DVD Review - Sherlock Holmes: The Great Detective

With all of our road trips this summer, our family checked out numerous audio books for the many hours we spent in the car. On a whim, we tried out a dramatization of Sherlock Holmes stories and were pleasantly surprised at how much we enjoyed them. So it's only natural that we would want to find out more about the world's most famous detective. The best resource we have found is from A&E Network's Biography series, entitled Sherlock Holmes: The Great Detective.

At first it may seem strange that a television series that has focused on important figures in history and entertainment would devote an episode to a fictional character. But it's not an understatement to say that Sherlock Holmes, the first great detective in fiction, is also the most influential character to appear in literature. As the film shows, all fictional detectives in television, movies and books can trace their roots back to Sherlock Holmes.

The film takes us inside the razor-sharp mind of Holmes to reveal his crime-solving methods. The story is told through the eyes of Dr. John Watson, Holmes' loyal sidekick and chronicler of the detective's exploits. Watson addresses a dinner meeting of the Sherlock Holmes Appreciation Society and through the course of the meal reveals the secrets of the great detective.

The film also shows how Holmes' creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, came to create the characters that became so intergral to Holmes' cases. In fact, Doyle can be credited with not only creating the super sleuth but opening the door for numerous other great writers to have their own stories published.

We love teaching history through use of biographies and as this DVD shows, even a biography of a fictional character can be a useful tool in teaching literature. Yes, I would call the Holmes canon (as devotees of the detective stories refer to the collected works) literature. Holmes gave birth to the modern crime novel and can easily be approached as a literary genre.

Be sure to check out Sherlock Holmes: The Great Detective and find out more about the most amazing detective that never lived. The DVD is available from the A&E Shop.