John Cleese - The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It

Description

John Cleese is hilarious as the descendant of Sherlock Holmes in this modern detective drama of international power politics and intrigue. Unlike his illustrious grandfather however, this Sherlock Holmes only succeeds in bungling every job he organizes. Also stars Arthur Lowe as the "bionic" grandson of Dr. Watson, Stratford Johns as the Commissioner of Police, and Connie Booth as Mrs. Hudson.

Customer Reviews:

John Cleese takes a turn at Conan-Doyle.......2007-08-06

Anything involving a Python rates three stars just off the bat. And John Cleese is a master at the stuffy, but slightly disoriented type he played so well in A Fish Called Wanda, and as the schoolteacher in Life Of Brian. But this movie lacks stronger writing, mainly because of the other "sleuths" played by imitators, which is not funny. The well-known TV and movie detectives, from Charlie Chan to Steve McGarrett, were badly portrayed. A similar un-funny scenario was brought out in Jackie Chan's Fantasy Mission Farce. However, the plot was okay, and the character of Dr. Watson's grandson was well-drawn and played (funnier even than Dudley Moore's version of Watson). It's a must for the Python completist, but not essential for the rest of the world. If I were to release this on DVD, I'd interrupt the scene with the pseudo-sleuths making their cameos (including a Bogie impersonator!) by inserting Graham Chapman's Army Major: "Stop all this! This is silly!", and then speed forward to the final scene involving Moriarty's descendent. That would make this a four-star film.

John Cleese - The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It.......2007-02-12

EXCELLENT ITEM!!

Silly, But Funny!.......2006-09-05

"The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It" is an outrageous comedy which was first shown on the 18th of September in 1977. It is a spoof staring John Cleese, and it spoofs the American Government, Sherlock Holmes, other famous detectives from literature and television with just a bit of James Bond and the Six Million Dollar Man thrown in, just in case that wasn't enough. Also appearing in the film is Connie Booth, who was Cleese's wife and also appeared with him in "Fawlty Towers" (one of the funniest British comedies of all time). This movie was made between the first season (1975) and the second season (1979), and has a much wilder premise than that series.

In this movie, the grandchildren of Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, and Professor Moriarty are once again at odds, as Moriarty is threatening to end civilization as we know it. Cleese is Arthur Sherlock-Holmes, the much less effective detective grandson. Arthur Lowe plays Dr. William Watson, the most dimwitted one ever, and someone that Homes keeps around just for his bionic bits (nose and leg).

The plot of the movie is outrageous and really doesn't matter when all is said and done. It plays out like "The Bicycle Tour" episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus, in that it seems to be a series of skits all linked together by a rather odd story line. There are very funny spoofs of Kissinger and Ford, and ridiculous stereotypes played to the max in a couple of world delegate scenes. Other funny scenes include Holmes and Watson doing a crossword, Watson pulling the knife out of the chief inspector's back and then realizing that it would have been better had he left it in, and the where Holmes finds there are two Watsons.

I admit I have had a soft spot in my heart for this movie ever since I first saw it when I was young. I was worried that it would not be as good now that I am older, but while it is certainly very silly it still has a lot of laughs. I would have gone with four stars on this, but I was disappointed with the video quality and to a lesser extent the sound. It is a short film, running roughly 55 minutes long. There are no extra features on the DVD.

not Monty Python.......2006-07-06

To enjoy this film you have to not have Monty Python expectations. It is much more of the style of Fawlty Towers. In some ways it is like the Carry On films. The actor playing the bus conductor was also one in the Carry On series.

It is a send up of Sherlock Holmes with Watson being even more of a buffoon than Nigel Bruce.

4 stars for a good movie, minus 1 for film quality.......2006-02-13

Actually I'd have given this little gem '4 stars' but for the quality of the cd. It has very obviously been copied from a sub-standard VHS tape. It was an unpleasant surprise in an otherwise funny movie.

As for the movie itself, very good. I liked the caricatures, the sight gags, the silliness. John Cleese, Arthur Lowe, Denholm Elliot, Connie Booth -- all good British actors and it was fun seeing them (and others) here. An untypical Sherlock Holmes film, with semi-mystery, semi-suspense, a wonderful Watson, and Cleese being Cleese. (A must watch for Cleese-ers is A FISH CALLED WANDA, where he proved once again in a classic scene that he can do more with facial expressions than many actors can do with a page full of lines.)

I really enjoyed this film despite the shoddy quality. If you're a Cleese or even a Holmes fan, get it and have some fun.

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