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
3 comments:
It seems to me that Robert Downey, albeit a good actor, belongs more in the Gunfight at OK corral in his current garb than as the fine detective Sherlock Homes... My favorite Christmas time experience is watching each and every version of a Christmas Carol...my favorite being a 1950 version...but I do like the Mr Magoo version too, which I just watched a couple of weeks ago.
I know..his hat and get-up look like from two different eras. Holmes Meets the Wild, Wild West...hahaha.
Oh that is a good christmas tradition to have. Would that 1950 one be the musical one? I remember there being a musical one (from some time in the 70s, I think). I think I had this conversation with Tim or Keith once...about there being a musical one and one of them told me about it. I think it was Tim, actually. I will have to ask him if he remembers. I love the Mr. Magoo one. Chantelle and I used to watch that a lot when she was little.
This year you have another version to add to your list. It looks good. I want to go see it.
Karen said she saw this and liked it. I haven't seen it. My friend Kathy broke her ankle and I am her nurse until further notice. So I will have to see it when it comes out on DVD. :) She is actually getting around on her crutches pretty well now.
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