| Revision as of 19:50, 29 June 2011 edit80.121.32.219 (talk) →Trivia: copyedit← Previous edit | Revision as of 19:51, 29 June 2011 edit undoPuffin (talk | contribs)27,888 editsm Reverted edits by 80.121.32.219 (talk) not adhering to NPOV (HG)Next edit → | ||
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| ==Trivia== | ==Trivia== | ||
| *Like his book counterpart, ] has an strong addiction to tobacco, which |
*Like his book counterpart, ] has an strong addiction to tobacco, which | ||
| incidently saves his life when his tobacco box stops a bullet in its path. The film doesn't give much insight into Holmes's other addictions to ] and ]. | |||
| *The film is set in 1882, and Holmes and ] are portrayed as fairly young at this time, which suggests that the film takes place early in their career. ] does not seem to recognize Watson upon their first meeting in the film, which probably indicates that Lestrade was oblivious to Watson's presence in '']''. Similarly, Lestrade keeps his tendency to take credit for solving the cases that Holmes achieved. | *The film is set in 1882, and Holmes and ] are portrayed as fairly young at this time, which suggests that the film takes place early in their career. ] does not seem to recognize Watson upon their first meeting in the film, which probably indicates that Lestrade was oblivious to Watson's presence in '']''. Similarly, Lestrade keeps his tendency to take credit for solving the cases that Holmes achieved. | ||
| *In a scene in which Holmes disguises himself as a homeless veteran of the ] to fool Watson, Watson mentions that he was wounded himself in ] during the campaign as he described in '']'' and '']''. As the continuity errors within the ] sometimes state that Watson was shot in the leg, while others state he was shot in the shoulder, it is unclear which of these wounds the film's Watson suffered (though he doesn't have his traditional cane, which suggests he was more likely to have been shot in the shoulder). | *In a scene in which Holmes disguises himself as a homeless veteran of the ] to fool Watson, Watson mentions that he was wounded himself in ] during the campaign as he described in '']'' and '']''. As the continuity errors within the ] sometimes state that Watson was shot in the leg, while others state he was shot in the shoulder, it is unclear which of these wounds the film's Watson suffered (though he doesn't have his traditional cane, which suggests he was more likely to have been shot in the shoulder). | ||
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| *Holmes teases Watson about being a ladies-man, usually indicating Watson's attraction to women and inability to hang on to a partner. In this case, the film takes place either before or after Watson's marriage to ]. | *Holmes teases Watson about being a ladies-man, usually indicating Watson's attraction to women and inability to hang on to a partner. In this case, the film takes place either before or after Watson's marriage to ]. | ||
| *The elderly Watson states after Holmes shoots Thorpe "to the best of my knowledge, that was the only time I ever knew to fire a gun". Contrary to this, Holmes was known to fire guns frequently in the original stories. It is presumed that because Watson is clearly very old, he can only remember having seen Holmes shoot his brother in their most unforgettable adventure, whereas Holmes's other uses of a gun were forgotten. | *The elderly Watson states after Holmes shoots Thorpe "to the best of my knowledge, that was the only time I ever knew to fire a gun". Contrary to this, Holmes was known to fire guns frequently in the original stories. It is presumed that because Watson is clearly very old, he can only remember having seen Holmes shoot his brother in their most unforgettable adventure, whereas Holmes's other uses of a gun were forgotten. | ||
| *The dinosaur's first attack is in ]. This district of London was probably chosen as a setting for its fame in being the killing ground of ] in 1888. Katie Thomas, who plays the |
*The dinosaur's first attack is in ]. This district of London was probably chosen as a setting for its fame in being the killing ground of ] in 1888. Katie Thomas, who plays the prositute Sally Fassbinder in the Whitechapel scene, previously played one of Jack the Ripper's victims in a BBC docudrama about the Ripper's crimes. | ||
| *Lestrade and Thorpe Holmes are portrayed in the film as former partners in ]. | *Lestrade and Thorpe Holmes are portrayed in the film as former partners in ]. | ||
| *The first scene to feature the exterior of ] is quite similar to the opening title sequence of the ]. | *The first scene to feature the exterior of ] is quite similar to the opening title sequence of the ]. | ||
| *''The Asylum'' describes the film as being an "adventure for the '']'' age", suggesting that it intends to attract audiences of ''Doctor Who'' as well as ]'s '']''. Gareth David Lloyd, who plays Watson, appeared in ''Doctor Who'''s spin-off '']'' as ]. | *''The Asylum'' describes the film as being an "adventure for the '']'' age", suggesting that it intends to attract audiences of ''Doctor Who'' as well as ]'s '']''. Gareth David Lloyd, who plays Watson, appeared in ''Doctor Who'''s spin-off '']'' as ]. | ||
| *Holmes infrequently states some of his well-known catchphrases. In his first on-screen appearance, he says to Watson that his diagnosis of Watson's autopsy subject is "]". In the same scene, when insisting Watson joins him on his new case, he says "come, Watson. The game is afoot", a line he first used in '']''. In a touching scene in the climax of the film in which Watson is pleased to see Holmes alive (this is the only time in the film Watson refers to him as "Sherlock"), Holmes breaks the silence by saying "Come, Watson. Onwards and upwards!". | *Holmes infrequently states some of his well-known catchphrases. In his first on-screen appearance, he says to Watson that his diagnosis of Watson's autopsy subject is "]". In the same scene, when insisting Watson joins him on his new case, he says "come, Watson. The game is afoot", a line he first used in '']''. In a touching scene in the climax of the film in which Watson is pleased to see Holmes alive (this is the only time in the film Watson refers to him as "Sherlock"), Holmes breaks the silence by saying "Come, Watson. Onwards and upwards!". | ||
| * Inesadora Ivory, when convincing Dr. Watson to give her "uncle" strong medications, she insists that she and her uncle are not "] fiends". This refers to the heavy use and selling of opium in London's East-end in the 1800s. Selling or taking drugs like opium were not considered crimes in these days. The mention of opium could be a |
* Inesadora Ivory, when convincing Dr. Watson to give her "uncle" strong medications, she insists that she and her uncle are not "] fiends". This refers to the heavy use and selling of opium in London's East-end in the 1800s. Selling or taking drugs like opium were not considered crimes in these days. The mention of opium could be a referance to opium's use of a plot focus in '']''. | ||
| *On the United Kingdom edition of the DVD, the blurb describes Spring-Heeled Jack as Holmes's "arch-nemesis". Viewers could argue that Holmes's arch nemesis is ]. As to whether or not Holmes and Watson have encountered Moriarty by the time the film is set is unclear. | *On the United Kingdom edition of the DVD, the blurb describes Spring-Heeled Jack as Holmes's "arch-nemesis". Viewers could argue that Holmes's arch nemesis is ]. As to whether or not Holmes and Watson have encountered Moriarty by the time the film is set is unclear. | ||
| *Thorpe Holmes (]) is affectionately given the alter-ego ''Spring-Heeled Jack'' by the producers, though he is not given this name in the film. ] was the name given to a mythical creature of English folklore. He is never directly called "Thorpe" by any character; he is only named in the credits. He is only referred to as "brother" by Holmes. His gravestone carried the name "Insp. T. Holmes". | *Thorpe Holmes (]) is affectionately given the alter-ego ''Spring-Heeled Jack'' by the producers, though he is not given this name in the film. ] was the name given to a mythical creature of English folklore. He is never directly called "Thorpe" by any character; he is only named in the credits. He is only referred to as "brother" by Holmes. His gravestone carried the name "Insp. T. Holmes". | ||
Revision as of 19:51, 29 June 2011
Not to be confused with Sherlock Holmes (2009 film). 2010 film| Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Rachel Lee Goldenberg |
| Screenplay by | Paul Bales Stephen Fiske |
| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Narrated by | David Shackleton |
| Cinematography | Adam Silver |
| Edited by | Rachel Lee Goldenberg |
| Music by | Chris Ridenhour |
| Distributed by | |
| Release date |
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| Running time | 85 minutes |
| Countries | |
| Language | English |
Sherlock Holmes (officially titled Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes) is a 2010 direct-to-DVD mystery film directed by Rachel Lee Goldenberg, produced by independent American film studio The Asylum and released by British distributor Revolver Entertainment. It is based on the Sherlock Holmes characters created by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Torchwood star Gareth David Lloyd plays Dr. John Watson and Ben Syder (making his film debut) plays Sherlock Holmes. The film is a mockbuster intended to capitalise upon the 2009 film of the same name directed by Guy Ritchie, and is the second film by The Asylum to be inspired by the writings of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The film was shot in Caernarfon, Wales on a low budget. The Asylum had previously used the same locations to film Merlin and the War of the Dragons.
The film details the "chronicle of greatest accomplishment" in which famous detective Sherlock Holmes (Ben Syder, making his film debut) and his companion Dr. Watson (Gareth David Lloyd) investigate a string of unusual monster attacks that defy belief, before stumbling on Spring-Heeled Jack's plot to destroy London and assassinate the Queen. The film has been shown on the Syfy channel in the United Kingdom. The film is also available on iTunes.
Plot
The film begins during the Blitz in London in 1940 (World War Two). An elderly and very unwell Dr. John Watson (David Shackleton) tells his nurse the tale of his most complex adventure with Sherlock Holmes (Ben Syder), which he and Holmes vowed never to tell the public or adapt into one of Watson's famous journals.
Several incidents in 1882 lead to the consulting-detective Sherlock Holmes investigating with aid from his companion, Dr. Watson (Gareth David-Lloyd). They investigate a ship carrying gold which was destroyed by a mythical giant octopus on the coast of Newhaven. They do not believe the first-hand accounts of the sole survivor of the attack (Neil Williams), but nonetheless investigate. When investigating the remains of the ship on the coast, Holmes is told by Inspector Lestrade that he has recently had contact with his estranged brother Thorpe.
In Whitechapel, a young man is killed by a small Tyrannosaurus rex. Watson doesn't believe article about the monster until he and Holmes are on a walk in some woods, and the dinosaur appears and chases them. Finding escape, they come across several more clues that make Holmes believe the monsters are artificial, built by a criminal genius. On the case, the dinosaur steals a water pump operating a fountain and much copper wire, raising questions as to what the creature's inventor is trying to achieve. The octopus that destroyed the ship earlier is linked to the dinosaur because they are both similarly "exceptionally improbable". Lestrade is also investigating the crimes and stalks Holmes and Watson on their mission to solve the mysteries. On one of their leads, Lestrade ends up missing. Holmes's astounding logic leads himself and Watson to an old castle in Helmsmouth he and his brother visited as children. They come across another monster, a mechanical man: Spring-Heeled Jack.
The person under the mask is revealed to be Holmes' brother, Thorpe and Miss Ivory, his accomplice, is with him. Thorpe explains that the crimes were committed to make an armory that would keep him alive from the bullet wedged in his spine. All the tools his monsters stole, the gold, the water pump and the copper wire all contributed to the creation of his suit. He plans to destroy London and force Lestrade, who he believes shot him years ago, to take the blame. Holmes tries to attack Thorpe, only to be shot and presumably killed by Miss Ivory.
Miss Ivory is revealed to be one of Thorpe's robotic creations (and his lover), and Thorpe has placed a bomb in her workings that will detonate when she reaches Buckingham Palace, home of Queen Victoria, while Thorpe pilots his most complex invention yet, a fire-breathing dragon in which he pilots and holds Lestrade hostage. Holmes returns, having survived the gunshot as his tobacco box in his pocket stopped the bullet. Watson is sent to stop Miss Ivory from assassinating the Queen, while Holmes pilots another one of Thorpe's inventions, a hot-air balloon driven by helicopter propellers and armed with guns, in an attempt to stop his brother.
Thorpe sets fire to Parliament and Westminster Abbey in his battle with his brother. Ivory is deactivated by Watson moments before the explosion can take place and Thorpe's dragon is sent crashing in the garden outside the Palace. Thorpe crawls from the wreckage and tries to shoot Watson, before he himself is killed by Sherlock Holmes. Lestrade, as usual, takes credit for solving the case. Holmes and Watson vow never to speak of the events again, because of how it personally affected Holmes and his certainty that the world isn't ready.
In present time, Watson dies and his nurse visits his grave. She sees Miss Ivory visiting the grave of Thorpe Holmes, questioning her thoughts that the story is false.
Cast
- Ben Syder as Sherlock Holmes; The famous consulting detective with astounding logic and the ability to deduce wide observations from small details. He is employed to investigate the mysterious destruction of a treasury ship and soon finds himself chasing down Spring-Heeled Jack's mechanical monsters. Syder makes his film debut as Holmes.
- Gareth David Lloyd as Dr. John Watson; Holmes's personal physician and biographer and a veteran of the Second Afghan War. Watson takes up a more central role than Holmes, as most of the film is shown from Watson's perspective, in a similar vein to Watson's narrative in the classic stories.
- Dominic Keating as Thorpe Holmes/Spring-Heeled Jack; The film's antagonist, a former police inspector and estranged brother of Sherlock Holmes who was wounded in action, having been shot in the spine and paralysed by bank robbers seven years prior to the film's events. He blames Lestrade, and when becoming a scientific genius, uses advanced technologies to build mechanical monsters to terrorize London and attempt an assassination of Queen Victoria. He builds a copper biomechanical suit to overcome his paralysation and dons the identity of Spring-Heeled Jack. Spring-Heeled Jack is the name of a mythical creature of English folklore. His suit, decorated with steampunk styles to fit with the Victorian setting, resembles the Cybermen from Doctor Who.
- William Huw as Inspector Lestrade; An infrequent accomplice of Sherlock Holmes who is easily baffled and ignorant, and tends to take credit for Holmes's accomplishments.
- Elizabeth Arends as Anesidora Ivory; Spring-Heeled Jack's assisstant.
- David Shackleton as Old Dr. Watson; An elderly Watson who tells his nurse about the case during the German air raids of London in the Second World War.
- Catriona McDonald as Mrs. Hudson; Sherlock Holmes's landlady.
- Rachael Evelyn as Miss Lucy Hudson; Old Watson's nurse. She shares the same surname as Holmes's traditional landlady, but whether or not there is a connection between the characters is not made clear.
- Neil Williams as Phineas Stiles; The sole survivor of the giant octopus attack on a treasury ship.
- Dylan Jones as Grolton
- Chris Coxon as John Poole; the first known victim of the dinosaur.
- Katie Thomas as Sally Fassbinder; a prostitute in Whitechapel, also going by the name "Mrs. Pinchcock" who gives her first-hand account of the attack on Poole in the Daily Telegraph.
- Iago Patrick McGuire as Lees; a friend of Holmes's who aids Watson when he abseils down the cliffs.
Reception
Sherlock Holmes was met with skepticism immediately upon the announcement of its pending release. The horror film website Dread Central criticized the plot synopsis, which indicated that Holmes would be facing "enormous monsters" attacking London. Their reviewer said: "Sherlock Holmes, monster slayer. Who wants another snooty Sherlock Holmes mystery when you can have him and Dr. Watson make like Buffy and Angel? Maybe they can take it a step further and have Holmes' cocaine habit affect him in much the same way as Popeye's spinach."
Reviews of the film have been mixed, with the majority being positive. Steve Anderson of Screenhead.com called it "one of The Asylum's better movies", adding: "Many of The Asylum's earlier efforts have proven somewhat, well, unpleasant, but this time around we've actually got something downright entertaining." Fangoria's review said that "Rachel Lee Goldenberg's direction is well-paced, and the action, especially a lengthy climactic sequence, is pretty exciting", concluding: "It's probably the best Asylum film to date, and worthwhile for anyone who is willing to check reality at the door and just enjoy the silly ride."
Jay Seaver of eFilmCritic said that "the film has its good points as a steampunk adventure" and that Goldenberg is "pretty good with the action and pacing", but criticized Ben Syder's Holmes, concluding: "Maybe a better Holmes would have allowed this movie to more squarely hit the mark, as it otherwise does surprisingly well by playing its outlandish premise fairly straight." HorrorTalk.com's review said, "This conveniently timed release of Sherlock Holmes will never be confused with the Hollywood blockbuster, but neither will it disappoint fans of the low-budget adventure."
Home release
Sherlock Holmes was released on DVD on January 26, 2010, a month after the Guy Ritchie film. The DVD features the full-length film and extras like a making-of feature called Exile on Baker Street: A Behind-the-scenes look at Sherlock Holmes, the official trailer and bloopers from filming. The DVD was given a 12 rating in the UK. The Syfy channel broadcasts the film under the full title Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and usually cuts out some of the bloodier violence for daytime viewers.
Trivia
- Like his book counterpart, Sherlock Holmes has an strong addiction to tobacco, which
incidently saves his life when his tobacco box stops a bullet in its path. The film doesn't give much insight into Holmes's other addictions to cocaine and morphine.
- The film is set in 1882, and Holmes and Watson are portrayed as fairly young at this time, which suggests that the film takes place early in their career. Inspector Lestrade does not seem to recognize Watson upon their first meeting in the film, which probably indicates that Lestrade was oblivious to Watson's presence in A Study in Scarlet. Similarly, Lestrade keeps his tendency to take credit for solving the cases that Holmes achieved.
- In a scene in which Holmes disguises himself as a homeless veteran of the Second Afghan War to fool Watson, Watson mentions that he was wounded himself in Maiwand during the campaign as he described in A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four. As the continuity errors within the canon sometimes state that Watson was shot in the leg, while others state he was shot in the shoulder, it is unclear which of these wounds the film's Watson suffered (though he doesn't have his traditional cane, which suggests he was more likely to have been shot in the shoulder).
- According to the film, Holmes's birth name is Robert Sherlock Holmes. This is first mentioned in the first confrontation with Holmes's brother Thorpe. This was completely unknown to anyone before these events, and when Watson asks about the name Robert in their final scene together, Holmes replies: "My given name is Robert Sherlock Holmes. But who would remember a detective called 'Robert Holmes?'".
- Holmes's brother Thorpe was not a canonical character in Conan Doyle's stories. Holmes's famous canonical brother Mycroft is given no mention.
- The film was filmed mostly in Caernarfon, Wales.
- The elderly Watson who appears at the start of the film mentions that the events of the film were "kept out of the journals". These journals are the published accounts of his cases. Watson is seen at one point in the film writing about the dinosaur, having already started writing about the case.
- The sea monster scene after the opening credits was filmed on the HMS Pickle. The scenes of the gigantic octopus destroying the ship are similar to scenes in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.
- Holmes teases Watson about being a ladies-man, usually indicating Watson's attraction to women and inability to hang on to a partner. In this case, the film takes place either before or after Watson's marriage to Mary Morstan.
- The elderly Watson states after Holmes shoots Thorpe "to the best of my knowledge, that was the only time I ever knew to fire a gun". Contrary to this, Holmes was known to fire guns frequently in the original stories. It is presumed that because Watson is clearly very old, he can only remember having seen Holmes shoot his brother in their most unforgettable adventure, whereas Holmes's other uses of a gun were forgotten.
- The dinosaur's first attack is in Whitechapel. This district of London was probably chosen as a setting for its fame in being the killing ground of Jack the Ripper in 1888. Katie Thomas, who plays the prositute Sally Fassbinder in the Whitechapel scene, previously played one of Jack the Ripper's victims in a BBC docudrama about the Ripper's crimes.
- Lestrade and Thorpe Holmes are portrayed in the film as former partners in Scotland Yard.
- The first scene to feature the exterior of 221b Baker Street is quite similar to the opening title sequence of the 1984 Sherlock Holmes TV series.
- The Asylum describes the film as being an "adventure for the Doctor Who age", suggesting that it intends to attract audiences of Doctor Who as well as Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes. Gareth David Lloyd, who plays Watson, appeared in Doctor Who's spin-off Torchwood as Ianto Jones.
- Holmes infrequently states some of his well-known catchphrases. In his first on-screen appearance, he says to Watson that his diagnosis of Watson's autopsy subject is "elementary". In the same scene, when insisting Watson joins him on his new case, he says "come, Watson. The game is afoot", a line he first used in The Adventure of the Abbey Grange. In a touching scene in the climax of the film in which Watson is pleased to see Holmes alive (this is the only time in the film Watson refers to him as "Sherlock"), Holmes breaks the silence by saying "Come, Watson. Onwards and upwards!".
- Inesadora Ivory, when convincing Dr. Watson to give her "uncle" strong medications, she insists that she and her uncle are not "opium fiends". This refers to the heavy use and selling of opium in London's East-end in the 1800s. Selling or taking drugs like opium were not considered crimes in these days. The mention of opium could be a referance to opium's use of a plot focus in The Man with the Twisted Lip.
- On the United Kingdom edition of the DVD, the blurb describes Spring-Heeled Jack as Holmes's "arch-nemesis". Viewers could argue that Holmes's arch nemesis is Professor Moriarty. As to whether or not Holmes and Watson have encountered Moriarty by the time the film is set is unclear.
- Thorpe Holmes (Dominic Keating) is affectionately given the alter-ego Spring-Heeled Jack by the producers, though he is not given this name in the film. Spring-Heeled Jack was the name given to a mythical creature of English folklore. He is never directly called "Thorpe" by any character; he is only named in the credits. He is only referred to as "brother" by Holmes. His gravestone carried the name "Insp. T. Holmes".
See also
- King of the Lost World - another Asylum film loosely based on the writings of Arthur Conan Doyle
- Sherlock Holmes - the 2009 film of the same title directed by Guy Ritchie
- Young Sherlock Holmes another Sherlock Holmes film which uses similar steampunk themes
References
- Prepolec, Charles (October 7, 2009). "DVD: The Asylum's Cash-In Sherlock Holmes Movie". Sherlock Holmes News. Retrieved December 8, 2009.
- The Foywonder (September 21, 2009). "Elementary, My Dear Asylum". Dread Central. Retrieved December 8, 2009.
- Anderson, Steve (January 26, 2010). "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes Movie Review–Don't Laugh; It's From The Asylum". Retrieved January 26, 2010.
- “SHERLOCK HOLMES” (DVD Review) - fangoria.com
- Movie Review - Sherlock Holmes (2010) - eFilmCritic
- Sherlock Holmes DVD Review - HorrorTalk.com
- Prepolec, Charles (October 7, 2009). "DVD: The Asylum's Cash-In Sherlock Holmes Movie". Sherlock Holmes News. Retrieved December 8, 2009.