The best Sherlock Holmes

[Richard Burley]

Rathbone was good; Brett was awesome.

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[leacha]

I'm 45 and its Basil. I even have a pipe like his.

 

[DrumsAndBeer]

the best holmes for me is Jeremy Brett.a Charakter Player perfektly

I agree.

 

[user 2031]

I haven't reread all of the posts, but has anyone watched the Russian version with Vasily Livanov. So many reviews from Sherlockians say he portrays Sherlock the best of all. I would really like to watch some of the Russian episodes sometime. The best I have watched though, it comes to Jeremy Brett, hands down.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/S2Z53uN6y10" frameborder="0" loading="lazy" allowfullscreen ></iframe>

 

[pipe-lover]

i think Jeremy Brett have fine different Charakter,but i like basil ratbone.

 

[apocrisiarius]

WIthout a doubt Jeremy Brett. He inhabited the role (occassionally at the cost of his health) and while his acting is sometimes a little overblown the material demands it.


Still, while i'm new to pipe smoking, i'm pretty sure this is not a recommended method of re-lighting.

Youtube Link.  :shock:

Now the best Watson? That's a different story.

 

[eklektos44]

Jeremy Brett hands down. All the nervous energy and lack of tact of the stories. Also the Grenada series was closest, in most cases, to the actual canon. That said my favorite Watson was Howard Marion Crawford.

 

[williamcharles]

Rathbone

 

[pipeclubsi]

Found some pics of Plummer with pipe:

 

[thedeep]

Has anyone read "The Beekeeper's Apprentice?" It's Sherlock as a near 60 fellow with a new partner a young woman. It's a rather good read.

 

[mel64us]

I have the same set that Winslow mentioned, Ronald Howard as Holmes.
Basil Rathbone and Jeremy Brett, IMO, were the best Holmes.

 

[Fazby]

I actually liked the Howard version of Holmes except the blown aspects such as Watson showing Holmes how to punch.

 

[user 4351]

I've yet to see a Sherlock who fits the image I see in my head. I rather enjoy Basil Rathbone, and I think he's probably the closest, but even then I'm likely too young not to dismiss some of his performance as "cheesy." As much as I might dislike it, I'm biased by having grown up with a different kind of movie.

Robert Downey Jr.'s "Sherlock" was enjoyable, but the character he portrayed is so different from the Sherlock I read in the stories that the two aren't the same character in my head. Butternut Squasherback did the character some justice as well, but again, there's a disconnect, as he's nothing like the person I imagine.

If I could cast the role simply on appearance, I imagine someone more like a younger, more gaunt Daniel Day-Lewis, with a younger, blonder Ralph Fiennes (with the walrus mustache, of course) as Watson. As far as acting ability, I've no doubt those gentlemen could have pulled it off, though even the stories "suffer" from a bit of a "forced dialogue" problem to my modern mind--a problem I recognize is created by my biases, not by any fault in Doyle's writing, given the time in which he wrote the stories.

For a retelling, I would rewrite the dialogue with a slight alteration in some of the interactions, just so they don't have that "forced" aspect to them, but mostly I'd try my best to leave it alone. Translating a written work to the screen is difficult, and often requires breaking the literary work in several ways to piece it together so that it works in a visual medium.

I can enjoy almost any popular rendition of Holmes, but I'm not a purist, and none of those renditions really touch the character I envision in my mind.

 

[D.L.Ruth]

A am ashamed to say I have not seen any of them, with the exception of the episode of Star Trek: TNG where Data plays Holmes (Elementary, Dear Data)

 

[Fazby]

Well, I watched the Brett series, courtesy of the local library (and interlibrary loans). Brett is very good.

Alas, I have Rathbone stuck in my mind. His movies are like a comfort food. HOWEVER, the portrayal of Watson is poor.

I can dream: Basil Rathbone taking Brett's place with the direction, etc of the Brett series. Whether Watson is played by Bruce, Hardwicke or Burke is less critical; just not a buffoon!

 

[Mikem]

I enjoyed the Jeremy Brett versions (and think he did a fine job) but I'm still partial to watching the Basil Rathbone episodes. I can't think of the number of times I have read the stories.

 

[DrT999]

Ignoring the stories and just looking at Holmes, I think Brett did the best job of portraying a Holmes towards the end of his career, although I do like Rathbone, and some of the others who have done the role over the years have been ok. However, both Brett & Rathbone were around the age when Holmes was nearing retirement. In 'A Study in Scarlet' both would have been in their mid-to-late 20s at most, so my idea of Homes up to his 'return' is almost always much younger than the actors playing him.

 

[Ranger107]

Haven't watched this for many years but you guys have piqued my interest. May go back and watch again.

 

[user 6310]

I'm a decided Jeremy Brett guy! He brought a certain charm to Holmes that few others were able to deliver.

just watched ,The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and The Return of Sherlock Holmes on a cable streaming service and I totally agree, Jeremy Brett is ,hands down ,one of the best characterizations of the famous sleuth. I was brought up on Basil Rathbone's take on the character and thought his Holmes was the best, especially after watching every Holmes movie I could find. Not many actors can inhabit the role like these two men. I must confess that I am much of a purist when it comes to Holmes in tv. ,movies, and in literature and I find Jeremy Brett brings great enthusiasm and is a joy to watch. Love his choice of churchwardens ,especially the Cutty and later the Dublin

 

[Singed]

I always confuse Jeremy Brett and Ron Jeremy.