why isn't pursuit to algiers available on ddd?

Heh heh. Evenswr, I will confess that there is only one better way to get one's Sherlock Holmes fix than seeing Maestro Rathbone & Co., and that is to actually read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's complete works of Sherlock Holmes.

OMG! you would not believe how utterly edge-of-your seat some of those stories are! It wasn't until just last year, as a matter of fact, that I picked up his Complete Works and maaaaaaaan did I burn through that puppy ha ha.

Folks, if you read no other Sir Arthur Conan Doyle short story, read this one:
It's called The Country Of The Saints
and it is not only so ingeniously crafted from the standpoint of suspense, it is one of Sir Arthur's more uniquely American stories. Nope, nope, won't tell you more. It isn't Sherlock Holmes, but between Saints — and that other (non-Sherlock) masterpiece, The Boscombe Valley Mystery— mm mm mm I defy you to be able to put it down.

I even liked the hardcover edition I bought because it was printed in two-column format (much like a magazine or journal).

MISS PEACH

Arthur Conan Doyle

And you think that having 12 regular-sized, regular-width Amaray-style keepcases is going to take up less space than the three 4-Disc Alpha cases that are being utilized by MPI on the SH sets? That doesn't seem to add up, logically-speaking.

(However, I also do not like the "Alpha" (thick) cases either. Although I can't see how these 4-discers are in any way "unnecessarily oversized". How much thinner are they gonna be able to make a 4-Disc case?? )

It's there. ----> "Pursuit To Algiers".

They couldn't fit the full title on screen, so that no doubt messed up your search for the "complete" movie title.

Of course, DDD also has a needless & incorrect "The" before "Pursuit" in the title, for some reason.

Speaking of that....It's interesting to note that a few of the titles shown on the new MPI SH releases actually show incorrect titling (technically-speaking).....

I.E.: "...IN The Spider Woman" should be "...And The Spider Woman". (Plus the added annoyance of "Spider" being misspelled "Spiper" on the spine of the individual DVD. )

...And "Pearl Of Death" should contain a "The" at the front.

Tiny errors, but still.....

(The analness never ceases..............)

You're right, it doesn't... space-wise. I meant I'd rather have them individually to have the different covers. The size comment should have been made separately.
Just take a look at The Outer Limits boxes. THAT'S how the Holmes sets should have been, if they had to insist on a keepcase. (I'd have preferred a cardboard slipcase holding thin cases, like the Futurama sets, but oh well.)

You were saying...?

"Well its only one commentary per box set. Why they couldn't do a commentary for each film I don't know. I like the looks of the box set though. They look great next to my Jeremy Brett Holmes box sets from MPI. I have the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Brett series as individual releases though and I may sell them to buy the box set so everything matches better.

I'm hoping these do sell well and someone follows suit by releasing the Charlie Chan and Mr Moto films on DVD."

I also had The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes on five individual releases. I sold them to a friend so I could buy the box set. It takes up less space.

Well, that's the "U.K." title. Not the original USA title of the film.
Orig. titling being: "Sherlock Holmes And The Spider Woman".

I loved Gale Sondergaard in this film. She also starred in the 1946 film The Spider Woman Strikes Back, which actually had nothing to do with the Holmes film but is interesting nonetheless. I remember that she was in a soap opera that my mother watched in the seventies called Ryan's Hope.

I'm guessing financial reasons. They obviously have to pay the gentleman to do the commentary. Also, there's only so much one can say about the series without being repetitive. I think the commentator did a good job of integrating the other films into the commentary. In other words, the commentary in Volume 1 (Faces Death) mentions the other three films in Volume 1. The same for Volume 2 (Scarlet Claw)


[/QUOTE] I'm hoping these do sell well and someone follows suit by releasing the Charlie Chan and Mr Moto films on DVD." [/B][/QUOTE]

Amen. I feel the same way. A number of Chan/Moto fans (myself included) have written letters to Mr. Staddon at Fox suggesting same.

[/QUOTE] Tiny errors, but still..... [/B][/QUOTE]

Another not so tiny error was that box 2 flipped the order of "Spider Woman" and "Pearl of Death" in the packaging. It never ceases to amaze me the number of errors I see in liner notes on CDs and DVDs. Even the Looney Tunes Golden Collection had an incorrect spelling of the word "Music" on one of the on screen menus.

I agree with you re. the ThinPaks. Those are nice. (And space-saving.)

But is this Outer Limits' case very much different in width size vs. what MPI is utilizing for the Holmes' sets? They both appear to be 4-disc Alpha cases
to me. (Or do the SH cases have an "extra" (second) inner panel? I see this Outer Limits' one has just one extra "door" or "panel".) ........

Yes, I noticed this juxta-positioning too.

The correct order (chronologically) on that set (Volume 2) should have been.....

The Spider Woman
The Scarlet Claw
The Pearl Of Death
The House Of Fear
Don't tell me they spelled it "Musick"??

But I know what you mean re. liner notes/inserts. A pet-peeve is the word "it's" vs. "its". So many times you see the contraction "it's" ("it is") being used when it should not have the apostrophe.

I don't mind a small error in the inserts as much as having a blatant misspelling of something right on the front cover, or spine .... Like the "Spiper" Woman error on the Sherlock DVD. That one bugs me, because it's on the part that's nearly always "facing out" on the shelf. (I couldn't stand it for very long; so I corrected it myself. )

How much could this guy have charged for that commentary? It is not as if he had anything to do with making them.

How can you guys complain about the cases these things come in? My Lord, it's about the movies, not the packaging!

I never thought Rathbone was a good Holmes, but I have the cheap 4 movie version that was out some time ago. The Brett dics are just so much fun to watch.

Also, where is Rathbone's HOUND OF THE BASKERVILES going to be found?

We already know we like the movies, so naturally there's no complaining about them.

Yes, the Holmes box has TWO inner pieces, where the Outer Limits box has only one. Yet they both hold the same number of discs.

It is ??????
Boy, have I been a sucker!
I'm releasing the Hounds (of Baskerville no less, Smithers) on the individual who posted this blasphemy!
Perry Mason's perennial sidekick, Paul Drake, reports this (via a rival site) ........

>> "I've read elsewhere that the commentary for "Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" will be recorded in December. That should put the two Foxes ("Hound" and "Adventures") into late first quarter for a release timeframe."


"Watson! .... The needle!"

Very timely post David! I got an e-mail from MPI just yesterday indicating that these two films are indeed coming in March (no specific date was given). They will be individual releases as opposed to a 2 DVD box set.

Both films will feature commentaries. "Hound" will use Mr. Davies (who has done the others) and "Adventures" will be commented on by Richard Valley, who has written the liner notes for this series.

This first quarter of '04 is shaping up to a doozy for classics on DVD:

Universal Holmes Vol 3
Hound and Adventures
Van Dyke season 3
Ma and Pa Kettle volume 1
Abbott and Costello volume 1
Gilligan's Island Season 1 (embarassed grin)


By the way I agree with you 100% about the cover art for the individual releases. I have the boxes and I miss having the great cover shots on the individual releases.

I'm looking forward to this one almost as much as the SH releases. And a great deal to boot. EIGHT of their best with an MSRP of only $24.98! We can only hope the transfers are as good as what we've seen in the Holmes collections.

Excellent, Paul .... Ex-cell-ent!!
Yes. I originally thought each "Boxed Set" would be packaged similar to the Indiana Jones set, with separate cases for each movie. But nooooooo.....

But I "got lucky" there, being able to "offset" the difference in price (boxed sets vs. individual) utilizing DDD's recent 20% off sale. (Actually getting the separates for less than the boxes.)

And your news of the FOX films definitely coming in "separate" cases is good news, IMO, too. (I thought they probably would be separate though.)

The two FOX "separates" should blend in nicely with the other twelve. And since MPI is doing the FOX ones too...we should get consistently-similar cover-art designs on them too....wouldn't you think?

Upon checking MPI's website, I can't find any cover images (yet) on the March releases.

"But I "got lucky" there, being able to "offset" the difference in price (boxed sets vs. individual) utilizing DDD's recent 20% off sale. (Actually getting the separates for less than the boxes.) "

Only the boxed sets have the audio commentaries.

So....????

Yes, I know that -- about the commentaries only being on the sets. (There are only 2 -- 1 per set. Doubtful I would have listened to them anyway --- unless they managed a Roger Ebert commentary, or a "Basil From Beyond The Grave" track).

According to MPI's homepage, it appears The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes are now set for release in April (on the 27th).

The covers can be seen at Richard Valley's Scarlet Street website

The commentaries are quite good. They are filled with a great deal of information about the series.

While I'm really glad that the last two will be released, I was somewhat bummed to read the following.

This is quoted from an article in the January 25th edition of Video Store magazine (a trade publication). Ben Pavlovic is production coordinator for MPI.

Pavlovic said that these two, which many consider the best in the series, did not undergo the same extensive restoration that the 12 from Univeral did.

Still, "they look better than what's been out on home video in the past," he said.

They will include commentary tracks, production notes and photo galleries.

"We saved them for last because we put good bonus items on them," Pavlovic said.

Another interesting item from the same article was:

The UCLA restoration project was partially funded by Playboy's Hugh Hefner, Pavlovic noted.