Blu-ray Film Review

Murder by Decree (1979) • Blu-ray [StudioCanal, Vintage Classics]

Sherlock Holmes investigates the murders committed by Jack the Ripper and discovers a conspiracy to protect the killer.

A clever fusion of fact and fiction blending several genres, Murder by Decree remains one of the best big-screen portrayals of Holmes (Christopher Plummer) and Watson (James Mason); here pitting their wits against infamous serial killer ‘Jack the Ripper’. Over the years, I’ve talked with plenty of people who think Sherlock Holmes was a real person, and it’s true we know far more about Holmes than we’ll ever learn about Jack the Ripper.

What we do know about Jack is generally guesswork. He may even have been more than one person. So, our idea of him is just as much a fiction, if not more so! On the other hand, the lives of Holmes and Watson are just as entangled with real places and events. They’ve become a part of London lore; a meme of the collective imagination. Tourists can even choose between Sherlock Holmes and Jack the Ripper tours of the capital, visiting real locations associated…