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DVD Young Sherlock Holmes
This 1985 adventure directed by Barry Levinson (Rain Man) and written by Chris Columbus (Gremlins) may not have much to do with the Sherlock Holmes of Arthur Conan Doyle's invention. But it is a delightful and somewhat unexpected combination of exciting elements: Victorian-era, foggy-London mystique, Gothic horror, and Indiana Jones-like exotica. Nicholas Rowe plays Holmes as a schoolboy at a boarding academy for young men. Paired with the owlish, reticent young Watson (Alan Cox), Holmes embarks on the solution of a mystery that involves a hallucinatory and lethal drug, and a religious cult celebrating ancient Egyptian rites of mummification. Levinson makes handsome and crisp work of this Steven Spielberg production, without a trace of the treacle that often found its way into other Spielbergian projects at the time (The Goonies). Rowe is wonderfully convincing as a teen incarnation of the Great Detective, and while Cox mostly maintains Hollywood's traditionally unflattering idea of Watson, he does bring warmth and comedy to the role. The cast includes Freddie Jones as an eccentric inventor, Anthony Higgins as the villain, and Sophie Ward as Holmes's love interest. --Tom Keogh
Sherlock Holmes is one of the best known detectives in the world -- so famous in fact, that 221B Baker Street in London continues to get mail addressed to this fictional character almost a century after he would have died had he been a real person. There are groups of people -- Sherlockians and Holmesians, the distinction between which is rather subtle -- who delight in retelling the tales; it has become somewhat traditional to try to fill in the gaps, things left out of the 'canonical' stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle -- 56 short stories and 4 novels. The official tales allude to happenings beyond them -- some authors take up the point there, and others create fanciful tales altogether. These have been made into films, television programmes and radio programmes for most of the history of their publication.
This film, 'Young Sherlock Holmes', derives from the mid-1980s film of the same name, produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by Barry Levinson as an homage to Holmes and Holmes fans. The screenplay, written by Chris Columbus, was adapted into novel form by Alan Arnold. This story fills in the gaps of Holmes' childhood and education.
There are many wonderful pieces here -- it breaks with the canon in that it introduces Holmes (then 16 years old) and Watson as school mates at a private school. Holmes is struggling to learn to play the violin (a canonical piece), and already displays prodigious powers of observation and deduction. He is a loner for the most part, a bit of trouble with authorities and often underestimated. Lestrade is also introduced here, as a junior policeman.
The game is afoot in short order when Holmes' favourite, highly-eccentric professor dies mysteriously; this death mirrors in a fashion several other deaths, which leads Holmes and his new sidekick Watson on a merry chase, along with Elizabeth (this early relationship and its outcome is meant to explain the later absence of women in Holmes' life). The headmaster is generally supportive of Holmes, but is his support all that it seems?
The chase leads Holmes through the London underworld he will later come to know very well, tracking down a mysterious cult with Egyptian origins. Arnold's researching into the Egyptian lore, as well as details about London and Holmesian detail is impressive. Arnold holds Holmes as an ideal, stating in an author's epilogue that Holmes is as much the chivalric medieval knight as a Victorian and Edwardian gentleman.
This is a mystery very much in the spirit of Conan Doyle. The clues are there -- one merely needs to follow them to a logical conclusion. Some purists may balk, but this is an intriguing addition to the body of post-Conan Doyle literature, a worthy pastiche.
The lead is played by Nicholas Rowe, an actor deserving of more recognition. Alan Cox plays John Watson - had the Harry Potter stories come about twenty years earlier, he might well have been cast in that role. Sophie Ward plays the love interest for Holmes - Holmes is noted in the stories for not being particularly amorous of nature, and this story attempts to explain that. Anthony Higgins is the villain (do be sure to see the final bonus scene after the credits for the transformation of the villain), assisted by Susan Fleetwood as his 'moll' of sorts. Rounding out the cast is Freddie Jones as Cragwitch and Nigel Stock as Waxflatter, an eccentric (possibly mad) scientist/academic who is friends with Holmes.
The CGI graphics stand up with to time - the walking stained-glass window knight is reminiscent of the knight in 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'. The sets, costumes and other effects of the film are really well tended, as is the care taken to add elements faithful to the original stories of Holmes.
Different Perspectives on Sherlock Holmes
This dvd shows the life of Sherlock Holmes in his high school year. A very impressive show by both Holmes and Watson, which lays a natural setting for all their future endeavours.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Would Be Proud
Even though Arthur Conan Doyle didn't write this, I think he would be quite proud. I am a big Sherlock Holmes fan and love this film. I was in junior high when it came out and originally saw it in the theater (twice). Now, at the age of 33, I still find it very enjoyable to watch. It does a neat job of depicting Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson (before he bacame a doctor) as young men attending a boarding school together. The acting, directing, costume design, and set design are all excellent. And it has a great mystery/adventure that will appeal to both kids and adults.
Without a Clue is an underrated comedy featuring stellar teamwork by two great actors, Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley. This Sherlock Holmes pastiche with a twist stars Kingsley as physician, writer, and self-effacing super-sleuth Dr. John Watson, who channels his genius for deduction into lucrative stories about Holmes. Watson wants the world to believe the fictional private eye actually exists, posing a problem when a steady stream of troubled souls come seeking Holmes's help. The doctor's prescription: hire a two-bit, drunken, skirt-chasing actor (Caine) to portray the Great Detective, an arrangement that causes Watson consternation whenever "Holmes" tries to improvise his way through a case. Wonderful comic timing and tension make Without a Clue a delight; Caine,... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Michael Caine - Ben Kingsley Director(s): Thom Eberhardt DVD Release Date: Released the 02 March 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Jean-Jacques Annaud's The Name of the Rose is a flawed attempt to adapt Umberto Eco's highly convoluted medieval bestseller for the screen, necessarily excising much of the esoterica that made the book so compelling. Still, what's left is a riveting whodunit set in a grimly and grimily realistic 14th-century Benedictine monastery populated by a parade of grotesque characters, all of whom spend their time lurking in dark places or scuttling, half-unseen, in the omnipresent gloom. A series of mysterious and gruesome deaths are somehow tied up with the unwelcome attention of the Inquisition, sent to root out suspected heretical behavior among the monastic scribes whose lives are dedicated to transcribing ancient manuscripts for their famous library, access to which is prevented by an... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Sean Connery - Christian Slater Director(s): Jean-Jacques Annaud DVD Release Date: Released the 06 July 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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This 1970 Billy Wilder comedy-drama about a major defeat in the career of Sherlock Holmes may have little to do with the legacy of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but in its uncut form it happens to be one of the finest films of the decade. Robert Stephens makes a perfectly splendid Holmes, brilliant, sophisticated, and deeply flawed, while Colin Blakely plays Dr. Watson as a drinker and ladies' man with more personality and intelligence than is often granted him by filmmakers. The case (which has some echoes of Doyle's story "The Bruce-Partington Plans") begins with Holmes aiding the distressed Madame Valladon (Geneviève Page), who is searching for her missing husband. The inquiry shifts to Scotland, and despite a stern warning from the hero's brother, Mycroft Holmes (Christopher Lee),... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Robert Stephens - Christopher Lee Director(s): Billy Wilder DVD Release Date: Released the 15 July 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Murder by Decree has the distinction of being not only one of the best Sherlock Holmes films, but one of the best pastiches (i.e., a Holmes fiction created by someone other than author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) featuring the late-Victorian Era detective. Christopher Plummer is very good as Holmes, and James Mason redeems the many mishandled screen portrayals of Dr. John Watson with a rare, insightful performance. The story may not be unique in post-Doyle Holmes adventures--the private investigator pursues Jack the Ripper during the latter's reign of monstrous murders in foggy London--but the script by John Hopkins (Thunderball) is keenly intelligent, developing concentric circles of power and evil with great subtlety. Before losing himself in Porky's, director Bob Clark... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Christopher Plummer - James Mason Director(s): Bob Clark (III) DVD Release Date: Released the 21 January 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Despite its box-office failure in 1981, Dragonslayer was gradually recognized as one of the finest fantasies to emerge from the post-Star Wars boom in special effects. It's still one of the best adventures of its kind, featuring one of the most fearsome fire-breathing serpents in movie history. Ominously named Vermithrax Pejorative, this ill-tempered monster terrorizes the peasantry of sixth-century England, feeding on maidens sacrificed by a duplicitous king until a sorcerer's apprentice named Galen (Peter MacNicol, long before Ally McBeal) is recruited as a reluctant hero. Aided by a tenacious beauty (Caitlin Clarke) and his resurrected mentor (Ralph Richardson), Galen confronts the soaring beast in a breathtaking climax. Employing a then-innovative technique called... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Matthew Robbins DVD Release Date: Released the 21 October 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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