiece of a suspense/horror flick? Considering the talent on board; it should be. Let's do a rundown:
A-list cast: We've got the wonderful teaming of Christopher Plummer and James Mason as Sherlock Homes and Dr. Watson. We've got the late great David Hemmings playing a dubious inspector, the always reliable Donald Sutherland playing a weird psychic and Sir John Gielgud to deliver the finale. Throw in the mix some real talent in the form of Genevieve Bujold and Anthony Quale.
A wonderful subject matter: The most cryptic serial killer (a real life one to boot) vs. the master detective (a fictional one). What's not to love here? The mystery surrounding Jack the Ripper has created amateur sleuths out of the highest rated scholars to fiction writers like Patricia Cornwell. What would the most intelligent sleuth have found out? Well, you need two things here, I figure. A great script and a good director ('cause the cast is already in place).
Director: Big check. Bob Clark, hot on the heels of making some outstanding 70's horrors (Deathdream and Black Christmas) milks the scenery for all it's worth. The setting here is outstanding with 1888 London created in the most wonderful (and foggy) fashion. But all is not well here since Clark really should have tightened the pace somewhat.
Script: Big fat zero. If Sherlock Holmes is meant to look like a master sleuth than I'd be a close second. Holmes has the clues basically hand fed to him and I bet most amateurs would have jumped to the same conclusion he did.
What remains here is some solid acting from a first rate cast and some effective set pieces in a wonderfully atmospheric setting. Regretfully the achingly long finale undoes a great final showdown with the Ripper himself, it's way too talky and long winded.
A trivia note: If you purchase the film in the Anchor Bay edition you also get the script as a DVD-Rom supplement. Notice the changes, especially in the finale. It would have been more interesting had they stuck to the script there.
Murder By Decree is not bad, it just should have been so much better.
A masterpiece of a suspense/horror flick? Considering the talent on board; it should be. Let's do a rundown:
A-list cast: We've got the wonderful teaming of Christopher Plummer and James Mason as Sherlock Homes and Dr. Watson. We've got the late great David Hemmings playing a dubious inspector, the always reliable Donald Sutherland playing a weird psychic and Sir John Gielgud to deliver the finale. Throw in the mix some real talent in the form of Genevieve Bujold and Anthony Quale.
A wonderful subject matter: The most cryptic serial killer (a real life one to boot) vs. the master detective (a fictional one). What's not to love here? The mystery surrounding Jack the Ripper has created amateur sleuths out of the highest rated scholars to fiction writers like Patricia Cornwell. What would the most intelligent sleuth have found out? Well, you need two things here, I figure. A great script and a good director ('cause the cast is already in place).
Director: Big check. Bob Clark, hot on the heels of making some outstanding 70's horrors (Deathdream and Black Christmas) milks the scenery for all it's worth. The setting here is outstanding with 1888 London created in the most wonderful (and foggy) fashion. But all is not well here since Clark really should have tightened the pace somewhat.
Script: Big fat zero. If Sherlock Holmes is meant to look like a master sleuth than I'd be a close second. Holmes has the clues basically hand fed to him and I bet most amateurs would have jumped to the same conclusion he did.
What remains here is some solid acting from a first rate cast and some effective set pieces in a wonderfully atmospheric setting. Regretfully the achingly long finale undoes a great final showdown with the Ripper himself, it's way too talky and long winded.
A trivia note: If you purchase the film in the Anchor Bay edition you also get the script as a DVD-Rom supplement. Notice the changes, especially in the finale. It would have been more interesting had they stuck to the script there.
Murder By Decree is not bad, it just should have been so much better.