DVD Review: Sherlock Holmes (1922) (Silent): John Barrymore, Roland Young, Carol Dempster, William Powell, Albert Parker: Movies & TV

Jul09

DVD Review: Sherlock Holmes (1922) (Silent): John Barrymore, Roland Young, Carol Dempster, William Powell, Albert Parker: Movies & TV

Posted by admin | on 9 July, 09:54 PM

Product Description
From the collection of the George Eastman House Motion Picture Department

When a young prince is accused of a crime that could embroil him in international scandal, debonair super-sleuth Sherlock Holmes comes to his aid, and quickly discovers that behind the incident lurks a criminal mastermind eager to reduce Western civilization to anarchy. Adapted from the hugely popular stage version of Arthur Conan Doyle s stories (by William Gillette), SHERLOCK HOLMES not only provided Barrymore with one of his most prestigious early roles, but also presented the screen debuts of two notable actors: William Powell (The Thin Man) and Roland Young (Topper). SHERLOCK HOLMES was mastered from a 35mm restoration by the George Eastman House Motion Picture Department, and is accompanied by a score by Ben Model, performed on the Miditzer Virtual Theatre Organ.

U.S. 1922 B&W 85 Min. Goldwyn Pictures Full-Frame (1.33:1)

Great To Have On DVD But Movie Could Have Been Better.,

By Chip Kaufmann (Asheville, N.C. United States) -
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

I have looked forward to having John Barrymore’s SHERLOCK HOLMES on DVD for quite some time. I had seen the movie before but only in a wretched public domain VHS which was so dark that most of the film was hard to make out. It’s also hard to follow because it’s based on the William Gillette play which takes several liberties with Conan Doyle’s original source material. Like the play, the film is problematic in many ways. Though atmospherically lit, the camerawork is rather static and the direction is often ponderous. To be fair, this restoration by the George Eastman House is 24 minutes shorter than the original and this could be a case of where the missing footage makes it seem longer. There are obvious gaps and the film just doesn’t flow right.

The biggest problem with this release as far as I’m concerned is the use of Ben Model’s virtual organ score. Model is a fine musician who has enhanced many a silent film but this is a movie that badly needs an orchestral score to cover its deficiencies. This score, while well played and well recorded, failed to keep my interest. Still the movie is definitely worth having for the performances alone. In addition to Barrymore you get to see early turns by William Powell (his first), Roland Young (as Dr. Watson), Carole Dempster (away from D.W. Griffith), Hedda Hopper before she became a columnist, and Gustav von Seyffertitz as the ideal Moriarty. SHERLOCK HOLMES is part of Kino’s new 4 DVD JOHN BARRYMORE COLLECTION but it can be purchased separately.
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