tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8121497265402071351.post2714443412274722706..comments2023-10-05T20:30:21.364-07:00Comments on Things That Don't Suck: Murder By DecreeBryce Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17040954580033470664noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8121497265402071351.post-37488643444908708112011-03-08T23:31:34.875-08:002011-03-08T23:31:34.875-08:00Listen brother, I don't know what kind of inve...Listen brother, I don't know what kind of investment you have in Murder By Decree, but the sets looked like a highschool play. <br /><br />I'm not saying this against Clark, I'm saying the guy had limited means. The Covent Gardens may have looked great, but the docks seemed made out of plywood. Sometimes it just doesn't matter how much effort you put in on it, can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear.Bryce Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17040954580033470664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8121497265402071351.post-60773316534577548822011-03-08T23:24:38.330-08:002011-03-08T23:24:38.330-08:00That's fine, but can you at least admit that y...That's fine, but can you at least admit that you were WRONG about the sets?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8121497265402071351.post-34366513941242905142011-03-08T23:15:43.697-08:002011-03-08T23:15:43.697-08:00And yet the sleep I will lose over this will be re...And yet the sleep I will lose over this will be remarkably minimal.Bryce Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17040954580033470664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8121497265402071351.post-54521939971380832072011-03-08T22:06:52.920-08:002011-03-08T22:06:52.920-08:00I saw some nits I wanted to pick as I read this, b...I saw some nits I wanted to pick as I read this, but then decided to leave them alone when I read the following from you:<br />"Murder By Decree does the best with what it has. The sets are obviously reused, cheap, and sparsely populated (The budget was a mere 4 million). To the viewer used to the sumptuous design of modern day period pieces, Murder By Decree’s thrift store approach to the past and slow pace might be off putting."<br />Now, let me quote from<br />http://www.bakerstreetdozen.com/plummer.html<br />"Not only is the cast of a high caliber, the production itself is remarkable. Elstree Studios was home to the construction of a vast complex of streets, cobbled alleyways, a square and a courtyard as well as the busy thoroughfare of Whitechapel’s main street. At the time, this was the largest set ever built, taking 100 men over 8 weeks to construct, in England on a studio sound stage. 4,000 square feet of cobblestones were laid in sheets each three feet by one and a half feet, made of reinforced concrete. 30 molds were made from which two batches were produced daily, taking 6 men 30 days to manufacture, using 20 tons of cement and 150 tons of sand. And finally, stale fruit and vegetables were blended with Fuller’s earth, combined with manure and then strewn along the cobbled streets. Three different types of brick were cast for the buildings and 5,000 sheets were made, each being 6 by 5 feet. 10 men spent eight weeks casting the 150, 000 square feet of bricks and tacking them to the walls. Responsible for the concept and execution of the set was Production Designer Harry Pottle, who ensured that every detail was authentic to the period, from unique tin match boxes to a lily decorated urn visible in an Undertakers window.<br />Meanwhile, at Shepperton Studios, on their largest sound stage, an authentic recreation of the London docks was erected, complete with a river Thames flowing by. This set took 50 men two months to construct. A 100-foot wharf was made from Victorian railway ties. To recreate the murky look of the Thames, a tank, 120’ wide by 90’ long was built requiring 36 hours to fill with half a million gallons of water. All because Bob Clark was insistent on total authenticity.<br />'We were trying to get a flavor of the London of Gustave Dore. But he was about 30 years to early for us, we studied his drawings and engravings then updated our interpretation.'<br />The effort appears worthwhile on screen when combined with actual location shooting. Along with the aforementioned Royal Academy and Wyndham’s Theater were locations which included Clink Street in the East End of London, the Royal Naval College at Greenwich for a recreation of Park Lane and finally the exterior of 221B Baker Street was actually a quiet backwater stretch of Barton Street. It is an impressive picture particularly as it was made on a total budget of $5, 000, 000."<br />I've also seen a "making-of" featurette at some point in my life that left my sufficiently impressed with the design & construction of the sets.<br />This is the first blog post I've ever read of yours, and will likely be the last.<br />So there!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8121497265402071351.post-85430802629546676442010-02-09T09:22:12.545-08:002010-02-09T09:22:12.545-08:00Yeah, but I guess Mason just felt so fussy.
But y...Yeah, but I guess Mason just felt so fussy.<br /><br />But yes I'm definitely giving Moore the edge on this one. LOVE From Hell.Bryce Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17040954580033470664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8121497265402071351.post-10365315928057427082010-02-09T06:26:20.999-08:002010-02-09T06:26:20.999-08:00I love Murder by Decree, although I agree it's...I love Murder by Decree, although I agree it's flawed. Definitely better than the film of From Hell, although the Alan Moore comic is argubly better than both of them. Mostly I just like the scene with Watson eating peas - summed up the Holmes/Watson dynamic in that film perfectly.Chris Reganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15175026345423194092noreply@blogger.com