JFF: Fave Sherlock Holmes

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Della

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Who is your favorite Sherlock Holmes and which were your favorite movies/TV shows that depicted him, Watson and all?

As much as I appreciate various depictions my fave is and always will be Basil Rathbone. He gave the character both humor and gravitas. He nicely balanced Holmes’ cold nature with his innate sense of justice and compassion for the weaknesses of his fellow human beings.

My favorite Basil Rathbone is “The Hound of the Baskervilles.” While the other Holmes films were entertaining enough, this was the best of the lot, IMHO. It had it all–atmosphere, tension, and a Watson that wasn’t used merely for comic relief. Great little gem of a film.
 
I absolutely love Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock, paired very well with Martin Freeman’s Watson. I think the series does a good job of depicting Sherlock as a 3 dimensional man, in fact all the characters are well drawn. I like that they created him as a modern day detective. I’m not so fond of Jonny Lee Miller’s Sherlock on the TV series Elementary. To me it’s not much different from any other crime drama. I didn’t care for Robert Downey Jr.'s depiction either, he did a lot of physical fighting that didn’t seem to me to be true to the character. I always loved Jeremy Brett’s Sherlock and never missed an episode of that series. He was the quintessential Holmes for me, until Benedict Cumberbatch that is :D. I’m not really familiar with Basil Rathbone’s Holmes.
 
There are two very likeable Sherlock Holmes films from the seventies, both played with a marked comic edge. I would warmly recommend them both, though neither is perfect:

The Private Life of Sherlock Homes, dir. Billy Wilder, 1970
The Seven Percent Solution, dir. Herbert Ross, 1976

In each case, the movie is made up of two separate stories with a contrived bridge passage to link them. And in both, oddly enough, the first story focuses on the relationship between Holmes and Watson, while the second story is an espionage adventure. The difference is this, in my opinion: in The Seven Percent Solution the first story is good but the second story is weak. The strong points are two of the actors, Robert Duvall as Watson with a terrific British accent, and Alan Arkin as Sigmund Freud. In Private Life, it’s the other way around, the first story is weak and goes on too long, while the second story is much better, with a well plotted story line and Christopher Lee as an unforgettable Mycroft.
 
seagal said:
I absolutely love Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock, paired very well with Martin Freeman’s Watson. I think the series does a good job of depicting Sherlock as a 3 dimensional man, in fact all the characters are well drawn. I like that they created him as a modern day detective. I’m not so fond of Jonny Lee Miller’s Sherlock on the TV series Elementary. To me it’s not much different from any other crime drama. I didn’t care for Robert Downey Jr.'s depiction either, he did a lot of physical fighting that didn’t seem to me to be true to the character. I always loved Jeremy Brett’s Sherlock and never missed an episode of that series. He was the quintessential Holmes for me, until Benedict Cumberbatch that is :D. I’m not really familiar with Basil Rathbone’s Holmes.
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I agree about the two Robert Downey movies, though I only saw the first fifteen minutes or so of the first one and even less of the second one. They failed to hold my attention any longer than that. My impression is that they’re not really Sherlock Holmes stories at all, in any meaningful sense. They’re just action movies set in Victorian London, in which one of the characters happens to be called Sherlock Holmes and another character happens to be called Dr. Watson, but that’s as far as it goes. I don’t think the director even attempted to re-create the Conan Doyle characters. These two movies don’t really belong in the Holmes canon at all.
 
Della said:
Who is your favorite Sherlock Holmes and which were your favorite movies/TV shows that depicted him, Watson and all?

As much as I appreciate various depictions my fave is and always will be Basil Rathbone. He gave the character both humor and gravitas. He nicely balanced Holmes’ cold nature with his innate sense of justice and compassion for the weaknesses of his fellow human beings.

My favorite Basil Rathbone is “The Hound of the Baskervilles.” While the other Holmes films were entertaining enough, this was the best of the lot, IMHO. It had it all–atmosphere, tension, and a Watson that wasn’t used merely for comic relief. Great little gem of a film.
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Yes! Rathbone wonderfully captures Holmes’ intellect, poise, and playfulness in this movie (and I would argue, the other Fox movie, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes). Jeremy Brett did a great job showing Holmes’ brittleness and fragility, but in my opinion Rathbone’s performance is the all-around winner.
 
What prompted this thread was the latest Sherlock Holmes on BBC last night (Sunday). Apart from the silly feminist nonsense overlaid onto the plot, it gave an interesting interpretation of Holmes in Victorian times that I found reasonably interesting. Still, I think Cumberbatch is a bit too young for the part and a bit too “rock 'n roll” for my tastes. Bringing the character up to the 21st century is interesting, but in doing so they made him too cruel, unsympathetic and cold. He sneers at everyone, even his family and helpers. He sees no point in anything, it seems. Makes me wonder why he’s on the side of right instead of a criminal. Still, it’s entertaining enough and clever.
 
Rathbone was my first exposure to Holmes so I have fond memories of him – even if they were the lesser Universal films:D

I loved the early entries in the Jeremy Brett series w/David Burke as Watson. Wasn’t crazy about Edward Hardwicke in the role. Of course Charles Gray was always good as Mycroft, a role he first played in the previous mentioned Seven Percent Solution. On that film Nicol Williams was good as Holmes, but Robert Duvall as Watson?

Cumberbatch/Freeman are also good.

Lastly, I am going to recommend seeking out yet a third 70’s Holmes film – Murder By Decree with Christopher Plummer as Holmes and James Mason as Watson.
 
Oh and honorable mention to 2015’s Mister Holmes with Sir Ian McKellan as an aging Holmes.
 
KevinAK said:
Oh and honorable mention to 2015’s Mister Holmes with Sir Ian McKellan as an aging Holmes.
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Another interesting take on the Holmes legend. I was disappointed that they never showed Watson’s face, though. I couldn’t think of a good reason for it. Nor could I accept the basic premise for Holmes’ angst. He’d made serious mistakes with clients before and not been disturbed to the point of quitting. Besides, solving mysteries was simply who he was–he couldn’t have quit for any reason except for losing his ability to remember. Every story needs a driving issue, but I thought the author had gone too far outside Holmes’ persona to find one. I did like the little boy, who really carried a big part of the film.

As for the other more modern films mentioned, I was not impressed by any of them. Once again, they all tried to overlay modern ideas and sensibilities onto what is essentially a pre-WWI character. It doesn’t work, as box office receipts showed. I did like the more antagonist relationship between Holmes and Watson fun in the Robert Downey Jr. films. And Jeremy Brett was superb in the BBC series, although the pacing was often too slow and deliberate, especially in their rendition of THOTB. I loved the Blue Carbuncle. At least it stood out in my mind above the others.
 
I am a very big Sherlock Holmes fan, having read all of the novels and short stories. My favorite Sherlock Holmes is also Basil Rathbone, although I also enjoy the Robert Downey, Jr., films. My favorite Watson is probably Jude Law from these latter movies because I believe he fits in more to the description of Watson from the actual Sherlock Holmes stories.

Elementary is a good show in my opinion, not necessarily due to its adherence to the original Sherlock Holmes, but just as a television show in and of itself. However, I think Johnny Lee Miller does do a good job depicting Holmes as the caustic misanthrope he can sometimes be.
 
I think the BBC spin on it with Cumberbatch is a good way to get people my age and younger into reading the books by Doyle. Growing up a lot of my classmates loved Holmes (though I was more aware of the Hardy Boys), and having a younger actor like him and with his energy makes the stories more interesting and relatable to this generation.
 
Jeremy Brett, closely followed by Cumberbatch, with Peter Cushing and Robert Downey Jr. and close runners-up. Christopher Lee as well, who is the only actor to have portrayed Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, AND Mycroft Holmes on screen.

Looking forward to seeing Cumberbatch in the upcoming Dr. Strange film as well. He was also very good as a Boston politician and Whitey Bulger’s brother in “Black Mass.”
 
Arizona_Mike said:
Jeremy Brett, closely followed by Cumberbatch, with Peter Cushing and Robert Downey Jr. and close runners-up. Christopher Lee as well, who is the only actor to have portrayed Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, AND Mycroft Holmes on screen.

Looking forward to seeing Cumberbatch in the upcoming Dr. Strange film as well. He was also very good as a Boston politician and Whitey Bulger’s brother in “Black Mass.”
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Lee played Sir Henry Baskerville.

Benedict Cumberbatch was in Black Mass? I may have to watch that now.

He is excellent in The Imitation Game. Just avoid Star Trek:Into Darkness
 
Della said:
What prompted this thread was the latest Sherlock Holmes on BBC last night (Sunday). Apart from the silly feminist nonsense overlaid onto the plot, it gave an interesting interpretation of Holmes in Victorian times that I found reasonably interesting. Still, I think Cumberbatch is a bit too young for the part and a bit too “rock 'n roll” for my tastes. Bringing the character up to the 21st century is interesting, but in doing so they made him too cruel, unsympathetic and cold. He sneers at everyone, even his family and helpers. He sees no point in anything, it seems. Makes me wonder why he’s on the side of right instead of a criminal. Still, it’s entertaining enough and clever.
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Actually, in the books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Holmes is a bit cold and condescending to others. So Cumberbatch’s interpretation isn’t really all that far off.

I’m very partial to Cumberbatch’s, not just because of his interpretation of the character, but also because Freeman’s portrayal as Watson–and the chemistry between the two actors is terrific. I was also impressed by how well they ‘updated’ the stories, without retelling them word for word. (I really loved how they substituted Watson’s cellphone for the pocketwatch in the ‘how they met’ scene. I’d wondered how they were going to do that, since pocketwatches aren’t a thing anymore.) And I like how they work some snippets of some of the original cases in the background. And I am admittedly amused at how they got Cumberbatch’s real parents to play Holmes’ parents, and Freeman’s real wife to play Mary Watson.

Honorable Mention: Nicholas Rowe’s portrayal in “Young Sherlock Holmes”, which wasn’t cannon, but the writers admitted it outright. It was a good story, and I thought that was a believable teenaged Holmes.
 
KevinAK said:
Lee played Sir Henry Baskerville.

Benedict Cumberbatch was in Black Mass? I may have to watch that now.

He is excellent in The Imitation Game. Just avoid Star Trek:Into Darkness
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You’re right - Lee played 4 characters from the Holmes canon.

Cummerbatch did a pretty good Bostonian accent in the film.
 
I do appreciate Benedict Cumberbatch’s portrayal of Holmes. And Martin Freeman is excellent as Watson–understated and yet a person to be reckoned with. If it gets young people reading the Holmes canon, I’m all for it. 🙂

I just think Basil Rathbone captured the essence of Holmes best. His Holmes was strong and mature, and yet he could be playful with Watson while never being truly mean even when he was condescending. He knew he was the smartest person in the room, but he tamped down his ego so he could be a benefit to his clients instead of treating them like they should be privileged that he was bothering to listen to him at all.

Often an author will write a character more caustic than he’d be able to be in real life. So, when that character is brought to film or stage, playing him that way might be too off-putting. It’s a fine line for an actor and for the adapter of the story to walk. Some just do it better than others, IMHO.
 
Richard_White said:
I am a very big Sherlock Holmes fan, having read all of the novels and short stories. My favorite Sherlock Holmes is also Basil Rathbone, although I also enjoy the Robert Downey, Jr., films. My favorite Watson is probably Jude Law from these latter movies because I believe he fits in more to the description of Watson from the actual Sherlock Holmes stories.

Elementary is a good show in my opinion, not necessarily due to its adherence to the original Sherlock Holmes, but just as a television show in and of itself. However, I think Johnny Lee Miller does do a good job depicting Holmes as the caustic misanthrope he can sometimes be.
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I agree with your first paragraph. Is Elementary on BBC? I have not heard lf it before. Do they show it on PBS?
 
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