GUIDE TO THIS BLOG.

So, first off WELCOME! I'm glad you found my project. 

Secondly: I would like to explain how this page works. 

• There is no particular order of the posts: Each is its own topic. 
• The "beginning" as in the post below this own, is truly the end, or the most recent posts. So, if you would like to start at the beginning head to the bottom. (There is a second page so hit the "Older Posts" button.)
• Feel free to comment, you should be able to do it anonymously so you do not even need an account, but please sign your name.
• If you disagree with me, feel free to let me know in  the comments, I would love a good discussion.

A Game of Shadows.

I seem to have reached the finish of my blog here. (For now atleast) and well, I could not do a Sherlock Holmes The Movie blog without posting the preview for the sequal now could I?

So here it is: ((drumroll))

Comparisons to Other Mysteries and Characters

This is a bit of a peculiar question for me to answer.  I mean how does Sherlock Holmes not relate to every other mystery we have read in this class? There is a detective or problem solver who has a past. There is a bad guy who you only find out at the end. There are victims. The story is typically fast moving and keeps you on your toes. You are lead down different paths and end up thinking you have figured out this deep, twisted mystery and then find out you were no where close. You end up rooting for someone, connecting with a character, and rooting for the victim to find justice. Almost all of the stories we have read have had these things in common. To make a good mystery like Sherlock Holmes you need to feel a connection to one of the characters.  I feel only a few did not feel connect to in this way to the Sherlock Holmes way of mystery writing. One story that I did not feel this connection with is "Skin Deep" by  Sara Paretsky  (p. 308). For whatever reason I felt no connection what so ever to the characters in the story, which I think is vital for this genre of writing and really, any genre of writing. I think it may have been because it was so far-fetched when I feel like Sherlock Holmes actually seems somewhat possible and logical.

That also connects most of the stories in this class is the fact that all of the detectives are gritty around the edges and I think that all of the main detectives/crime solvers fall into this from this term.  Sherlock connects with the others in this way. He is definitely gritty in the movie. He is often seen dirty, fighting, drinking, drunk, disheveled, or just plain out of it.

Survey of Critics' and Scholars' Writings on the Movie

Below are two great sources written on Sherlock Holmes 2009. 
"The opening scenes of Sherlock Holmes (2009) immediately show Guy Ritchie´s signature
and the fact that this film will offer a new take on the detective´s adventures. Holmes and Watson
fight their way through several henchmen and save a woman from a seance-like ritual performed by
villain Lord Blackwood. Holmes' intellect, too, is immediately depicted, but he uses his brain not so
much for deductions based on a clue as for a physicality different from Rathbone's and Brett's:
before he corners a guard, a slow-motion sequence shows how he plans to attack the man and what
he predicts the reactions will be. The amount of frames per second then returns to the regular
number, and Holmes is proven right, disabling the man in a second with martial arts. In the film's
commentary track, Ritchie describes this ability as “Holmes-o-vision”. Watson may not have
Holmes-o-vision, but his fighting skills are proven to be adequate in the scene that follows (and, in
the rest of the film). This Holmes and Watson are presented like action heroes and are nothing like
any previous depictions of the duo – so how are these the true Conan Doyle-characters?"

Continue at: http://scholar.googleusercontent.com/scholar?q=cache:sT2RZz3WgMAJ:scholar.google.com/+guy+ritchie+sherlock+holmes+&hl=en&as_sdt=0,38

"It is because of Downey Jr's place in the modern superhero canon that he was cast, so successfully, as Sherlock Holmes. One of the most common negative responses that I encountered in regard to Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes (2009) has been that the detective should not be muscular and built with a six-pack. But in the current cultural climate where narratives from the past are becoming updated, taking on meanings and identities that have traversed time and settling in a new generation, his six-pack is particularly apt. Sherlock Holmes is a superhero. He is, remarkably, and like Superman, equal to the rigors of the industrial age of his time: he fights side-by-side with the Industrial Revolution, escaping death at the hands of a ship-in-production, and at the great heights of an under-construction bridge. Bukatman writes that "superhero bodies, despite their plasticity, are armoured bodies, rigid against the chaos of surrounding disorder" (Bukatman, 56). This is where the strength of Holmes’ six-pack lies; whereas in Iron Man it is Downey Jr’s suit that is excessively fetishized, in Sherlock Holmes, it is above all his body. He is defined by his a body from the opening scene of the film, where his muscles are on display and even spectacularized in slow motion as a signifier of his strength. Susan Bordo provides a perfect assessment: “[M]uscles have chiefly symbolized and continue to symbolize masculine power as physical strength” (Bordo, 193). Without this display of muscularity it is unclear whether Sherlock would be quite as strong; Watson, after all, is only the sidekick, and there is a reason he never takes off his shirt."

Continue at: http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/71/71downey_ross.php

Holmes and Watsons Portrayal

Dr. John Watson: You've been in this room for two weeks, I insist you have to get out.
Sherlock Holmes: There is absolutely nothing of interest to me, out there, on earth, at all.
Dr. John Watson: So you're free this evening?
Sherlock Holmes: Absolutely.
Dr. John Watson: Dinner?
Sherlock Holmes: Wonderful.
Dr. John Watson: The Royale?
Sherlock Holmes: My favorite.
Dr. John Watson: Mary's coming.
Sherlock Holmes: ...Not available.
Dr. John Watson: You're meeting her, Holmes!
Sherlock Holmes: Have you proposed yet?
Dr. John Watson: No, I haven't found the right ring.
Sherlock Holmes: Then it's not official.
Dr. John Watson: It's happening. Whether you like it or not, 8:30, the Royale. Wear a jacket!
Sherlock Holmes: You wear a jacket.

_____________________________________________

Sherlock Holmes: You've never complained about my methods before.
Dr. John Watson: I'm not complaining.
Sherlock Holmes: You're not? What do you call this?
Dr. John Watson: I never complain! How am I complaining? When do I ever complain about you practicing the violin at three in the morning, or your mess, your general lack of hygiene, or the fact that you steal my clothes?
Sherlock Holmes: Uh, we have a barter system...
Dr. John Watson: When have I ever complained about you setting fire to my rooms?
Sherlock Holmes: Our rooms...
Dr. John Watson: The rooms! Or, or, the fact that you experiment on my dog?
Sherlock Holmes: Our dog...
Dr. John Watson: The dog!
Sherlock Holmes: Gladstone is our dog!

 

 

These two conversations Summarize how Holmes and Watson are portrayed in this movie. They are roommates who snicker, joke, and know each-other better then anyone else. They even make fun of the others girlfriends and share a dog. 

The Director

So who was the director? And what is he all about?

The director is this guy
















 Better known to some people as this guy:

Guy Ritchie was born in 1968 in England. Growing up he struggled with dyslexia and drugs going in and out of schools and dropping out at the young age of fifteen. He was married to Madonna for 8 years and they adopted a baby together and have a son named Rocco together, they split in 2008. Guy is a screen writer and film maker but, has directed relatively few films with a grand total of only 10 titles since 1995.

According to IMDB these are a few of his trademarks:
Frequently uses narration
Numerous plot threads which intersect and assist in each other's payoffs
Often casts musicians
Frequently employs the use of high speed photography in action sequences
Frequent use of humor in violent scenes

My Full Review.

Finally! The Sherlock Holmes of the 21st century. Fact is Sherlock Holmes was being forgotten about by the rising generation. My 9 year old sister did not know who Sherlock Holmes was until she watched part of the 2009 movie with us; most of her friends still don’t know anything about him.

The movie was a hit with almost everyone but Sherlock’s most loyal being happy with the movie. So why didn’t these Sherlock die-hard fans like the movie? Honestly, I do not know. This movie has made Sherlock Holmes accessible to all generations. The worst thing for a character is to die with their original fans. One of the problems they are having with this movie is the ruffed-up, fighting, shirtless Sherlock. But, in all reality part of that is just the change in what we look for in a movie, and I am sure part of it was to not just reach an all male audience. He is much more manly in this movie then any of his other portrayals. They portrayed Sherlock as smart and quick witted as ever, and were true to his character. The fact is this movie is gaining the younger generations attention and pulling them back into the original Sherlock Holmes novels, and stories.

Sherlock Holmes was very much so intense in this movie. He can not function without solving a crime, he goes a bit crazy. This movie meshed together two worlds- A Victorian world with what us Americans could interesting. There is humor, there is some (little) romance, there is action, there is fighting, there is explosions. They have reached a large range of audience with this movie.

Dr House vs. Sherlock Holmes

While watching the movie I realized something that I had not before. I realized that Sherlock Holmes reminds me greatly of Dr House. Maybe it was just because of the acting style of the actors, or maybe it was because they both had side-kicks whose name started with W. [For Dr House: Wilson For Sherlock: Watson] So, as always I wrote it down in my notes and I went to write about it here. I began some research and found out that I definitely was not alone thinking of this. There are at least two dozen like minded people out there! I soon found out that indeed- Dr. House had been modeled after Sherlock Holmes but mixed with bits and pieces of other characters as well.

This side by side found on www.housemd-guide.com/holmesian.php was very helpful to me to see just how closely the two relate:
Sherlock Holmes
Can deduce a great deal from just looking at a person.
Gregory House, MD
Can deduce and diagnose a great deal just from looking at a person.
Sherlock Holmes
Holmes' creator based the character on a doctor.
Gregory House, MD
Greg House is a doctor
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes fought deadly criminals
Gregory House, MD
Fights deadly germs, diseases and other medical problems.
Sherlock Holmes
Used cocaine to escape boredom
Gregory House, MD
Uses Vicodin for pain in his leg, and also for boredom and the pain of dealing with "stupid" people.
Sherlock Holmes
Holmes calls even his best friend by his last name
Gregory House, MD
House calls all his associates by their last names
Sherlock Holmes
Arrogant. Said humility would be a lie
Gregory House, MD
Greg House is extremely arrogant.
Sherlock Holmes
Read the agony columns in the paper
Gregory House, MD
Watches soaps, plays video games, etc.
Sherlock Holmes
Languid and lazy when not on a case.
Gregory House, MD
Lazy until he is forced to look into something that intrigues him.

For more continue onto the site: http://www.housemd-guide.com/holmesian.php

Holmes and House are both characters who are very good at what they do and are called upon when the case is too hard for those below them.

I was amazed that I had never noticed this before as I used to be an avid House watcher.

Below is Wilson, and Watson

What other characters has Sherlock inspired?

The Cast.

So are Sherlock and Holmes physically how you pictured them?

It is often said that Jude Law, the man who plays Watson, was too skinny for the part even though Watson was never said to be large in the book? Some said that Robert Downey, ie Sherlock Holmes, was too short and too attractive.

What are your thoughts?

My Description of Sherlock

I have done this on other assignments and have come to love the "20 Words That Describe". So here it is:
20 Words that describe Sherlock Holmes- The movie version.

Wacky!
Brilliant
Cunning
Kooky
Talented
Strong
Reasoner
Curious
Brave
Confident
Intuitive
Observant
Charming
Adventurous
Mysterious
Disheveled
Eccentric
Impulsive
Quick-witted
Humorous


Is there anything that you would add/remove from the list? If so,why is this?

Some Reviews: My (short) Review

Here are a few reviews on Sherlock Holmes that I thought I would share with you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0XoKtTcwvk&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnnpRCOzgm0&feature=related

In my opinion, Sherlock Holmes was a great movie! I really did enjoy it and would love to watch it again. Guy Ritchie modernized Sherlock Holmes and all in all it worked. As one of the reviews says it was a little bit hard to follow, as I wanted to be able to help more, in a sense. I wanted to see the clues that Sherlock Holmes was seeing throughout the movie, not just at the end. But, that being said I found that I did keep up with at-least half of them so, maybe it was me who was not paying attention enough. The actors performances were amazing. I loved how Robert Downey Jr. portrayed Sherlock and his "bromance" with Watson, aka Jude law. I loved that we got to see the two fight as all close friends do and it made you connect with the characters more.

The "Controversial" Fight Scene.

This scene angered some, annoyed others, and was loved all at the same time.

Full Video Found Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGCMfprPJoA

My opinion? I actually liked it it made Sherlock look a lot less passive then most pictured him to be. It shows how fast of a thinker Sherlock was and just how smart he was. I see why it annoyed some- they never pictured Sherlock like that before some were also angered because they wanted to bring children to the movie and some scenes are more mature. I have always pictured Sherlock to be a people watcher. Someone who can sit and watch and figure out what you are thinking and this scene from the movie really does illustrate that well. Most people would root for Holmes while watching this scene, fighting an opponent twice his size and winning. Leaving us viewers with a smile and the gambling crowd in the movie stunned.

I think it is an impressive scene and gave you a small glimpse inside the complex mind of Mr. Sherlock Holmes.

Sherlocks of The Past

As a extra tid-bit I found this list to be rather interesting:
List of actors who have played Sherlock Holmes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The list of actors who have played Sherlock Holmes in film, television, stage, or radio includes:

Hans Albers
The Man Who Was Sherlock Holmes (1937 film, Der Mann, der Sherlock Holmes war)
Joaquim de Almeida
The Xango from Baker Street (2001 film, O Xangô de Baker Street)
James D'Arcy
Sherlock: Case of Evil (2002 TV film)
Tom Baker
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1982 mini series)
John Barrymore
Sherlock Holmes (1922 film)
Keith Baxter

The Penultimate Problem of Sherlock Holmes (Off Broadway play, 1980)
Murder, My Dear Watson (stage play, England, 1983)

Jeremy Brett
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1984-1994 TV series)
Nicholas Briggs
Sherlock Holmes - Holmes and the Ripper[1] (2010 Big Finish Productions audio drama)
Clive Brook
The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1929 film)
Sherlock Holmes (1932 film)
Ian Buchanan
Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2008 TV episode, Trials of the Demon)
Michael Caine
Without a Clue (1988 film)
John Cleese
The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It (1977 film)
Elementary, My Dear Watson (1973 TV film)
Peter Cook
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1978 film)
Benedict Cumberbatch
Sherlock (2010 BBC TV Series)
Peter Cushing
The Masks of Death (1984 TV film)
Sherlock Holmes (1965-1968 TV series)
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959 film)
Robert Downey, Jr.
Sherlock Holmes (2009 film)
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011 film)
Rupert Everett
Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking (2004 TV film)
Matt Frewer
The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire (2002 TV film)
The Sign of Four (2001 TV film)
The Royal Scandal (2001 TV film)
The Hound of the Baskervilles (2000 TV film)
William Gillette
Sherlock Holmes (1899 Broadway production)
Sherlock Holmes (1916 motion picture)
Stewart Granger
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1972 TV film)
John Gielgud
On BBC Radio in the 1950s
Guy Henry
Young Sherlock: The Mystery of the Manor House (1982 TV series)
Charlton Heston
The Crucifer of Blood (1991 TV film)

Anthony Higgins
Sherlock Holmes Returns (1993 TV film)
Carleton Hobbs
On BBC Radio (1952-1969 radio series)
Ronald Howard
Sherlock Holmes (1954-1955 TV series)
Frank Langella
Sherlock Holmes (1981 TV film)
Roger Llewellyn
Sherlock Holmes - The Last Act[2] (2009 Big Finish Productions audio drama)
Sherlock Holmes - The Death and Life[3] (2009 Big Finish Productions audio drama)
John Longden
The Man Who Disappeared (1951, 26 min TV episode)
Peter Lawford
Fantasy Island, episode "The Case Against Mr. Roarke/Save Sherlock Holmes" (1982 TV series)
Christopher Lee
Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace (1962 film, Sherlock Holmes und das Halsband der Todes)
Incident at Victoria Falls (1991 TV film)
Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady (1992 TV film)
Vasily Livanov
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson (series, five films 1979 to 1986)
Patrick Macnee
The Hound of London (1993 TV film)
Algimantas Masiulis
Blue carbuncle (1979 film, Belarusfilm)
Raymond Massey
The Speckled Band (1931 film)
Clive Merrison
On BBC Radio (1989-2004 radio series)
Keith Michell
The Crucifer of Blood (1979 London stage production)
Nis Bank-Mikkelsen
The Blue Carbuncle (2007 Danish children's audio-drama)
David Mitchell
That Mitchell and Webb Look
Ron Moody
Sherlock Holmes: The Musical (1989 stage production)
Roger Moore
Sherlock Holmes in New York (1976 TV film)
Alwin Neuss de:Alwin Neuß
Sherlock Holmes (1908)
Der Hund von Baskerville (1914)
Detektiv Braun (1914)
John Neville
A Study in Terror (1965 film)
Sherlock Holmes (Royal Shakespeare Company stage production)
Leonard Nimoy
Sherlock Holmes (Royal Shakespeare Company stage production)
Eille Norwood
Numerous silent films from 1920 to 1923
Peter O'Toole
Sherlock Holmes and the Baskerville Curse (1983 cartoon)
Sherlock Holmes and a Study in Scarlet (1983 cartoon)
Sherlock Holmes and the Sign of Four (1983 cartoon)
Sherlock Holmes and the Valley of Fear (1983 cartoon)
Reginald Owen
A Study in Scarlet (1933 film)
Michael Pennington
The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1987 TV film)
Christopher Plummer
Silver Blaze (1977)
Murder by Decree (1979 film)
Jonathan Pryce
Baker Street Irregulars (2007 film)

Basil Rathbone
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939 film)
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939 film)
Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942 film)
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1943 film)
Sherlock Holmes in Washington (1943 film)
Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943 film)
The Spider Woman (1944 film)
The Scarlet Claw (1944 film)
The Pearl of Death (1944 film)
The House of Fear (1945 film)
The Woman in Green (1945 film)
Pursuit to Algiers (1945 film)
Terror by Night (1946 film)
Dressed to Kill (1946 film)
Suspense, episode "The Adventure of the Black Baronet" (1953 TV series)
Robert Rendel
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1932 film)
Ian Richardson
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1983 TV film)
The Sign of Four (1983 TV film)
Nicholas Rowe
Young Sherlock Holmes (1985 film)
Richard Roxburgh
The Hound of the Baskervilles (2002 TV film)
George C. Scott
They Might Be Giants'' (1971 film)
Mack Sennett: writer-director-actor Sennet portrayed Holmes in 11 silent short films from 1911-1913, with Fred Mace as Watson
Paul Singleton

Grit in a Sensitive Instrument (Regional theater, 1980; Off Broadway, 1982; cable TV also)
The Blue Carbuncle (Off Broadway play, 2007; Los Angeles stage, 2008)

Tod Slaughter
on stage in the start of the 1930's
Robert Stephens
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970 film)
Ben Syder
Sherlock Holmes (2010 film)
Robert Webb
That Mitchell and Webb Look
Alan Wheatley
Sherlock Holmes (1951 BBC TV series)
Geoffrey Whitehead
Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson (1980 TV series)
Paxton Whitehead
The Crucifer of Blood (1978 Broadway production)
Nicol Williamson
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976 film)

Douglas Wilmer
Sherlock Holmes (1965 TV series)
The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (1975 film)
Arthur Wontner
The Sleeping Cardinal (1931 film)
The Missing Rembrandt (1932 film)
The Sign of Four (1932 film)
The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes (1935 film)
Silver Blaze (1937 film)
John Wood
Sherlock Holmes (1974-1976 Broadway theatre production)
Edward Woodward
Hands of a Murderer (1990 TV film)
Vasily Livanov
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson (1979 TV series)
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson: The Twentieth Century Approaches (1986 film)


All of these actors have brought there own "thing" to the character we all know and love. So of course, there is some dispute of how he would/should act. The actors are going to put some of their own personality into their characters and not everybody is going to like it. We, being the audience, also are individuals with our own ideas of how we picture "Sherlock" each and every one of these actors had their haters.

In context to this movie, Sherlock Holmes was portrayed by Robert Downey Jr. who, played Sherlock the way I pictures him from just the stories alone. But, the critics say that he was too violent, too sarcastic, and too snarky.

What is This?

Well this, my friends is my Final Project for my Mystery Fiction class. And what a awesome class it has been! I will be sharing with you Guy Ritchie's version of the classic character, Sherlock Holmes. The movie staring Robert Downey Jr. opened to mixed reviews and I am interested at how it compares to the classic and how it portrays the mystery great Holmes.

My final project will be simply adding to the blog, my first thoughts, my reactions, and maybe even how it compares to other portrayals of Sherlock Holmes.
Hope you enjoy!