Young Sherlock Holmes
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| Young Sherlock Holmes | |
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| Directed by | Barry Levinson |
| Produced by | Mark Johnson Henry Winkler |
| Written by | Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (characters) Chris Columbus (screenplay) |
| Starring | See below |
| Music by | Bruce Broughton |
| Cinematography | Stephen Goldblatt |
| Editing by | Stu Linder |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | December 4, 1985 (USA) |
| Running time | 109 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $18,000,000 (estimated) |
| IMDb profile | |
Young Sherlock Holmes (1985), directed by Barry Levinson and written by Chris Columbus, depicts a young Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson meeting and solving a mystery together at a boarding school.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle never wrote about Sherlock Holmes or Dr. Watson in their youth. Although the first Sherlock Holmes novel A Study in Scarlet did tell about Holmes and Watson did first meet, Young Sherlock Holmes shows how it might have happened if they met in their youth.
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[edit] Plot
A group of wealthy, well-established men in London become the target of a mysterious cloaked figure, who uses a blowpipe to shoot thorns into the targets' necks. The thorns, dipped into a solution of various botanical extracts, cause the victims to have violent and frightening hallucinations. These images ultimately result in the victims' deaths, but in such a way that they are written off as suicides or hysteric fits.
John Watson (who, as his adult self, also provides the narrative in the film) transfers to a prestigious boarding school, where he encounters Sherlock Holmes, with whom he becomes friends. Holmes notices that his mentor and retired schoolmaster, Professor Waxflatter, is very curious about the mysterious deaths. When Waxflatter himself dies under similar circumstances, Holmes suspects foul play, and he, his girlfriend Elizabeth (Waxflatter's niece), and Watson begin to investigate. Clue by clue, Holmes traces the mysterious cloaked figure to a warehouse known as Froggit and Froggit, in the Wapping area of London.
The trio proceed to the warehouse, to find abandoned Egyptian figurines and a large wooden pyramid. They all enter and view, from a hiding place, an Ancient-Egyptian-themed cult, known as the Rame-Tep (also known as Rametep and Ramatep), performing a ceremony in which a young girl is hypnotized, wrapped in linen and killed with the pouring of boiling wax atop her body. The trio are spotted, and are each hit by a thorn and experience their own horrific hallucinations in a graveyard, but eventually recover.
Following more clues, Sherlock Holmes eventually tracks down the killers to be Rathe, his present schoolmaster, and the school nurse, Mrs. Dribb. From the last survivor of Waxflatter's circle of friends, Holmes learns that the two are siblings of Anglo-Egyptian descent who were angry at the uncovering of the graves of five Egyptian princesses at the hands of the aforementioned wealthy men and the deaths of their parents in a resulting uprising, which was brutally subdued by English troops. They vowed to kill off those responsible for the tombs' desecration and their parents' deaths and so performed the ceremony to "replace" the bodies of the princesses. So far, four girls were killed, leaving only one left.
By this time, Elizabeth has been captured and the same ceremony the trio witnessed earlier is being performed on her. Holmes and Watson manage to stop the ceremony part way through, and the pyramid and the Rame-tep are incinerated. Rathe and Holmes participate in a heated swordfight after Elizabeth is shot by the schoolmaster (throwing herself in front of the bullet to save Holmes) and Rathe apparently perishes under the ice cover of the frozen Thames. Holmes goes back to talk to Elizabeth for a little bit before her death. They talk as follows
Sherlock Holmes: Someday we'll be reunited. In another world, a much better world.
Elizabeth Hardy: I'll be waiting. And you'll be late... as always. (This occurrence also tries to explain Holmes' bachelor life in the works of Arthur Conan Doyle.)
The movie ends when Sherlock Holmes departs the school. After the credits, however, we find out that Rathe survived the swordfight and lived to be Professor James Moriarty, Holmes' future arch nemesis.
[edit] Miscellaneous
MOVIE TAGLINE - Before a lifetime of adventure, They had the adventure of a lifetime.
The film is also notable for including the first fully computer-generated character, a knight composed of elements from a stained glass window. The effect was created by Lucasfilm's John Lasseter (now executive vice-president at Pixar Animation Studios) before Pixar was sold the next year, who would go on to create Toy Story 10 years later.
In Britain the film was re-titled Young Sherlock Holmes and the Pyramid of Fear, in a nod to the previous year's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
References to the literary Holmes and how he acquired his distinct characteristics:
- Holmes has started learning to play the violin during the opening scenes, and is quite frustrated that he has not mastered the instrument even after 3 days of practice and wants to smash the violin because he fears it will drive him insane.
- His pipe is originally bought by Watson to allow them to question an antique shop dealer; in the conclusion, Watson presents it to Holmes as a parting gift.
- His Inverness cape originally belonged to Rathe, and is also his first trophy.
- His deerstalker cap belonged to his mentor Waxflatter, but is given to him after Waxflatter's death by his niece Elizabeth. Holmes refuses to wear it at first but due to Elizabeth's and Watson's persistence he puts it on, and by the end of the adventure Holmes has started to wear the cap regularly (understandably to remember her always).
Memorable Quotes -
Waxflatter: Elementary, my dear Holmes... elementary.
Sherlock Holmes: Sherlock Holmes, jealous? My dear, that word does not enter my vocabulary. Elizabeth Hardy: Neither does punctuality.
John Watson: That was a girl. Sherlock Holmes: Brilliant deduction, Watson.
Rathe: Holmes, remember what I always taught you - control your emotions or they will be your downfall.
John Watson: Holmes, wait. What if the murderer is inside? Sherlock Holmes: Then I shall introduce myself to him.
John Watson: What have I gotten myself into? Sherlock Holmes: The adventure of a lifetime, Watson.
Sherlock Holmes: Someday we'll be reunited. In another world, a much better world. Elizabeth Hardy: I'll be waiting. And you'll be late... as always.
[edit] Cast
- Nicholas Rowe as Sherlock Holmes
- Alan Cox as John Watson
- Anthony Higgins as Rathe
- Sophie Ward as Elizabeth Hardy
- Roger Ashton-Griffiths as Lestrade
- Freddie Jones as Cragwitch
- Nigel Stock as Waxflatter
- Brian Oulton as Master Snelgrove
- Susan Fleetwood as Mrs. Dribb
- Earl Rhodes as Dudley
- Patrick Newell as Bentley Bobster
- Donald Eccles as Reverend Duncan Nesbitt
[edit] External links
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