The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (1975) [Blu-ray]

While some have ridiculed this Sherlock Holmes' parody, I love it and rejoice at its long-awaited DVD release. Made in 1975, funny man Gene wilder wrote, directed and starred in the film, which also boasts the incomparable talents of the late and truly lamented Madeline Kahn and Marty Feldman. It also stars Dom DeLuise and Leo (Rumpole of the Bailey) McKern. Wilder, a well-schooled actor in parodies having starred earlier in his career with Kahn and Feldman in Mel Brooks' classic and beloved "Young Frankenstein," turned is considerable skills to create this loving send-up of the world's most famous sleuth. Wilder was well-equipped to do so as he is a life-long Conan Doyle fan and bonafide member of the Baker Street Irregulars, a famous real-life Sherlockian scholarly society whose members include Christopher Morley. (In this film, Brooks has a cameo role, but he is heard and not seen.) In this Victorian era film, Wilder portrays Sigerson Holmes, the "smarter" but very jealous younger brother of the brilliant Consulting Detective, whom he derisively refers to as "Sheer-luck." (In the Conan Doyle canon, "Sigerson" was an alias Sherlock Holmes used during his "missing years" after his falsely believed death-plunge at the Richenback Falls at the hands of his evil nemesis, Professor James Moriarty; while Mycroft Holmes was actually Sherlock's smarter brother.) In the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother, Sigerson begins an investigation, at the request of Sherlock, into the disappearance of a vital cache of government documents. Sherlock and Dr. John Watson leave England to travel to the Continent on another assignment, apparently confounded by the missing document mystery. Kahn, who in her life was a classically trained singer, was given the opportunity to showcase her impressive vocal talents as Jenny Hill/Bessie Underwood/Opera singer, a compulsive liar and Sigerson's love interest. The film is well worth watching if for nothing else than a zany drawing room musical scene when Sigerson and Jenny first meet, which culminates in the truly unforgettable, "Kangaroo Hop." Feldman is Sigerson's Watson, Sgt. Orville Sacker of Scotland Yard who possesses "photographic hearing," and who, along with Jenny, help Sigerson recover the documents and thwart Moriarty (with some invaluable behind-the-scenes assistance from Sherlock Holmes!) McKern is wonderfully evil as the new Moriarty, while DeLuise is a bumbling blackmailer. This film is fun, wacky, sweet and very off-beat. Kudos to Wilder for choosing to enlist his old partners Kahn and Feldman, providing yet another permanent chapter in their unforgettable and immortal careers!

Very prompt delivery and in fine condition. Plays fine as region 2 as expected> A hard to find movie. Thank you.

My own personal history with this film is a bit unusual. While in the Navy in the late '70's, the ship I was stationed aboard made a homeport change halfway around the world, taking about two months. They had a limited number of movies and TV episodes to play on the closed-circuit system, and this was one of them, so we got to know it pretty well and I became a fan during that time. I would often catch myself reciting bits of dialogue, like "Good night, boys! Don't have bad dreams!" or "You've got a lovely vase!" "And you've got a lovely face!" It's been criticized for not having the most coherent plot in the world, but it's never bothered me. It's supposed to be silly and farcical, and Wilder's love for the source material shines through. The obvious comparison to contemporaneous film comedies is to those of Mel Brooks, especially since it stars many of his regular players, and it holds up as good as most of Brooks'. Given its age before coming out on DVD, I knew there wouldn't be much in the way of bonus features, but I have to say--with all due respect to Mr. Wilder--that there wasn't a whole lot to his commentary track. He does bring out some interesting details, such as the real fencing expert inside Sigerson's mechanical opponent and the uncredited cameo of Albert Finney. But there are long stretches where he has nothing to say. Obviously it's been a long time and he's not getting any younger, so he can be forgiven. It's too bad most of the principals (Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn, Leo McKern) were gone by the time this was put together (2006); I would have loved to hear their own takes. Even during those earliest viewings over 30 years ago, I found some lines of dialogue tricky to make out, especially ones sung during the opera scene in the last half hour. Anyone who encounters the same problem, don't hesitate to turn on the captions. Recommended to any who enjoy the classic Brooks films; just have enough sexy wine on hand!

On the surface this is a silly Sherlock Holmes parody, courtesy of Gene Wilder and Co. And as a parody it works OK, though at times (several times) it is almost too silly. However, there are several bonuses here: 1) Wilder is wonderful. Playing a character (Sigerson) who is wildly intelligent and talented. His character would be an absolute standout in any field he might choose to pursue - except his chosen field - following in the footsteps of his brother - Mr. Sherlock Holmes. As such we see this intelligent, talented fellow as a miserable failure who is just smart enough to realize by the end of the show the genius, competence and love of his brother. 2) The Sherlock Holmes of this movie is superb. Here, Sherlock, has a small and mostly behind the scenes role. But the Holmes we see is THE BEST HOLMES ever brought to film. He is simply superb. 3) The ending scene where Sigerson approaches a costumed Holmes and through eye contact conveys his understanding and acceptance of their relationship and acknowledges their relative skills and talents - this is a well done scene. It is worth watching a whole movie for a scene like this. 4) Lots of nice hat tipping to Holmesian lore. 5) The zany Moriarty. Leo McKern does a nice performance here. 6) As do all the "friends" of Wilder (Feldman, Kahn, De Luis, etc). PS - I am not much of a Wilder fan - but his Sherlock Holmes alone - small as his role is - earns this movie 5 stars.

The DVD did NOT work. I received some silly disclaimer in the Email, several days later,,, saying that it would only work with European DVD players. That should have been in the description!!!

I first saw this upon its initial release back in 1975, and although I was much younger, I still enjoyed the humor. To clear up any confusion: This is not a Mel Brooks comedy, but a spoof of the great detective written & directed by Brooks' close friend & associate, Gene Wilder. It's easy to believe how this film might be perceived as a Brooks spoof, as Wilder (as star) is re-united with his "Young Frankenstein" co-stars Madeline Kahn & Marty Feldman here (although Brooks makes a funny "cameo" voiceover). Looking at the picture now, the humor is clearly not for everyone; there are moments where the viewer(s) might scratch their heads at bits like the evil Prof. Moriarty (the late character actor Leo McKern) shouting "Yes yes!" But Wilder's such a sly satirist that even the most slightest bits can get a chuckle out of you, such as: Sherlock Holmes communicating with cue cards to Dr. Watson that there's a huge, ugly murderer peering through the keyhole; the running gag with Sigerson Holmes' assistant Sacker (Feldman) as a human tape recorder; Wilder's trademark hysterics, particularly when dealing with both Kahn & Feldman; the silly operetta conducted by Moriarty's accomplice (wonderfully played to the hilt by Dom DeLuise); Sigerson Holmes (Wilder) predicting the entrance of pretty Kahn, and instead, getting the male dwellings keeper; a great slapstick brawl atop moving carriages; and the climactic sword fight between Sigerson & Moriarty. The most outrageous moment has to be when, after narrowly escaping a death trap, Sigerson & Sacker attend a formal dance with the backs of their tuxedoes sheared away, exposing their bottoms to everyone. The look of the production is deeply embedded in the late nineteenth century period, filled with sumptuous stylized sets & costumes. The detail is impeccable. To be sure, this is not Wilder's funniest work. However, it's an extremely likable spoof that benefits greatly for having the late great Kahn & Feldman there to help things along.

I loved this movie years ago and nobody I ask has ever heard of it. I randomly decided to look for it here and they had it! I was worried that all these years later I wouldn't find it as funny but nope... laughed until my sides hurt. Very funny, silly movie. If you have high literary standards don't bother. This movie is ridiculous and so totally random. You really need to just let go and let it ride. Not appropriate for children. Watch it when the kids are in bed and when they ask what's so funny, tell them none of their business. At least that's what I did. I couldn't laugh quietly.

I bought this in 2013 and have been waiting for a BD version but after reading the reviews of the KL Blu Ray disc I will stick with the DVD. The disc I have is a double sided, single layer disc but it has never given me any problems. One one side is the Full Screen version and the other has the Widescreen version. Picture quality is very good on both and the sound quality, either original mono or fake stereo is very good as well. My only complaint is the subtitles. My disc has Eng, Fra, Spa on both sides BUT only for the dialog. When the songs are being sung there is no subtitles other than "song". This annoys me as I bought the DVD just so I could see the lyrics during the singing. Having the Lyrics makes it easy to catch a word or phrase that you miss in the sound track. The Movie itself is pretty good especially if you like Wilder, Khan and Feldman. Plot is silly and many of the scenes are like those in Young Frankenstein done to be funny but still stay withing the plot line.

Gene made a lot of very funny movies, sadly this is not one of them.

Not a bad film

Edición Inglesa con audio y subtítulos en castellano. Me llegó perfecto por Amazon.

tres bonne lecture

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