1182 replies to this topic

[Righty007]

Robert Downey, Jr. is a great choice!

[DaveBond21]

So it's Robert Downey Jr. apparently. Could be worse, but I'm not convinced he's quite right.

Ugh.

So, having declared this project irrelevant, we move on to the OTHER Sherlock film, a comedy starring Sacha Baron Cohen and Will Ferrell as Holmes and Watson :

http://news.yahoo.co...70rvSdy56LKOrgF

I'd actually prefer to see Sacha do a serious take on Holmes, but this could be great anyway. Or really really stupid!

Yes, it could go either way. I like the sound of Baron Cohen's latest project, Bruno. I love the character from the Ali G show, and can't wait to see him "do a Borat" again with certain members of the American public. Already funny news stories are filtering through about his stunts.

[DavidSomerset]

A Sherlock Holmes re-boot! "Baker Street Royals"
So we see in a black and white teaser how Sherlock Holmes solves his first case in 5 minutes. Then we get the Baker Street rundown where Holmes chases the pickpocket (who has picked the pocket of Prince of Wales) over multiple obstacles and buildings. Finally he chases them into the German embassy where he blows up the embassy. Mycroft Holmes chastises him and calls him a shoddy detective who thinks with his fists than his brain. The highlight of the movie is the Chinese water torture scene where Holmes is stripped and water is slowly dripped onto his forehead.
The movie ends with Holmes shooting Moriarty's cronies in the foot with a elephant gun and saying "The game is a foot".
Philip Seymour Hoffman as Moriarty. And Morgan Freeman as Watson. Michael Caine as Mycroft. AND Oscar Winner Meryl Streep as Victoria Regina.

Edited by DavidSomerset, 10 July 2008 - 11:30 PM.

[Tarl_Cabot]

Welll it's Downey Jr, as I said above. I'm not totally sold- he's very good, but doesn't seem the perfect Holmes to me. I don't want to sound like an anti-Craig person, but I can't get the idea that he's a little bit short out of my mind!

Not quite as excited about this as I was about him playing Iron Man, but he should be able to do it well.

Hugh Grant would be my #1 pick for Sherlock Holmes:charming,brainy and very brittish but I don't mind RDJ.

[baerrtt]

Welll it's Downey Jr, as I said above. I'm not totally sold- he's very good, but doesn't seem the perfect Holmes to me. I don't want to sound like an anti-Craig person, but I can't get the idea that he's a little bit short out of my mind!

Not quite as excited about this as I was about him playing Iron Man, but he should be able to do it well.

Hugh Grant would be my #1 pick for Sherlock Holmes:charming,brainy and very brittish but I don't mind RDJ.

IMO(and I'm not alone) RDJ is a better actor than Grant and has convincingly played a British Icon before (Chaplin in the film of the same name) which got him Oscar nominated.

[dodge]

RDJ...Guy Ritchie, less Madonna...and Sherlock Holmes?

I'll camp out for my tickets!

[Johnboy007]

RDJ is Sherlock Holmes? That's really starting to stretch it.

Not a very promising start.

[[dark]]

Has anyone read the Sherlock Holmes stories? I'm assuming they're good, but can anyone elaborate upon that? Have they aged well? Are some better than others?

I often see a lovely gilt-edged hardback edition of the Arthur Conan Doyle's complete Sherlock Holmes tales around for $30.

[Jim]

Has anyone read the Sherlock Holmes stories? I'm assuming they're good, but can anyone elaborate upon that? Have they aged well? Are some better than others?

I often see a lovely gilt-edged hardback edition of the Arthur Conan Doyle's complete Sherlock Holmes tales around for $30.

Buy it; you won't regret it. Although there are cheaper compendia available, I'm sure. Some stories are, indeed, better than others and several are horribly dated in their social observation, but so be it. There's little to top the best twenty or so. You won't be disappointed; you'll be thrilled.

[quantumofsolace]

Has anyone read the Sherlock Holmes stories? I'm assuming they're good, but can anyone elaborate upon that? Have they aged well? Are some better than others?

I often see a lovely gilt-edged hardback edition of the Arthur Conan Doyle's complete Sherlock Holmes tales around for $30.

Stop asking questions and go and buy it! They're brilliant stories. Make sure the edition you get has all the original illustrations

[sark]

I certainly hope they keep his problems with drugs in this film.

[dinovelvet]

I certainly hope they keep his problems with drugs in this film.

Well look who they hired for the role!

<Rimshot>

[ImTheMoneypenny]

I was catching up at one of the movie sites I go to, looking at all their Comic-Con coverage today. One of their writers had been at a SDCC panel for Guy Ritchie, who was there promoting RocknRolla. They reported that when asked about the Sherlock Holmes reboot he's doing Ritchie described it as 'Bond 1891'.

[Hitch]

Is there any chance that Holmes might become a Victorian drug-addicted consulting detective with a poor knowledge of astronomy?

[Mercator]

Is anyone like me saying that Sherlock Holms should be played by an Engelisch actor? I think this is better, no? Imagine Bond being played by American. I think Sir Holms should stay the Engelsich - it is more fun. Downey Jnr may be too Hollywood and people will think of him as Iron Man when whatching him in the hat and pipe and the Victorians.

[Trident]

Another new book for Sherlockians was published just this August: The Shadow Of Reichenbach Falls

[quantumofsolace]

press conference pictures for Sherlock Holmes film

http://www.gettyimag.....rlock holmes#

[dodge]

According to the latest Entertainment Weekly:

Downey has gotten buff for his Holmes and will be doing some serious Fu fighting. According to RDJ, the original texts refer to Holmes' pugilistic skills. Can anyone confirm that?

[zencat]

According to the latest Entertainment Weekly:

Downey has gotten buff for his Holmes and will be doing some serious Fu fighting. According to RDJ, the original texts refer to Holmes' pugilistic skills. Can anyone confirm that?

Yes, he has boxing skills showcased in, I believe, The Priory School. But Holmes rarely fights or fires a gun.

[Trident]

It would look as if Holmes has skills in so-called 'Baritsu' according to this article from Wikipedia.

My own Holmes reading hasn't gone beyond 'The Man With The Twisted Lip', so I'm really not in a position to say for sure. But from my impression of the canon up to now I really don't think such skills would be entirely out of question, although most likely not emphasised by Doyle.

[Kilroy6644]

Baritsu is indeed the martial art that Holmes is schooled in, according to The Adventure of the Empty House. It's only a brief mention, as Holmes is explaining to Watson how he survived his "fall" over Reichenbach Falls in the battle with Moriarty.

[Vauxhall]

Very excited for Guy Ritchie's SHERLOCK HOLMES, particularly with one of current favourites Robert Downey Jr. in the title role. Seems like the rumours of fighting are true. Latest picture:

[Trident]

Very excited for Guy Ritchie's SHERLOCK HOLMES, particularly with one of current favourites Robert Downey Jr. in the title role. Seems like the rumours of fighting are true. Latest picture:

Although, wherever a Victorian English gentleman (by definition somebody who doesn't have to work) would acquire such a defined muscle tone really is beyond my explanation. This kind of torso calls for several hours of sport per day. But Holmes being an eccentric he probably worked out whole nights through? The seven percent solution doubtlessly helped here.

[marktmurphy]

More excitingly, there's a new series of the excellent 'The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' written by the very talented Bert Coules and starring Clive Merrison and everyone's favourite national treasure Andrew Sachs starting on Boxing Day (December 26th) at 2.15pm on BBC Radio 4.
I love these- I possibly even prefer Coules' mysteries to Conan Doyle's. And yes, you can listen if you're not in the UK!

The first episode is 'The Remarkable Performance of Mr Frederick Merridew':

A night at the music hall ends in death; a Wild West sharpshooter finds a new personality; a brick wall crumbles; and Holmes meets an unexpected client.

Featuring Hugh Bonneville as Frederick Merridew.

[Sniperscope]

I think after Jeremy Brett, Holmes just can't be done anymore and anyone who has followed is only a pale shadow. Brett is the definitive! (A bit like David Suchet who redefined Hercule Poirot at about the same time - amazing era of UK TV detectives in the mid/late 80s that was!). The role obsessed Brett to the point that it became him in the end. I have always loved his theatrical flourishes, fantastically sarcastic tones, manic energy and remarkable sensitivity. When he became so tragically ill, to watch him literally dying as the series progressed was one of the hardest things I have ever endured in television. Growing up, Brett was a personal idol for me: he was a true artist and a gentleman who personified Holmes to a 't'.
I have enormous respect for RDJr (fantastic in KIss Kiss Bang Bang) but I can't see him holding a candle to the late great Jeremy Brett...

[marktmurphy]

Okay, if the new Radio 4 series doesn't interest you, how about a brand new BBC One adaptation of the Conan Doyle novels written by Jekyll and Dr Who's Steven Moffat with Mark Gatiss? It stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman: it's USP? It's set in London, 2009.

http://www.bbc.co.uk.../sherlock.shtml

Sherlock is a thrilling, funny, fast paced take on the crime drama genre set in present day London.

The iconic details from Conan Doyle’s original books remain – they live at the same address, have the same names and, somewhere out there in the London of 2009, Moriarty is waiting for them.

Piers Wenger, Head of Drama, BBC Wales, says: "Our Sherlock is a dynamic superhero in a modern world, an arrogant, genius sleuth driven by a desire to prove himself cleverer than the perpetrator and the police, everyone in fact."

Sherlock will be produced by Hartswood Films, continuing their fruitful relationship with the BBC. Past productions include Coupling, Men Behaving Badly, Jekyll and, most recently, The Cup for BBC Two.

Steven Moffat says: "Everything that matters about Holmes and Watson is the same, Conan Doyle’s original stories were never about frock coats and gas light; they're about brilliant detection, dreadful villains and blood-curdling crimes – and frankly, the hell with the crinoline.

"Other detectives have cases, Sherlock Holmes has adventures and that'’s what matters.

Initially I thought it was a horrible idea, but the more I think about it the more I like it: freeing them of the Victorian era will let us see if these characters can actually exist: will their relationship make sense? Can a private detective like Holmes really make a living on the streets on London? I'm looking forward to this.

[dodge]

Very excited for Guy Ritchie's SHERLOCK HOLMES, particularly with one of current favourites Robert Downey Jr. in the title role. Seems like the rumours of fighting are true. Latest picture:

Now, this is what I'm talkin' about! This has all the makings, so far, of another career-rocketing performance. Finally, for the ages, a hard-rocking, two-fisted Sherlock. I especially like the torso compromise: the arms aren't much, the abs are great. I mean, why would Sherlock need bulky old biceps? But the abs, he would well know, are the secret of our power.

[Brian Flagg]

I've only just started reading Holmes after recently becoming obsessed with the (fist) Jeremy Brett series, a series I ignored as a twelve year-old; then I was more interested in Star Wars, I guess. Am enjoying the written works, which are simply wonderful. Victorian/Edwardian England has become another fascination, so what better than to immerse yourself into these great stories?

I blame Ian Fleming for this! His Englishness pulled me in!

[MrKidd]

The fact that they are doing a new SH movie is great - I think there are actually two in the works, aren't there? (forgive me if this has been asked in this thread already). I'll reserve judgement on casting until I've seen it - but it's interesting how people seem ok with an American actor playing SH but the mention of anything other than a white Brit playing the part of Bond causes outrage! For me, Brett is the definitive Holmes, he's exactly what I imagined when I read the books. Rathbone's films were great fun and I've always enjoyed watching them too - although I never liked Nigel Bruce's portrayal of Watson as a bumbling idiot - Edward Hardwicke from the Brett series fits the role perfectly. Here's a nerdy fact - did you know that SH is the most frequently portrayed fictional figue in the history of movies? I think it's even mentioned in the Guiness Book of Records!

[dodge]

The fact that they are doing a new SH movie is great - I think there are actually two in the works, aren't there? (forgive me if this has been asked in this thread already). I'll reserve judgement on casting until I've seen it - but it's interesting how people seem ok with an American actor playing SH but the mention of anything other than a white Brit playing the part of Bond causes outrage! For me, Brett is the definitive Holmes, he's exactly what I imagined when I read the books. Rathbone's films were great fun and I've always enjoyed watching them too - although I never liked Nigel Bruce's portrayal of Watson as a bumbling idiot - Edward Hardwicke from the Brett series fits the role perfectly. Here's a nerdy fact - did you know that SH is the most frequently portrayed fictional figue in the history of movies? I think it's even mentioned in the Guiness Book of Records!

Good points, Mr. B. For me, the radical reinterpretation is electrifying. I'll have to go back to Holmes school before the film's release because it's been a while since I've read the original stories. The ultimate key to success, I guess, will be the balance the film strikes between innovation and tradition. I'd like to know, e.g., if the literary Holmes is ever suggested as being the dandy that Downey's SH appears to be. Apparently, he did have some fighting skills. What else? Meantime, spot on! I can't imagine there being any issues with a Yank playing the role--after all, we're handing over American roles, left and right, to Brits.