Ooh, this coming Christmas Day brings with it yet another rendering of the character of Sherlock Holmes. My favorite portrayal of the enigmatic sleuth is that done by Jeremy Brett. (I just got done watching an episode on Netflix of the series he did in 1994. These episodes have some neat camera angles in their filming, albeit there's a lot of overacting going on in them.) I think he does a wonderful job of bringing out Holmes' eccentricities. (The overacting in his case is done deliberately, enhancing Holmes' eccentric manner.) And, he looks like what I used to imagine Sherlock Holmes should look like when I read my copy of the Complete Sherlock Holmes as a young girl. That edition is currently in the attic and I will have to bring it down to read before Christmastime, when Robert Downey Jr. dons the quirks and idiosyncrisies of the reknown detective. I do look forward to the newer version, mostly to see the picture as a whole, rather than specifically for Downey's portrayal. The effects and action in the trailer look good but there is just something that my mind cannot get past in thinking that Downey just doesn't strike me as Holmes material.
It has been at least 2 decades or maybe 3, since I read any Sherlock Holmes stories. I never noticed the contradictions in his character that exist in the texts. I think that I shall enjoy rereading the stories with a new eye, a more mature, more astute, more discerning eye. It will seem like reading them for the first time all over again.
So, I leave you with the images of the the two actors in full Holmes garb, played by Brett and Downey Jr. and you may decide for yourselves who you think looks more like Holmes should.
http://www.sherlock-holmes.es/images/utilidades/brett_pipa.jpg
http://l.yimg.com/img.omg.yahoo.com/omg/us/img/3b/f5/8538_9013817490.jpg
