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sherlock holmes the master blackmailer | Year: 1993 Classification: Mystery / Suspense Directed: - Peter Hammond I love Jeremy Brett! Okay, maybe I'm partial because of my deep and undying love for Jeremy Brett, but I love every video in this series. This one is a little skimpy on Brett-time, and it's not clear who some of the characters are. I think this comes from extending one of the shortest stories in the Canon into a two-hour movie. But if you want to see Holmes as a weepin', kissin' fool, this is the film for you. This is one of the only episodes where Holmes shows anything approaching deep emotion, and I love it just for that. And Jeremy Brett. (Yeah, I know he's dead. If I ever learn how to revive people...never mind.) Very underrated This late-era Jeremy Brett is typical of the period; there is a certain style to these later episodes that is quite appeaing. Those who only know the earlier episodes will probably find them unrecogniseable. "Master Blackmailer" is directed very stylishly. Even though this can be pretentious (like in "The Eligible Bachelor"), in this case I like it. I like the oipening scene where the butler rescues the compromising lketter from the fire (to give it to the master blackmailer of the title). At first all you can see is the butler's employer, with what looks like his shadow behind him. After a few moments you realise that it isn't his shadow - it is the shadow of his butler, projecvted somehow behind him. When the letter is thrown into the fire the shadow seems to reach towards it; a reference to Nosferatu.<BR> This shot can mean many things. Perhaps it means the butler is so close to him that he is barely noticed - that he is invisible (because discreet). Or the shadow could represent the Count's unconscious - he secretly WANTS the letter to be found. I like the actor who played Milverton too. His mannerisms are very much my image of the fellow from the short story. <BR> Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke are very impressive here. The episode as a whole is surprisingly close to the original story, despite its odd style and length. The final confrontation between the Countess and Milverton is played out exactly according to the description in the book - movemewnt for movement, word for word - and it's very dramatic indeed! This program has been underrated, and ought to have a much better reputation. Certainly the good reviews given to its two companion pieces - The Last Vampyre and The Eligible Bachelor - are less deserving! The Eligible Bachelor, especially, I don't like - I think it is pretentious and silly, though I understand what it is trying to say.<BR> The Master Blackmailer is one of the best Holmes episodes of the Jeremy Brett series, and is definitely worth seeing. Outstanding Holmes film Outside of The Eligible Bachelor, The Master Blackmailer (TMB) is the 2nd best of the Holmes films from Granada. Taut and suspenseful, and one of the best played villians since Eric Porter's Moriarty. While it is primarily more of a caper like than detective outing in this one, it nevertheless has more action and even a love sequence of sorts involving Brett and a housemaid. Again, not the best place to start with Brett's Holmes series, but it is certainly one of the most cherished of episodes and entertaining one. Catch this one. Buy Sherlock Holmes The Master Blackmailer at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on Sherlock Holmes The Master Blackmailer Search with the Priority Search Engine on Sherlock Holmes The Master Blackmailer This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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