Holmes movies?

Saw this article about a possible new Holmes movie coming up. I have to say I'm interested, but frightened at the same time since very, very few Holmes movies have come even close to the mark.

I thought Ian Richardson played an excellent Holmes in two made for TV films in the 1980s of Hound of the Baskervilles and Sign of Four. Alas, he passed away two months ago.

I have the first series of the Jeremy Brett episodes from the mid-80's on Region 1 DVD; I've nearly worn them out. At the moment, "The Blue Carbuncle" is my favorite in that season - I'd highly recommend it.
I saw the Rupert Everett "Case of the Silk Stocking" finally...liked it, didn't love it.

(hi-new to the group)
I agree with Absinthe - I love the Granada series (although as the seasons went on they went farther away from the original books)
The Dancing men, The Second stain, and The Six napoleans were excellent.

I hope they dont mess Holmes up too badly.

I confess to finding Basil Rathbone coming closest to my mental image of Holmes (chicken or egg??). Nigel Bruce was much too much of an old buffer for my taste and the films themselves leave much to be desired, particularly the later ones with their message to the American people to support the Brits and freedom against the Nazi menace.

Rathbone did have the physical quickness and decisiveness that Holmes demands - Brett sometimes verges on the languorous, and not only when on the coke.

Jeremy Brett is the one and only Holmes for me... I can't get enough of him!

~~EK

I just posted in another thread that last night, watching one of the House episodes, I thought that Hugh Laurie would make an excellent Sherlock Holmes...

Hmm - think we could get Stephen Fry to play Dr Watson? or is that too Johnny Depp an idea?

Robert A. Mosher

#9> Robert, not a bad idea.......:-))

Well, seeing how well Laurie pulls off House, who is a very Holmes like character, I for one, agree with you Robert. He'd certainly be closer to the original characterisation than some of the others I've seen. Its been a while since I read any of the originals by Conan-Doyle, but I seem to remember Holmes was meant to be an addict violinist that most people couldn't really stand to be around because he was so acidic. Of course, thats almost exactly who house is, just swap the violin for a piano, and the cocaine (???) for pill popping, and you've got House.

#11> That is EXACTLY why I thought of him as Holmes (beside the fact that I can see Laurie as Holmes, from the physical point of view, I mean).

I love Brett's performance and am sorry he died. I agree he was somewhat "languorous" but I think people who live in their heads often are. What I did not like about Rathbone was that the movies were relocated in time. Holmes was a 19th century man.

When did the Rathbones take place? Also, who thinks a spoof of the Holmes stories starring Data would be cool?

I saw Rathbone movies where he was riding in cars. Looks like 30s.

There were a couple episodes with Data on the Holideck as Holmes. Also with Moriarity but he was not a villian. When data programed the holideck he asks for a villian worthy of him (he meant to say of Holmes but he actually said of himself "Data.") Moriarity eventually takes over the enterprise. I think there were two or three episodes.

The Rathbone movies started in the correct time-period but then when the war started, th studio moved the characters into present time in order to boost the war effort, thereby allowing Holmes and Watson to battle Nazis. They are still enjoyable films but there does seem something wrong with Holmes outside his era.

Not that that is unusual - there have been a number of attempts to move Holmes into more recent times.

Re Jeremy Brett - one of the issues was that Brett was bipolar, leading to a nervous breakdown in the middle of the 4 series. The effects of this illness grew as time went on and you can see the deterioration of his health in the later episodes.

With close reading of the canon, one sees that Holmes was indeed often languorous, in stark contrast to his periods of manic activity. Quite a few people have seen him as bipolar, which no doubt is one reason Brett was drawn to the role and was (I agree) the definitive Holmes. There have been critics who felt he was too histrionic at times, but again, there it is in the canon.

As a physician, Doyle rendered the condition perfectly. It's a horrible affliction. Part of what killed Brett, as I recall, was side effects from the drugs. My sister-in-law has been bipolar since her late teens, and the drugs have nearly destroyed her kidneys. You can see the puffiness in Brett's face and neck. He must have had similar issues.

Has anyone read Bending the Willow, the Davies biography? The used copies are hideously expensive - $85 and up.

Re #17 and "Bending the Willow." No, I haven't read it but I'm very intrigued. Used copies are slightly cheaper on amazon.co.uk.

Re #17: I found a copy of "Bending the Willow" for about $35 on Amazon, I think. I started reading it on the way back from the mailbox and didn't stop until I was done. It's not so much a biography as an account of how Brett came to embody Holmes--the title refers to Brett's own phrase for the little tweaks he gave to the character, how he wanted to explore, bend, and stretch Conan Doyle's creation while being careful not to break it. The book mostly deals with how Brett's condition enabled him to do so, while sometimes leading him to make questionable decisions in the process. There are also a ton of really great behind-the-scenes anecdotes and interviews with Edward Hardwick. A very interesting and absorbing read, if you can get hold of a copy.

> 19 Danke schoen, wunderkind. I'll see whether I can score one through interlibrary loan. I'm too cheap to pay even the $35.

I must agree with EelKat, Brett is definitely the only Holmes for me.

I too agree - Brett was the perfect Holmes, the one I picture even when I'm reading Sherlock Holmes stories. Even when I see him on My Fair Lady, I'm thinking, "look at Sherlock Holmes when he was younger!"

I know I'm late to the party but I wanted to add my two cents as I've just discovered the Holmes/Brett series. I've only seen a couple (they began playing in my area about a month ago) but I'm hooked. Brett was perfect for the role.

Yes, Jeremy Brett is superb.

Is everyone aware that Robert Downey Jr. (mrrow!) has a Holmes movie coming out this fall? Will play him as a dark, energetic younger Holmes (not surprising). Can't remember who plays Watson.

Jude Law is playing Watson, and I have to say I'm not happy with what I've heard of this movie. Evidently they play up Holmes' martial-arts fighting skills *rolls eyes*

>26 atimco: Now, now - if you revisit the Canon, you'll see that Holmes himself often boasted of his martial arts skills. The TV and film portrayals made him much more sedentary. I think Conan Doyle saw Holmes as rather a dangerous man.

Jude Law strikes me as a decent Watson. We'll have to see ...

"A straight left to a slogging ruffian!"

this thread reminded me of a blog i read a little while back...
http://www.geocities.com/lone_wolf_92001/MartialArtofSherlockHolmes.html

i'm still skeptical about the movie regardless of Holmes' prowess.

Not quite martial arts, perhaps, but evidence of significant physical prowess - in The Speckled Band, after Dr Grimesby Roylott has bent his poker - 'He seems a very amiable person,' said Holmes, laughing. 'I am not quite so bulky, but if he had remained I might have shown him that my grip was not much more feeble than his own.' As he spoke he picked up the steel poker, and with a sudden effort straightened it out again.

Oh, I know Holmes was quite a multi-talented person, but from what I read it sounded like martial arts coolness at the expense of his amazing deductive powers. He seems like much more the action hero than the genius.

My dears, you forget his knowledge of baritsu and prowess with the swordstick, not to mention a claim to some skill in the Sweet Science.

i guess it's sufficent to say he knew enough to push Moriarty off a bloody great cliff!

>11 DeusExLibris:
Hugh Laurie would make an excellent choice but here what I think would be also a good alternative:

Holmes: David Tennant (ok, he is young-ish, but he is full of energy, as should be, and sometimes, in the Dr Who series, he has had that little bit of mad twinkle in the eyes, which should just about be right for the character).
Dr Watson: Bill Bailey (he is chosen not because of his comedy talent but because he has dramatic skills that are not recognized enough).

I think the books do emphasize Holmes's skills at the 'cane'-fighting and French 'savate'. His energy is also evident, so Brett is indeed too langorous in this respect. I think Tennant would be energic enough (and the Dr Who episode taking place in the early 20th C, where he lost his memory, was a good example of the actor playing in a period piece, with confidence and skill).

Otherwise, Holmes-wise, I have the Basil Rathbone set, then the BBC set with Peter Cushing/Richard Roxburgh/Rupert Everett and some Jeremy Brett episodes. I also managed to discuss about the character with a Fellow from Oxford, who had done a few seminars on the subject in his time. But apart from seeing the usual stories being brought to screen, I'd like to see the episodes/stories when Dr Watson and him meet, or the one when Holmes recall his first 'case' that takes place in his youth, I think, at a friend's place.

>33 soniaandree: "the one when Holmes recall his first 'case' that takes place in his youth, I think, at a friend's place."

'The Musgrave Ritual', one of my favorite stories and one of my favorite Jeremy Brett adaptations.

>34 Enodia:

Thank you! I'll look it up! :-)

Raymond Massey in 1931. From 1900 to 1931 there had been over 70 films and I suspect that actors who lived closer to Victorian an Edwardian times had a better feel for period realism. Currently there are 5 different Holmes fims in prodution world wide.