Sherlock - The Bride of Horrors - Blu-ray

Film: Unfortunately, it will be some time before the fourth season of Sherlock flickers across our screens. Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman's busy schedules are dragging out the wait to almost unbearable lengths for fans. But now comes at least a small dose of the cult series in the form of a special, which should make the wait for new episodes a tiny bit more bearable - only to end up making the desire for new material around the master detective even greater.

Different from the previous episodes, the special takes viewers to Victorian England in 1895: Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Dr. Watson (Martin Freeman) are asked by Inspector Lestrade (Rupert Graves) for help. For Scotland Yard is currently investigating a case that is causing Lestrade and his team more than a headache. Emilia Ricoletti (Natasha O`Keeffe) has taken her own life after shooting indiscriminately into the crowd from a balcony. But just a few hours later, she was seen getting out of a carriage and murdering her own husband. Has The Bride of Horrors returned as a ghost? Or does Emilia Ricoletti have a doppelganger? A tricky mystery that only a genius like Sherlock Holmes can solve. But he is almost driven to the brink of madness by this case - and for a surprising reason.

With its original reinterpretation of the stories around the master detective Sherlock Holmes, series creator Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss celebrated great success in the summer of 2010. When it was announced after the end of the third season that fans would have to wait until 2017 for new cases of Sherlock, it was initially a bit of a shock, which was somewhat cushioned by the announcement of a Christmas special in December 2015. When it was announced that this special would be set in 1895, it looked very much as if a story completely detached from the rest of the series would be told here. And that does seem to be the case at the outset. But without giving too much away, let it be said here: The Bride of Horrors has a direct connection to the events of the third season and sets events in motion in a surprising way that will have a direct impact on the next season. Of course, the result of this is that by the end of the special, the desire for the new episodes has been heightened, making the wait even more unbearable.

The special actually starts off quite conventionally. Entertaining, but not really surprising. The twist that this time it's set in the original Sherlock Holmes era and not the present is nice, but nothing more. But then the story takes a really surprising turn. This is where things get a bit quirky and also a bit confusing. But it's worth staying on the ball. Because when it's revealed how this episode ties into the series, it's just great! Benedict Cumberbatch once again delivers a stellar performance as Sherlock, rivaling Martin Freeman as Watson.

More should now but also really not be revealed. Therefore an advice to all fans: Buy this disc and watch the special several times to discover every little detail. It is worth it! Absolutely worth seeing!!!

Picture + Sound: As with the first seasons, the technical realization of this very special episode of Sherlock is on a very good level: the picture is clean, the overall sharpness is on a good to very good level and the rather subtle color scheme perfectly captures the very special atmosphere of the special. The good DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix is primarily dominated by the dialogue and soundtrack, but some well-used sound effects and atmospheric ambient noises keep the surrounds moving nicely. Good.

Extras: In addition to the nearly 90-minute special, there are almost as many more minutes of bonus material. Things kick off with a look at the series with writer/producer/co-creator and Mycroft actor Mark Gatiss (approx. 28:34 mins), as well as his brief production diary (approx. 4:54 mins). That's followed by eight short featurettes about the making of the special, which total just under 30 minutes and provide a good look at various aspects of the production. There's also a conversation between Gatiss and his colleague Steve Moffat, with whom he created the series (approx. 3:40 min.) and some answers from the creators and cast to questions from the #1 fan site about the series (approx. 19:35 min.). Very good!

Conclusion: This special of Sherlock starts off rather conventionally before completely unexpectedly revealing a complexity and abysmalness that makes you want more episodes tremendously, though we'll have to wait until 2017 for that. The Blu-ray presents the special in very good picture and sound quality and also has almost 90 minutes of worth seeing extras on board. For this, there is clearly a: Absolutely recommended!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp