John Cleese – The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It
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(as of Oct 21, 2025 06:26:14 UTC – Details)
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.
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
MPAA rating : NR (Not Rated)
Product Dimensions : 7.75 x 5.75 x 0.53 inches; 0.01 ounces
Item model number : D1663
Director : Joseph McGrath
Media Format : Color, Multiple Formats, NTSC
Run time : 56 minutes
Release date : July 15, 2003
Actors : Arthur Lowe, Holly Palance, John Cleese, Joss Ackland, Ron Moody
Studio : White Star
ASIN : B0000A5L2D
Writers : Jack Hobbs, John Cleese, Joseph McGrath
Number of discs : 1
Best Sellers Rank: #33,728 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV) #1,589 in Mystery & Thrillers (Movies & TV) #4,065 in Comedy (Movies & TV) #5,263 in Drama DVDs
Customer Reviews: 3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 41 ratings var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });
11 reviews for John Cleese – The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It
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The Grey Piper –
Delightful farce!
The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It (1977) Running Time: 55 min. ‘ John Cleese Connie Booth The Strange Case of the End of Civilization As We Know It is a spoof of the Sherlock Holmes detective series, as well as the mystery genre in general. The film begins aboard a luxury aircraft as US diplomat Dr. Henry Gropinger (a Dr. Henry Kissinger parody) travels on a goodwill tour. His diary stolen, he no longer knows where he is or is supposed to be next. Stepping off the plane, he is shot dead after offering woefully erroneous greetings to a reception committee of Arabs. Soon after, the U.S. President (a President Gerald Ford parody) receives a threatening letter signed only “Moriarty”, claiming responsibility for the death. The letter also claims Moriarty has set in motion a plan that will allow him to gain control of the world. True to form, this latter-day Holmes also has a taste for certain illicit substances, stashed in containers bearing legends such as “Grand Royal African Special Selection” and “Herbs Au Sherlock Holmes”.Cleese’s performance is reminiscent of Basil Fawlty, with Arthur Lowe’s Watson standing in for Manuel, although Manuel of course was not the blithering dolt this sidekick is. This show aired once or twice in the US, and many critics regard it as the least of Cleese’s works, citing flat humor, low budget, and ethnic references which may be inappropriate by modern standards. The last has probably received the greatest assault in dismissing this movie, yet the original Monty Python series had far more racially-charged material. All in all, even if this is not the best work that John Cleese ever did, it is still John Cleese. And that alone puts it head and shoulders above 99% of the rest of what passes for comedy these days. So there.[…]
Mick DeLeon –
John Cleese takes a turn at Conan-Doyle
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.
victor cuccolo –
a humorous take on the legendary Sherlock Holmes
John Cleese at his funniest the Monty Python alum is hilarious as Holmes’ very inept descendant Arthur Sherlock Holmes and Arthur Lowe really sends up Dr.Watson the entire cast is excellent saw this on PBS and had a blast just as funny as i remembered it
L. Cable –
VERY DISAPPOINTING! ! ! ! !
I guess I have to be in the right mind set for John Cleese. This one fell flat. I am trying to collect a variety of Sherlock Holmes but I could have easily left this one out of the collection. Didn’t hate it but wouldn’t recommend it either.
Searcher –
Hilarious film
Very funny and entertaining
AmazonCustomerSince’94 –
Don’t Buy This Tape . . .
It is awful–I mean it. It is worse than “How To Irritate People” and before I wasted the (money) on this I thought it would be impossible for Cleese to film something worse than “Irritate”. You want to see John and Connie in their finest hours together?? Buy the complete set of “Fawlty Towers.” It is their finest work.
Historylover –
Yes it’s stupid, but…
It is a very stupid movie, but it has moments of great hilarity and Cleese is in great form. The who’s the real Watson scene is worth the price of the DVD alone. Holmes:One of you is an imposter! Watson:Good Lord! Is it me?
LN –
entertaining
Not the best Cleese movie, but quite “goofy” and entertaining. The very poor quality of the DVD does not help..
Stephen Sandford –
Having read the previous 2 reviews I thought I’d better put the record straight.This was not a movie but a lowish budget ITV TV special. (Hence the gaps where the adverts were).This is also a pretty poor quality disc and looks like it has been re-recorded from VHS.The TV program was only ever shown once and will never be shown again as it is not now ‘politically correct’.Having said that, after a slow start, it is very very funny with some excellent comic performances (particuarly Arthur Lowe).If you get the chance, watch it!
Bernhard Warnke –
Ein Sherlock-Holmes Abenteuer mit John Cleese als Meisterdetektiv? Da KANN man ja eigentlich nichts falsch machen.Doch, man kann.Das Abenteuer muss in den Siebzigern für das britische Fernsehen produziert worden sein, und scheinbar entweder komplett auf Video, oder man hat sich bei der Erstellung der DVD einfach keine Mühe gegeben das ganze zu remastern. Die Bildqualität und auch die Qualität des Tons sind in etwa so, wie man sich eine VHS vorstellt, die seit Mitte der siebziger in irgendeinem Schrank liegt.So richtig lustig ist das ganze dann auch nicht. Viele Gags kennt man so oder ähnlich von den Monty Pythons oder aus Fawlty Towers, wo sie bloss leider besser funktionieren. Oftmals wird hier der Gag über Minuten zu Tode geritten, obwohl man schon längst die Pointe erahnt. Hin und wieder konnte ich lachen, weitaus öfter habe ich aber verlegen die Stirn kraus ziehen müssen.Mein Rat also auch für den Holmes-Komplettisten: Hier vielleicht lieber doch nicht zugreifen.
Ulric von Bek –
Intermittently funny but disappointing overall.