Customer Reviews

Young Sherlock Holmes

5 star:		(59)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Sherlock Holmes is one of the best known detectives in the world -- so famous in fact, that 221B Baker Street in London continues to get mail addressed to this fictional character almost a century after he would have died had he been a real person. There are groups of people -- Sherlockians and Holmesians, the distinction between which is rather subtle -- who delight in retelling the tales; it has become somewhat traditional to try to fill in the gaps, things left out of the 'canonical' stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle -- 56 short stories and 4 novels. The official tales allude to happenings beyond them -- some authors take up the point there, and others create fanciful tales altogether. These have been made into films, television programmes and radio programmes for most of the history of their publication.

This film, 'Young Sherlock Holmes', derives from the mid-1980s film of the same name, produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by Barry Levinson as an homage to Holmes and Holmes fans. The screenplay, written by Chris Columbus, was adapted into novel form by Alan Arnold. This story fills in the gaps of Holmes' childhood and education.

There are many wonderful pieces here -- it breaks with the canon in that it introduces Holmes (then 16 years old) and Watson as school mates at a private school. Holmes is struggling to learn to play the violin (a canonical piece), and already displays prodigious powers of observation and deduction. He is a loner for the most part, a bit of trouble with authorities and often underestimated. Lestrade is also introduced here, as a junior policeman.

The game is afoot in short order when Holmes' favourite, highly-eccentric professor dies mysteriously; this death mirrors in a fashion several other deaths, which leads Holmes and his new sidekick Watson on a merry chase, along with Elizabeth (this early relationship and its outcome is meant to explain the later absence of women in Holmes' life). The headmaster is generally supportive of Holmes, but is his support all that it seems?

The chase leads Holmes through the London underworld he will later come to know very well, tracking down a mysterious cult with Egyptian origins. Arnold's researching into the Egyptian lore, as well as details about London and Holmesian detail is impressive. Arnold holds Holmes as an ideal, stating in an author's epilogue that Holmes is as much the chivalric medieval knight as a Victorian and Edwardian gentleman.

This is a mystery very much in the spirit of Conan Doyle. The clues are there -- one merely needs to follow them to a logical conclusion. Some purists may balk, but this is an intriguing addition to the body of post-Conan Doyle literature, a worthy pastiche.

The lead is played by Nicholas Rowe, an actor deserving of more recognition. Alan Cox plays John Watson - had the Harry Potter stories come about twenty years earlier, he might well have been cast in that role. Sophie Ward plays the love interest for Holmes - Holmes is noted in the stories for not being particularly amorous of nature, and this story attempts to explain that. Anthony Higgins is the villain (do be sure to see the final bonus scene after the credits for the transformation of the villain), assisted by Susan Fleetwood as his 'moll' of sorts. Rounding out the cast is Freddie Jones as Cragwitch and Nigel Stock as Waxflatter, an eccentric (possibly mad) scientist/academic who is friends with Holmes.

The CGI graphics stand up with to time - the walking stained-glass window knight is reminiscent of the knight in 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'. The sets, costumes and other effects of the film are really well tended, as is the care taken to add elements faithful to the original stories of Holmes.

Young Sherlock Holmes is a truly excellent film. Although the story is totally apocryphal and Holmes Purists may be upset by the story, it is certainly one of the most fun I have ever watched about the Sleuth.

The Acting is great, the story is great and the score is a classic, but the where this film truly shimes, at least for me, is the visual effects.

Since this film was made before Computer Animation was widely used, there are a number of puppetry/stop action scenes that are amazing, as well as a computer animated stained glass knight.

This movie is a must watch, all the way through the credits (which contains an excellent indulgent twist).

L'achat était pour ma fille, à sa demande. Le produit était bien emballé, le DVD pas égratigné, c'était parfait. Merci.

I remember seeing this when i was 10 years old in the theater and loved it. 18 years later it is a movie i can still watc hover and over. This movie did not get the credit it deserved! whatever happened to the actors of the movie? especially sophie ward who played elizabeth. she was great. nicholas rowe and alan cox did a good job as well as sherlock and watson.
Basically the plot is about a "Young sherlock holmes" meeting watson at school and his love interest elizabeth. along the way they happen to find a cult and set out to destroy it. The best thing about this besides the special effects is the acting! they should rerelease this in a few years for its 20 anniversary the same way they did E.T. highly recommended!!

YOUNG SHERLOCK HOLMES (USA 1985): In Victorian London, the teenage Sherlock Holmes (Nicholas Rowe) and John Watson (Alan Cox) meet for the first time at school, where they become intrigued by a series of apparently unrelated 'suicides' which lead them to a murderous Egyptian cult operating in the bowels of the city...

Barry Levinson's reimagining of Holmes' teenage years is an enjoyable - though inconsequential - work which blends old-fashioned British melodrama with the demands of a US summer blockbuster (Steven Spielberg is one of the co-producers), whilst simultaneously acknowledging its debt to previous Holmes movies (note the iconic 'shadow-on-cobblestones' during the opening credits, derived from a similar image featured in the Rathbone-Bruce movies of the 1940's). The script, by future director Chris Columbus (HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCEROR'S STONE), plays fair with audience expectations by setting Holmes on the trail of a shadowy villain who leaves a series of intriguing clues in his/her wake, and the entire production is sumptuously designed (by Norman Reynolds) and photographed (by Stephen Goldblatt). Vivid set-pieces include a number of frightening hallucinations suffered by the 'suicide' victims before they die (parents of younger children, take note), and there's a major plot development at the VERY END of the film. Of the younger cast members, only Cox makes much of an impression, playing Watson as a decent, loyal friend prone to juvenile weaknesses (in particular, a fondness for custard tarts!), while Sophie Ward is unable to make much of an underwritten role as Holmes' first - and only - sweetheart. Rowe's performance as Holmes lacks the zest and dynamism that might have lifted the movie out of the ordinary, and his blank-faced, emotionless characterization is the single most disappointing aspect of the entire production, though the supporting cast of familiar British thesps (including Freddie Jones, Anthony Higgins, Susan Fleetwood and Roger Ashton-Griffiths) does much to fill the void in Rowe's wake. Look out for some interesting names in the credits, including animatronics supervisor Stephen Norrington (later the director of BLADE and THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN) and computer animation technician John Lasseter (director of TOY STORY and A BUG'S LIFE).

The print used for Paramount's DVD has a few stray speckles, and part of the image seems to 'flicker' slightly, easily spotted on larger monitors during stationary shots (cf. the shot at 00:05:30, particularly on the right hand side), but this visual blemish won't even register for most viewers. Sound quality is excellent, with extensive use of surrounds, though bass is somewhat lacking in the 5.1 version. There are no extras, not even a trailer.

108m 44s
1.85:1 / Anamorphically enhanced
DVD soundtracks: Dolby 5.1/Dolby Surround 2.0
Theatrical soundtrack: 6-track Dolby Stereo
Optional English subtitles and closed captions
Region 1

I remember watching this movie in the theatre as a kid, and talking about it so much a friend bought it for me on VHS 2 Christmas~s ago...AND NOW...It is finally available on DVD. This is an excellent film. Fantastic mix of action, adventure and fantasy. BUY IT!

I only watched this movie a couple of days ago, but I'm already in love with it! The acting was great, only Potter... er, I mean Watson, was extremely annoying. I kept being reminded of Harry Potter all the time!! The chemistry teacher was like a Proffesor Binns, and Dudley (!) was like a mini Malfoy. It's extremely hard to believe that the two movies (or the movie and book) are completely unrelated! Anyways, I thought that the movie is very "misunderestimated" nowadays, and I'm extremely disappointed that there's no fansites of the actors or anything... I mean, they're all so good, Nicholas Rowe especially! The music was fantastic. If only I could get my hands on the soundtrack... and it's out on DVD!! Go watch it, you'll never regret it!!

Having never read any of the Sherlock Holmes books or seen any of the movies with the adult Sherlock Holmes character I saw Young Sherlock Holmes in a movie theater back in 1985 and it was for the most part an ok movie and had a good cast but I found the ending to be disappointing but that was really the only thing that I disliked about this movie.

Fans of Harry Potter should check out this Victoriana fantasy ; in style and tone, they have much in common. They share the classic English boarding school setting, and are filled with magic and monsters, jaw-dropping sets, and wonderfully crusty and unusual British personalities.

Chris Columbus, who helmed the first two Harry Potter movies, wrote the script for this bouncy marriage of a Sherlock Holmes detection story and an Indiana Jones-style cliffhangers. This odd combination received a lot of criticism when the film was first released, but ultimately the mixture of a Victorian detective story and an ancient Egyptian cult is charming and a lot of fun.

Nicholas Rowe is perfect as the snotty, elegant young Sherlock Holmes, and Sophie Ward is absolutely radiant as his romantic interest. Alan Cox as Watson (a dead-ringer for Daniel Radcliffe who plays Harry Potter) is less effective, but tolerable. The effects were groundbreaking in their time, featuring the first computer-generated characters -- animated by Pixar before they became a household word -- and still hold up nicely. They actually have more charm than most modern CGI effects. The film does suffer from slow patches and a premise that could have been pushed even further, but this is still a good family film and most older kids and adults interested in special effects should enjoy it. (Be warned, however: younger children may find parts too frightening.)

Sadly, as far as extras goes, the DVD is "Elementary, my dear Watson": nothing, not even a trailer. That's a shame, since many special effects breaththroughs were made on this movies, such as the computer animated stained-glass window character, and early work from Pixar (yes, Pixar!)

P.S.: Make sure you watch all the way through the end credits for the quick bonus scene.

I'll readily admit, here and now, hand on heart; I have never picked up a Sherlock Holmes book, never mind read one! I can tell you what I know about this: the author is Arthur Conan Doyle, and the names of the main characters are Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. That will get me far in a general knowledge quiz. Apart from that, I know nothing, and have no interest in the books. (Although, there is a Sherlock Holmes book based around the Titanic disaster by William B. Seil , and I want that!) So why did I watch this film? Arm pushed up behind my back; I was forced to watch it. OK, seriously, I was given it to watch, and I could have put off watching it, but I guess I was curious.

And to my utter horror, I actually found myself enjoying it! Not enough to go out and start reading the books though. But from a novice's point of view, to know nothing about the books, and to enjoy the film on its own, without having read the books, is quite good. When you've read the book and go to see the film based on the book (or vice versa), you end up liking one or the other. I wouldn't necessarily go out and buy the books, or borrow one from the library. But I really did like the film. And I wasn't expecting to!

The only thing that annoyed me about the film was the period of time it was set in. I know that's when it was supposed to be set, but the whole Victorian era just annoys me. The fashion, the little boys dressed up like old men, and the stupid way of talking.

I loved the characters. The little Harry Potter lookalike (Alan Cox) who played Watson, Sophie Ward who played Elizabeth was beautiful, and Sherlock (Nicholas Rowe) - well, I couldn't really see it, until he put on that stupid coat, hat and put the pipe in his mouth in the last few scenes.

It was also quite interesting to find out how the young Sherlock came across the items you would normally associate with Sherlock Holmes from the books. The daft-looking hat was from Elizabeth's uncle; the pipe is when Watson had to buy something in a shop; and the coat/cloak thing . . . Watch the film for yourself and find out.

Directed by the wonderful director who did Rain Man, Barry Levinson couldn't quite live up to Rain Man, but has done a brilliant job. The (young) stars shine in this.

If you're not a fan of Sherlock Holmes, don't worry. Look at me! Never read a book, and found myself enjoying it like any other film. Not really that much of a Christmas-y movie, until the end - apart from the snow on the ground of course!