The Death of Sherlock Holmes

Amid the controversy that the new Sherlock Holmes movie depicts a character not in keeping with Sir Arthur Canon Doyle’s original Sherlock Holmes, we look to Canon Doyle’s own words written in the Adventure of the Empty House. Here he has Holmes explain how he survived his great confrontation and battle with his nemesis, Professor Moriarty.

“When I reached the end I stood at bay. He drew no weapon, but he rushed at me and threw his long arms around me. He knew that his own game was up, and was only anxious to revenge himself upon me. We tottered together upon the brink of the fall. I have some knowledge, however, of baritsu, or the Japanese system of wrestling, which has more than once been very useful to me. I slipped through his grip, and he with a horrible scream kicked madly for a few seconds and clawed the air with both his hands. But for all his efforts he could not get his balance, and over he went. With my face over the brink I saw him fall for a long way. Then he struck a rock, bounced off, and splashed into the water.”

Although the spelling is slightly off, we know that Canon Doyle was referring to “bartitsu”, a form of self defense created by Edward William Barton-Wright.

Perhaps it is not so much that the new movie is not in keeping with Canon Doyle’s Holmes as it is that previous portrayals of the detective have down played his physical prowess and skill at the mixed martial art of bartitsu.

You can learn more about the history of Bartitsu: the Gentlemanly Art of Self Defense in this video created by the Bartitsu Society.

A long line of actors have played the iconic detective Sherlock Holmes is an article written by Julie Washington, a reporter for the The Cleveland Plain Dealer that was published on December 20th. Here is the article in its entirety:

As the latest actor to play Sherlock Holmes on film, Robert Downey Jr kept the pipe, added bed head and lost the deerstalker hat.

Downey’s Holmes — whom audiences will meet when “Sherlock Holmes” opens in theaters Christmas Day, Dec. 25 — is a bare-knuckled brawler who keeps his rooms messy and likes to experiment on Watson’s (Jude Law) dog.

Since the silent film days, every actor to play the iconic detective has brought something new to the character. William Gillette, who played a silent-film version of the great detective, added the iconic pipe, deerstalker hat and the saying “Elementary, my dear Watson,” to the popular image of the character, said Wheeler Winston Dixon, Ryan professor of film studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

“Sherlock Holmes became a cinema icon almost as soon as the movies were up and projecting onto silver screen,” writes David Stuart Davies in his book “Starring Sherlock Holmes.”

The fraternity of actors who have brought Holmes to life on stage, television and movies includes well-known actors such as Basil Rathbone and Jeremy Brett, as well as a few surprising members like Charlton Heston, Larry Hagman and John Cleese.

As we prepare to meet a 21st century Holmes and Watson, here’s a sampling of actors who have taken us along on the chase, and some movies they appeared in:

William Gillette

This stage actor was among the first to become identified with the role. He appeared in the first production of the play “Sherlock Holmes” when it opened in New York in 1899 and appeared in the drama until his retirement in 1932. A silent film based on his play is recognized as one of the first Sherlock Holmes movies.

Eille Norwood

“There can be no doubt that Eille Norwood was the silent movies’ greatest Holmes,” writes Davies in “Starring Sherlock Holmes.”

“If only by the sheer volume of his output — starring in 47 titles in two years — he emerges as the champion,” Davies writes.

In the spotlight: “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” is a collection of 15 short films adapted from Doyle’s stories.

Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce

Rathbone and Bruce are the definitive Holmes and Watson for generations of movie-goers thanks to their series of Universal movies made during the 1930s and 1940s, Dixon said. It was a good pairing, with Rathbone’s classically trained, upper crust demeanor playing against Bruce’s not-too-bright Watson. “The two of them played off each other very well,” Dixon said.

Disney even tapped Rathbone to be Holmes’ voice in the animated movie “The Great Mouse Detective.”

In the spotlight: “The House of Fear” (Holmes investigates mutilated murder victims), and “Spider Woman” (Holmes fakes his own death to investigate a rash of suicides).
Peter Cushing: The Hammer horror film veteran played Holmes in British movies and a 1968 television series.

Cushing and Christopher Lee, who were often paired in the Hammer movies, teamed up again when Cushing played Holmes and Lee portrayed Sir Henry Baskerville in 1959’s “The Hound of the Baskervilles,” about an unlucky family pursued by a hound from hell.

In the spotlight: Cushing’s “The Masks of Death,” when three corpses floating in the Thames set Holmes on the trail.

Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke

The duo made a modern-day Holmes and Watson team in a number of British television movies in the 1980s and 1990s. “Jeremy Brett nails it more than anyone else,” making the master detective egomaniacal, openly drug addled, vain and always right, Dixon said.

Brett also played Holmes with David Burke as Watson in the 1980s British television series “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.”

In the spotlight: “The Last Vampyre” (a sinister newcomer to town can kill just by looking at his victims).

John Neville and Donald Houston

“A Study in Terror” (1965) is the first movie to pit Holmes (Neville) and Watson (Houston) against Jack the Ripper. Houston won plaudits for playing Watson as a competent partner the way he was depicted in the stories and not as the bumbling, amiable goof he’d been turned into on the screen.

Christopher Plummer

Plummer played Holmes in “Murder by Decree” opposite James Mason and in a 1962 British movie with Thorley Walters as Watson.

In the spotlight: “Murder by Decree” has Holmes on the trail of Jack the Ripper.

Other notables in the role:

Before he was J.R. on “Dallas” (1978), Larry Hagman was Sherman Holmes in the comedy “The Return of the World’s Greatest Detective” in 1976. Hagman plays a detective who is so obsessed with Holmes that, after a clunk on the head, he believes he is Holmes.

Matt Frewer, aka Max Headroom, starred as the famous detective in three Hallmark television movies in the early 2000s.

Roger Moore starred in 1976’s “Sherlock Holmes in New York” with Patrick Macnee (“The Avengers”) as Watson. Moriarty (John Huston) plots Holmes’ downfall by threatening the world’s gold supply.

“Doctor Who’s” Tom Baker appeared in an adaptation of “The Hound of the Baskervilles” in 1982.

Jonathan Pryce, known from the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies, was Holmes in a 2007 two-part British television program focusing on the Baker Street Irregulars, a gang of street urchins Holmes used as junior investigators.

Shakespearean actor Peter O’Toole (“Lawrence of Arabia”) lent his voice to two animated Sherlock Holmes movies.

John Cleese (“A Fish Called Wanda”) played a drunken Holmes for laughs in the 1973 British television movie “Elementary, My Dear Watson.”

Moses — well, actually Charlton Heston as Holmes — ventures into an opium den to solve a murder in the 1991 television movie “The Crucifer of Blood.”

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This is just a partial list of the actors that have played Sherlock Holmes. Certainly some are more well known than others for their portrayal. Who is your favorite? Please take a moment and vote for your favorite Sherlock Holmes in the poll in the sidebar.

Jude Law as Watson

Last night I watched David Letterman interview Jude Law about his role as Dr. John Watson in the new Sherlock Holmes move set for Christmas release in the United States.

(Did I mention that I have tickets for the first showing Christmas Day morning? I am so very excited about the release of the new Sherlock Holmes movie!)

Okay, enough of that…on to the Letterman show.

It was…okay. Not too dynamic and a bit of a disappointment for Sherlock Holmes fans who tuned in especially to see the interview. Jude was willing to get excited about his role and the movie, but Letterman was not.

Letterman asked trite questions while Jude did his best to express his excitement about the movie and his role in it. I also watched the video of the red carpet premier in London and saw the same zeal for the movie and his part in it.

Jude expressed his vision about the movie that at its heart, it is a fast moving adventure wherein Holmes and Watson have to live together much as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid or the Odd Couple. It could be that it is a combination of both.

He sees Watson as a decorated soldier with the intestinal fortitude of a soldier who had to get his hands dirty.

Aside from his insight into the character of Watson, he said the movie included some fantastic historical areas and amazing set dressings.

Letterman asked if he had read Sherlock Holmes as a kid. Jude replied that while most English boys grow up reading Sir Arthur Canon Doyle’s stories, his first encounter with Sherlock Holmes was when he appeared as in The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place at the age of 16. The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place was an installment in the Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes television series which aired in 1991.

Perhaps David Letterman is not a Sherlock Holmes fan, or maybe he was distracted by thoughts of the holidays. Whatever contributed to his lack of enthusiasm for the new Sherlock Holmes movie, I am not going to let his attitude damper my excitement. What are your plans for seeing the movie?

Avoid the lines and buy your tickets ahead of time at Fandango and get a free exclusive song download!

Empire Leicester Square Cinema

I’ve just finished watching a video of the Sherlock Holmes World Premiere Red Carpet Arrivals at the Empire Theatre in London. Hundreds of fans braved the cold to stand behind barricades as the main players in the production of the film arrived.

On hand were Robert Downey Jr. who plays Sherlock Holmes accompanied by his wife Susan Downey also one of the producers of the film. Other actors included Jude Law who plays Dr, John Watson, Rachel McAdams who plays Irene Adler, Mark Strong who plays Lord Blackwood and Kelly Reilly who plays Watson’s love interest Mary Morstan.

Of course director Guy Ritchie attended as well as producer Joel Silver.

Robert Downey Jr. was very low keyed when asked about how he felt being Sherlock Holmes. He replied, “I don’t really work that way. I had a job to do as did everyone else. And I had really had fun making this movie”

Susan Downey was more enthused and said that viewers are in for a pleasant surprise. While all of the trailers and previews have focused on the action, she said there is at the heart of the movie a real mystery and a lot of intelligence goes into solving that mystery.

Jude Law seemed to have loved playing Watson. He was quite prolific in discussing the good doctor. He feels that Watson is through and through a military man and very stubborn. He added that, “At the end of the day he still wants a little adventure, but knows he needs to settle down.”

Joel Silver said that the movie stays true to the original stories but with a fresh approach. And while set in the Victorian Era, there is a contemporary feel to the movie.

While I’m waiting to hear the reviews, I have just bought my own tickets for the movie release here in the States on Christmas Day. We’re all set to watch the first showing of the new Sherlock Holmes movie, a lovely Christmas gift don’t you think?

Sherlock Holmes Christmas Ornament

Look at this Sherlock Holmes Christmas ornament I found over at Café Press. I just love it!

I know it’s not in keeping with the 2009 images of Sherlock Holmes flooding the media right now in anticipation of the new movie’s release. But it is true to the historical figure created by Sir Arthur Canon Doyle. And as I’ve already stated, I am a long time fan of Sherlock Holmes so I find this depiction to my liking. I place it in the “traditional” category.

Café Press has many other Christmas ornaments celebrating Sherlock Holmes. Go ahead and check out the Sherlock Holmes ornaments for the Sherlock Holmes fan on your Christmas list…or for yourself!

Sherlock Holmes at Madame Tussauds London

Londoners have a particularly huge adoration of Sherlock Holmes as they claim him as one of their own, and the city is buzzing with excitement over the Boxing Day release of the new Sherlock Holmes movie.

Madame Tussauds London is joining in celebrating the new Sherlock Holmes movie with the unveiling of an exhibit featuring Robert Downey Jr. in his portrayal of the infamous detective.

The waxwork and exhibit are the result of collaboration between Madame Tussauds and Warner Brothers and will feature the model of Downey as he appears on the Sherlock Holmes movie posters released to promote the film.

He will be dressed in a black and grey suit with a brocade waistcoat and silken cravat. In keeping with the movie poster’s image, his hair will be tousled and his gaze serious and penetrating.

The life size Sherlock Holmes wax figure was created by a team of 20 artisans working over four months. It includes real hairs that have been inserted one-by-one and countless layers of paints and tints to create life like skin tones. Over 300 precise measurements were taken of Downey to ensure the genuineness of the figure. The figure was completed at a cost of 150,000 British pounds or 244,550 American dollars.

Visitors to Madame Tussauds London can see the Sherlock Holmes waxwork in a Victorian-inspired set that includes an interactive experience. If you go, please leave a comment and let the rest of us know what you think of the exhibit.

The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place

I wonder if Jude Law ever thought back in 1991 when he played Joe Barnes in The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place that he would ever appear in another Sherlock Holmes work.

Here in San Diego, PBS broadcasts reruns of the Sherlock Holmes television series “The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes” starring Jeremy Brett. Last week they aired The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place which originally aired on March 7, 1991. This story is the last of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and is one of 12 stories in the cycle collected as The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes.

The story takes advantage of Watson’s love of gambling on horses to introduce the story’s characters. Holmes is approached by John Mason, a horse trainer who is worried about his employer’s recent strange behavior. His employer, Sir Robert Norberton, is under a lot of pressure to say the least. His estate, Shoscombe Hall, has come under the control of his sister’s brother-in-law, his creditors are going to ruin him if his prize horse, Shoscombe Prince, doesn’t win the Derby and his sister, Lady Beatrice, who kept him together body and soul with her own funds, has seemingly vanished following an argument with her brother, and Sir Robert has actually given away her favorite spaniel.

It is apparent to Holmes and Watson that Holmes and Watson that Sir Robert is hiding something. But leave it to this dynamic duo to figure out what is going on and to uncover the role that Joe Barnes/Jude Law plays in this mystery.

This original press release for the Sherlock Holmes movies was issued October 1, 2008. At that time, they were targeting a movie release date of October 2009. That date was subsequently changed to November 2009 and as everyone knows is now slated for December 25, 2009.

The press release gives a synopsis of the movie and its inception as well as brief bios of director Guy Ritchie and stars Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams and Michael strong.

The full press release appears below.

Press Release

“SHERLOCK HOLMES” BEGINS PRODUCTION IN LONDON UNDER THE DIRECTION OF GUY RITCHIE

ROBERT DOWNEY JR. STARS IN THE TITLE ROLE ALONGSIDE JUDE LAW, RACHEL MCADAMS, MARK STRONG AND KELLY REILLY

LONDON, ENGLAND, October 1, 2008 – Principal photography is set to begin on location in London for the action adventure mystery “Sherlock Holmes,” being helmed by acclaimed filmmaker Guy Ritchie, for Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures.

Robert Downey Jr. brings the legendary detective to life as he has never been portrayed before. Jude Law stars as Holmes’ trusted colleague, Watson, a doctor and war veteran who is a formidable ally for Sherlock Holmes. Rachel McAdams stars as Irene Adler, the only woman ever to have bested Holmes and who has maintained a tempestuous relationship with the detective. Mark Strong stars as their mysterious new adversary, Blackwood. Kelly Reilly will play Watson’s love interest, Mary.

Based on an original story/comic book by Lionel Wigram, inspired by the classic tales of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the film will be produced by Joel Silver, Lionel Wigram, Susan Downey and Dan Lin. Steve Clark-Hall and Bruce Berman are serving as executive producers.

In a dynamic new portrayal of Conan Doyle’s famous characters, “Sherlock Holmes” sends Holmes and his stalwart partner Watson on their latest challenge. Revealing fighting skills as lethal as his legendary intellect, Holmes will battle as never before to bring down a new nemesis and unravel a deadly plot that could destroy the country.

Guy Ritchie most recently wrote, directed and produced the action comedy “RocknRolla,” a box office success which opened at number one in the U.K. The film is set for release in select U.S. cities on October 8 and expands nationwide on October 31. Ritchie’s previous writing and directing credits include “Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels,” “Snatch” and “Revolver.”

Robert Downey Jr. starred this past summer in the blockbuster “Iron Man” and the comedy smash “Tropic Thunder.” His recent film credits also include “Zodiac” and “Good Night, and Good Luck.” He previously earned an Academy Award(R) nomination and a BAFTA Award for his portrayal of Charlie Chaplin in “Chaplin.” “Sherlock Holmes” is his third project with producer Joel Silver, following “Gothika” and the award-winning “Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang.” Downey Jr. will next be seen in the biographical drama “The Soloist.”

Jude Law earned an Academy Award(R) nomination and won a BAFTA Award for his work in Anthony Minghella’s “The Talented Mr. Ripley.” He received his second Oscar(R) and BAFTA nominations for his role in Minghella’s “Cold Mountain.” Law starred last year in Kenneth Branagh’s “Sleuth,” and includes among his upcoming films “Repossession Mambo” and Terry Gilliam’s “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.”

Rachel McAdams most recently starred in the indie feature “The Lucky Ones.” Her additional film credits include “The Family Stone,” “Wedding Crashers,” “Red Eye,” “The Notebook” and “Mean Girls.” She also stars in the upcoming films “The Time Traveler’s Wife” and “State of Play.”

Mark Strong, currently starring in Guy Ritchie’s “RocknRolla,” previously teamed with the director on the indie “Revolver.” Strong will next be seen in Ridley Scott’s highly anticipated action drama “Body of Lies.” He previously earned a BAFTA Television Award for the BBC crime series “The Long Firm.”

Kelly Reilly recently earned critical acclaim for her work in the films “Pride & Prejudice” and “Mrs. Henderson Presents,” for which she won a London Film Critics Circle Award and earned a British Independent Film Award nomination.

“Sherlock Holmes” will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and in select territories by Village Roadshow Pictures.

Brawny Brains ~ The new Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr., right) and Dr. John Watson (Jude Law) aren't afraid to get physical with villainy. (Warner Bros.)

Forget the deerstalker hat, the twee houndstooth Inverness overcoat and the oversized spyglass. Sherlock Holmes in the 2009 big-budget rendition of Arthur Conan Doyle’s famed detective is most certainly no sexless, stuffy, Edwardian gentleman.

This Sherlock Holmes — as played by the turbo-speed Robert Downey Jr. — is a bare-knuckle brawler, a martial arts devotee with a mind that whizzes along like a Ferrari and a penchant for falling into a disheveled slough of depression between cases. And his sidekick, Watson, now embodied by Jude Law, is no neutered, bumbling tag along either, but a military man back from the Afghan wars with a definite taste for mayhem and gambling beneath his ramrod-straight posture. Directing the testosterone-riddled duo is Guy Ritchie, the British filmmaker best known for the kinetic, cartoonish violence promulgated in such gangster films as “Snatch.”

This latest depiction of Holmes is a far cry from the 200 or so previous films based on Conan Doyle’s works, or the 70-plus actors who’ve embodied the detective. Yet producer Lionel Wigram, who came up with the idea for the latest Holmes incarnation, insists their brash Holmes is much more akin to Doyle’s Victorian original.

Wigram began rereading the books several years ago and “my big discovery was that the original stories that were written 120 years ago were more modern than the films that came after it.”

Wigram also brought a modern psychology to Conan Doyle’s hero, noting the antisocial detective most probably had bipolar disorder (the fits of mania followed by weeks of morosely affixing himself to the couch) as well as Asperger’s syndrome, a more high-functioning form of autism. Wigram lists the traits: “his ability to fixate on one particular thing, his rather lacking social skills. He’s not comfortable about people, and he doesn’t read the emotional cues.

“Every single thing we have Sherlock Holmes do comes from the books,” adds Wigram, who often sounds like a walking Holmes encyclopedia, able to annotate which book provided which detail for the movie. This said, the film, which hits theaters on Christmas Day, follows none of Conan Doyle’s stories, which were deemed too small, but presents Holmes battling the ominous Lord Blackwood, a figure inspired by the Victorian occultist Aleister Crowley.

“We live in the world of big event movies. The stakes have to be huge. You have to have an extra supernatural element,” says Wigram.

The screenplay was written by Michael Robert Johnson, Anthony Peckham ( “Invictus”) and Simon Kinberg (“Mr. and Mrs. Smith”), who came on during production to modernize Holmes by making him more mischievous and irreverent. “I was looking at Holmes as a prototypical superhero,” Kinberg says. “Before we had Batman or Spider-Man, we had someone who had superpowers, powers of perception unlike anyone else had, and also incredibly flawed vulnerabilities, that most superheroes have as well. We were trying to find ways in the action sequences to dramatize that.”

Toward that end, Downey’s Holmes often pre-visualizes his mode of attack, methodically pinpointing his opponents’ weaknesses in his mind before launching his assault. That was Ritchie’s idea, Kinberg says. “If you’ve seen Guy’s films, it’s a new version of some of the stuff he’s done, speeding up and slowing down the photography,” he says. “That was a big part of giving him modern action but with Holmes’ characteristics.”

Source: LA Times November 1, 2009