Sleuth

A superb script - adapted by Anthony Shaffer from his own play - is obviously required, but when put in the hands of this cast it rises above its one room setting to become something really special.The leads - Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine - do not put a foot wrong in what is possibly one of the most exciting thriller adaptations of the 20th century. And it is obvious that they relish the chance to really show what they can do.No spoilers, but for those who have not seen it before the ending is unforgettable.Don't miss it!

"Sleuth" (1972) starring Lord Laurence Olivier (1907 - 1989) and Sir Michael Caine (1933 - ), directed by Joseph Mankiewicz (1909 - 1993) is a 2 man "tour de force" stage play presented on film, shot mostly at a famous English restored 15th century manor house mansion called "Athelhampton Hall," owned in 1972 by Joseph Cooke, then a member of the UK Parliament.Here are details about Athelhampton Hall in England (comments about the "Sleuth" movie follow).............---------------------The hall is a Grade I listed 15th-century privately owned country house on 160 acres (65 ha) of parkland. It is now open for public visits.An internet "virtual tour" is possible by visiting WWW.Athelhampton.Co.Uk/Sir William Martyn had the current Great Hall built in about 1493. A West Wing and Gatehouse were added in 1550, but in 1862 the Gatehouse was demolished.Sir Robert Long bought Athelhampton House in 1665 from Sir Ralph Bankes. In 1684 an attempt was made by the court to sequester the estate from the then owner, James Long Esquire (son of Sir James Long, 2nd Baronet), to recover a debt, but this seems to have been unsuccessful. The estate passed down through the Long family to William Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley (Viscount Wellesley, later 5th Earl of Mornington), who sold it in 1848 to George Wood.In 1891, the house was acquired by the antiquarian Alfred de Lafontaine, who carried out restoration to the interior and added the North Wing in 1920-21.At the same time de Lafontaine engaged Inigo Thomas to create one of England's great gardens as a series of "outdoor rooms" inspired by the Renaissance. 20 acres (8.1 ha) of formal gardens are encircled by the River Piddle, and consist of eight walled gardens with numerous fountains and pavilions, plus a balustraded terrace, statues, obelisks and vistas through gate piers. Great Court contains 12 giant yew pyramids set around the pool by the great terrace.The lawn to the west has an early 16th-century circular dovecote, and the south terrace features a vast Magnolia grandiflora and a Banksian rose. Pear trees cover the old walls and support roses and Clematis.Athelhampton has been owned by three generations of the Cooke family, the present owners. It was the setting for the 1972 film "Sleuth".---------------------------The movie lasts almost 2 1/2 hours and is hard to watch and get enthusiastic about in spite of the very good actor work of the two movie stars who are the only actors seen in the movie.The lovely "Athelhampton Hall" setting is sort of the "third actor" in the show, and is one of the reasons the movie's pacing is slowed down (a small part of the movie was shot in London movie studios, but I would guess less than 10% was).Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine are always worth seeing....they are two of England's best movie actors, and the problem parts of the movie are greatly forgiveable simply because of the good work the two stars provide.That said, there are indeed many "problem parts" of "Sleuth" (1972), and the characters presented by the writer are not interesting or sufficiently endearing to justify the long time the viewer is asked to spend with them.It is important to like the stars of any movie, and that includes villains, and people who engage in villainy.Neither of the 2 main (only) characters in "Sleuth" (1972) is sufficiently likeable to keep viewers interested, regardless of the superb job Olivier and Caine do with what they are given.Laurence Olivier probably owned a large percentage of the movie....Michael Caine was just beginning to act in movies he also owned ("Get Carter" [1971] was the first movie Caine produced and owned, partly)."Sleuth" (1972) shows off Olivier's actor talent, which Olivier was no doubt happy with....and since he was the boss of the production, questions about the movie being a big "ego trip" for Olivier were probably not raised, neither, likely, were objections to the movie's shortcomings....too long, too slow, too obvious, not well written in many ways.What the viewer and movie historian are left with is the fact that "Sleuth" (1972) is a very important and famous movie starring two of the most important movie actors of the 20th century, and at the same time, it is a mediocre movie in many ways.It is technically and historically interesting, and not more.For people (I am one) interested in "stage plays made into movies which remain interesting historical examples of well done stage plays," this movie is worth knowing about and seeing at least once.BTW, stage plays like "Sleuth" (1972)....a play made into a movie..is arguably an art form which many people agree probably died around 1980....see the excellent documentary titled "Broadway: The Golden Age" [2004] which presents this view.Any movie which stars Laurence Olivier is important (also true of any movie starring Michael Caine), and therefore, "Sleuth" (1972) is important......but this doesn't mean it's a good movie."Sleuth" (1972) is a bad movie with good qualities and excellent actors.....not the same thing as a good movie, sadly.--------------------Tex (David) Allen is a SAG-AFTRA accredited movie actor. See the IMDb website for details about him.

This is a hard movie to find on disc, and especially at a decent price. So a few days ago, I purchased the Umbrella Entertainment DVD (December 4, 2015 listed release date), which is an Australian All-Region playback release.This is my report. I tested the disc in my U.S. configured Playstation 3, which plays Blu-rays and will upscale DVDs. The output TV is a Sony LCD 1080p with a 40-inch screen. The disc plays fine. However, the disc is as barebones as it can possibly get. No menus. No extras. There is a quick Umbrella Entertainment logo video sequence (a few seconds). Then the movie just plays immediately. There are optional English subtitles. On a remote, press a menu button, and play exits to a black screen. Press enter or play again, and the movie resumes. There are a few chapter stops within the movie, but these are only accessible by pressing the "previous" or "next" buttons during playback. At the end of the movie, play stops, and the screen goes black. Press enter or play again, and the movie starts over from the beginning. The video aspect ratio is 1.77:1, letterboxed for standard 4:3 television screens. So on a widescreen 1.78:1 set, the video will have black bars on all four sides of the movie image. The video quality is relatively poor for DVD, with a lack of sufficient sharpness, and a high level of grain. My DVDs usually look much better on playback with this same setup. The sound is fine (I'm no expert).I know of two alternatives to this release, both Anchor Bay region 1 releases. However, both are long out of print and much more expensive than this release. The 1998 Anchor Bay release is 1.66:1 letterboxed. The 2002 Anchor Bay release is 1.85:1 anamorphic. I'm not sure if one or both aspect ratios are true to the original theatrical exhibition. This seems like the kind of movie that Kino Lorber would give a proper Blu-ray release at some point, but there's no news on that.

I received the dvd in a timely manner but when played it was just static. I’m sure no fault due to the seller. I would certainly buy from this dealer again.

I've always loved this movie. I had trouble finding it on DVD a few years ago and bought it off Ebay. After getting it, I had the bad feeling it was a bootleg (slightly off front image, bluish coloring to the DVD), so I decided to buy what I hope is the real DVD. I would have preferred a Blu Ray, but it does not seem like anyone is any kind of rush to produce it.The DVD worked fine in my player. The image was excellent (for a DVD, no Blu Ray confusion here).The story itself (without giving too much away) is about young man visiting a mystery writer at his secluded mansion. The young man is accused of having an affair with the writer's wife. The story that follows is a match of wits between the two men and the mental games they play with each other.This is not an action packed movie, it all about the match of wits. One of the best movies I have seen (and my favorite Michael Caine movie).Do not confuse this with the remake starring Michael Caine in the older man's role (I have not seen it so can't comment on it). This is the 1972 movie.

2 Great actors

I remember seeing this movie when I was a teenager, and I still love it today. Great performances by Olivier & Caine, each one playing off each other so well. I love the sets, and it’s easy to see the influence on more contemporary films like Knives Out.It was a great pity when Sleuth was remade some years ago using Michaels Caine as the aging writer, and Jude Law as the younger man, I expected something comparable but it was a disappointment. It’s quite a wordy film, very much a direct translation from the play by Anthony Shaffer (brother to the more prominent playwright Peter Shaffer). Very happy to find this dvd.

レビューページは統一なんですね。邦盤はDVD未発売ですが、どうしても欲しくて輸入盤を購入しました。今回購入したUMBRELLA盤DVDは、リージョンフリーのNTSC方式でしたので問題なく再生できました。VHSに録画してましたので字幕なしでもストーリーは分かりますが、やっぱり邦盤でBlu-rayを出してほしいです。メーカーさん、ご検討ください。

plays well on time for home use

This is a fine movie with and excellent plot peppered with the most unexpected twists and turns.

Da ist es! Das perfekte Anschauungsmaterial für den Fall, dass irgendjemand noch daran zweifeln sollte, dass zwei (oder drei???) Schauspieler mehr als zwei Stunden einen Spannungsbogen erstellen können, der einen vom ersten bis zum letzten Moment fesselt. Dazu bedarf es natürlich zweier echter Vollblutschauspieler und die waren mit Laurence Olivier und Michael Caine gefunden. Was macht es doch für eine ungeheure Freude, den beiden beim 'Spielen' zuzuschauen. Ich vermisse auch in keinster Weise eine deutsche Tonspur oder deutsche Untertitel, denn ich behaupte - und damit mag ich recht allein auf weiter Flur stehen -, dass gerade die Originalsprache den Klassen- und Altersunterschied der beiden viel deutlicher macht als es jede Übersetzung ins Deutsche kann - von den absolut entscheidenden Wortspielen, die nur im Englischen funktionieren, einmal völlig abgesehen.Olivier und Caine merkt man die Spielfreude deutlich an und die Chemie zwischen den beiden ist elektrisierend. Beide waren 1973 für den Oscar® für die beste männliche Hauptrolle nominiert, mussten sich aber Marlon Brando für 'Der Pate' geschlagen geben. Wäre vielleicht auch ungerecht gewesen, einem von beiden den Oscar® zu verleihen, denn der andere wäre automatisch leer ausgegangen. Daß beide den Preis verdient hätten, steht außer Frage. Was mich allerdings ein bisschen verwundert ist, dass Alec Cawthorne nicht als bester Nebendarsteller nominiert wurde - sein Inspector Doppler ist unerreicht.Für Regisseur Joseph L. Mankiewicz war es der Abschied von der Leinwand. Er hätte sich keinen besseren Film aussuchen können. Mit den beiden Schauspielern wird er nicht viel zu tun gehabt haben (ich kann mir ehrlich gesagt nicht vorstellen, dass Olivier und Caine auch nur eine Regieanweisung benötigt haben ;-)), so konnte er sich komplett auf alles andere konzetrieren. Was für ein Luxus für einen Regisseur. Die Ausstattung sei noch extra erwähnt. Was da an Spielen und Anspielungen zusammengetragen wurde, lässt bei jedem Filmfan das Herz höher schlagen: Die Gaslaterne aus der Bakerstreet, der Original-Edgar-Allen-Poe-Preis, den der Autor des Stückes Anthony Shaffer verliehen bekam, ein Rettungsring der RMS Mauretania (das Schiff wurde 1935 außer Dienst gestellt und seitdem diente der ehemalige Leseraum der ersten Klasse als Kantine in den Pinewood Studios, wo der Film gedreht wurde), die Photowand mit Portraits von Marlene Dietrich, Leslie Howard u.v.a. Während der Dreharbeiten 1972 starb der Herzog von Windsor ' seiner wird mit einer relativ langen Einblendung zweier Photos von ihm (einmal als König und das andere während seiner Abdankungsrede) gedacht und für Marguerites Ölbildnis hat Joanne Woodward (Oscar-Preisträgerin und Paul Newmans Ehefrau) Modell gesessen.Ich empfehle dringend, sich diesen Film in der Originalsprache anzuschauen und von der ersten bis zur letzten Minute zu genießen.