Murder by Decree

1979

Action / Crime / Mystery / Thriller

26
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Certified Fresh 81% · 16 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 65% · 1K ratings
IMDb Rating 6.8/10 10 7247 7.2K

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Plot summary

Sherlock Holmes is drawn into the case of Jack the Ripper, who is killing prostitutes in London's East End. Assisted by Dr. Watson, and using information provided by a renowned psychic, Robert Lees, Holmes finds that the murders may have their roots in a Royal indiscretion and that a cover-up is being managed by politicians at the highest level, all of whom happen to be Masons.

Director

Top cast

Tedde Moore as Mrs. Lees
Donald Sutherland as Robert Lees
Christopher Plummer as Sherlock Holmes
John Gielgud as Prime Minister Lord Salisbury
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU 2160p.BLU.x265
1.11 GB
1280*694
English 2.0
NR
23.976 fps
2 hr 3 min
Seeds 8
2.06 GB
1920*1040
English 2.0
NR
23.976 fps
2 hr 3 min
Seeds 15
5.55 GB
3840*2072
English 5.1
NR
24 fps
2 hr 3 min
Seeds 7

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by rmax304823 7 / 10

A Kinder, Gentler Holmes.

Reviewed by

Reviewed by Libretio 7 / 10

Vivid teaming of Holmes/Watson and Jack the Ripper

MURDER BY DECREE

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Sound format: Mono

London, 1888: Whilst investigating a series of murders committed by 'Jack the Ripper', Sherlock Holmes (Christopher Plummer) and Dr. Watson (James Mason) uncover a Masonic conspiracy which leads them to the very heart of the British Establishment.

During the summer of 1973, the BBC ran a six-part documentary series entitled "Jack the Ripper" (also known as "The Ripper File"), in which two popular fictional detectives (played by Stratford Johns and Frank Windsor) investigated the 'true' identity of Jack the Ripper, using all the evidence available to them at the time. Their conclusions form the basis of Bob Clark's all-star period thriller MURDER BY DECREE, which condenses vast amounts of information into a single digestible screenplay. The film's lavish recreation of Victorian London (extravagant opera houses, cobbled streets and miles of gloomy Whitechapel alleyways populated by hundreds of costumed extras) belies its modest $4m budget, and for once, the starry supporting cast - including Anthony Quayle, David Hemmings, John Gielgud and Donald Sutherland - seems perfectly suited to the material.

A combination of Gothic thriller and historical whodunnit, John Hopkins' comprehensive screenplay outlines the social and political divisions which prevailed in England at the time of the Ripper murders, hindering the police investigation and prompting a number of conspiracy theories which persist to this day. However, the script also contains a number of memorable character touches (the episode of the 'errant pea' is most prized by fans) which prevents the narrative from surrendering to mere facts and figures. Plummer and Mason are ideal as Holmes and Watson, though Genevieve Bujold almost steals the film during a heartbreaking sequence in which Holmes looks for clues in a crumbling asylum. You may not agree with the film's conclusions - the same evidence was re-evaluated by author Stephen Knight in his popular non-fiction account 'Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution' (1976) and David Wickes' excellent TV movie JACK THE RIPPER (1988) starring Michael Caine - but MURDER BY DECREE is generally acknowledged as one of the best Ripper/Holmes movies ever made.

Incidentally, the film's PG rating seems extraordinarily lenient. While MURDER BY DECREE doesn't exactly revel in violence, it conveys the grislier aspects of the Ripper's crimes with enough potency to warrant a PG-13 (unavailable at the time of this film's initial release).

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