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Sherlock Holmes
(1916)

Thought to be lost for many years, this film adaptation of a famous stage play (itself adapted from the stories of Arthur Conan Doyle) was discovered languishing in the film vaults of La Cinémathèque française. Far more famous than the film itself is the mythic reputation of actor William Gillette, a man reputed to have developed the most accurate thespic interpretation of Doyle’s world-famous character.

Flicker Alley
2015 Blu-ray Disc / DVD edition

Sherlock Holmes (1916), color-tinted black & white, 116 minutes, not rated, with Sherlock Holmes Baffled (1900), black & white, 1 minute, not rated, A Canine Sherlock Holmes (1912), color-tinted black & white and black & white, 15 minutes, not rated, Più forte che Sherlock Holmes (1913), black & white, 6 minutes, not rated, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1929), black & white, 11 minutes, not rated, and Sherlock Holmes Turns Engineer (1930), black & white, 6 minutes, not rated.

Flicker Alley, FA0042,
UPC 6-17311-67669-7, ISBN 1-893967-66-2.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Regions ABC Blu-ray Disc; 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in pillarboxed 16:9 (1920 x 1080 pixels) 24 fps progressive scan image encoded in SDR AVC format at 25.5 Mbps average video bit rate; DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound encoded at 4.0 Mbps audio bit rate; optional English or French language intertitles, no subtitles; 16 chapter stops; and one single-sided, dual-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD disc; 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan image encoded in SDR MPEG-2 format at 4.8 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to ? fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 5.1 surround sound encoded at 448 Kbps audio bit rate; optional English or French language intertitles, no subtitles; 16 chapter stops; standard three-disc BD keepcase; $39.95.
BD/Release date: 3 November 2015.
Country of origin: USA

This Blu-ray Disc / DVD edition has been mastered in high-definition from the 35mm restoration materials produced by La Cinémathèque française from their 35mm nitrate duplicate negative. The restoration was produced in partnership with the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.

The film is presented accompanied by an original score composed and performed by Neil Brand, Guenter Buchwald and Frank Bockius.

The edition is supplemented by a number of Sherlock Holmes silent era films, plus the 1929 sound film appearance of Arthur Conan Doyle discussing his famous detective character and his own mystical beliefs. Included is a PDF of Gillette’s 1899 play adaptation, and one of his 1916 contract with Essanay to produce the film.

This Regions ABC Blu-ray Disc / Region 0 NTSC DVD edition is available directly from . . .