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Stars: Nicholas
Rowe and Alan Cox
Writer: Chris
Columbus
Director: Barry
Levinson
Feature length:
108 minutes
Languages: English
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, Dolby Surround Sound, and French Language
Monaural Sound
Subtitles: English
Captions and Closed Captions
Packaging: Amaray
Keep Case
Chapter Stops: 15
Sound: Dolby
Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, Dolby Surround Sound, and Monaural Sound
Year of Theatrical
Release: 1985/DVD Release: 2003
Theatrical
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Home Video
Distributor: Paramount Home Entertainment
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Reviewer: Mark A.
Rivera
This “What If”
adventure was inspired by Author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous sleuthing
team, but was not based on any of the books written by Doyle. Young Watson shows
up at a London boarding school where he becomes the acquaintance of Sherlock
Holmes, a brilliant, but somewhat snobbish student who has a miraculous gift for
deductive reasoning. Together they stumble upon a string of seemingly unrelated
deaths of mild mannered citizens who suddenly went insane. The trail leads to
the discovery of an ancient cult secretly operating in London and the beginnings
of what will eventually be one of the greatest duos ever.
Beautifully shot,
“Young Sherlock Holmes” is presented in an anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1)
aspect ratio that preserves the way the film was exhibited theatrically. The
Victorian age sets and costuming look marvelous and the detail is quite vividly
presented on this DVD. Even better in my opinion was the English Dolby Digital
5.1 Surround Soundtrack. I was not expecting it to be as lively as it is with an
aggressive and atmospheric use of the channels to bring the viewer into both the
world of the film and perhaps more importantly, the world of the various
illusions depicted in the film. An English Dolby Surround Soundtrack as well as
a Restored French Language Monaural Soundtrack is also encoded onto the DVD
along with English Captions and Closed Captions for the hearing impaired as
options.
Unfortunately
there are no extra value features included on the DVD at all. The menus are
standard interactive still frames that are easy to navigate. Christopher
Columbus wrote the screenplay while Henry Winkler and Steven Spielberg served as
producers. Barry Levinson directed and Dennis Muren oversaw the visual effects,
which include one of the earliest uses of CGI by ILM to bring a stain glass
knight to life. Even with the great advancements in the technology of computer
effects in films since “Young Sherlock Holmes,” the scene with the knight
approaching the priest still holds up pretty well. The only criticism of the
film I have about the film is it feels more like a TV movie than a theatrical
feature as if it were some extended episode of “Amazing Stories” or
something. The cult scenes are like a very toned down “Temple Of Doom” of
sorts, but without the grandiose sets, gruesome makeup, and those creepy bugs.
“Young Sherlock
Holmes” is available on DVD-Video now at retailers on and offline from
Paramount Home Entertainment.
© Copyright 2003
By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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