Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)

the audience applauded

Excellent but underrated film

best movie i've ever seen.

Absolutely brilliant

Am a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes and get a lot of enjoyment out of Arthur Conan Doyle's stories. Also love Basil Rathbone's and especially Jeremy Brett's interpretations to death. So would naturally see any Sherlock Holmes adaptation that comes my way, regardless of its reception.Moreover, interest in seeing early films based on Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories and wanting to see as many adaptations of any Sherlock Holmes stories as possible sparked my interest in seeing 'Young Sherlock Holmes'. Thought that with such great talent on board in front of and behind the camera that it couldn't fail.Fail 'Young Sherlock Holmes' does not. It is not perfect and is not quite great, but it is hugely entertaining and hard to dislike. It is not one of the all-time Holmes adaptations or one of the worst (nothing's worse than Peter Cook's/Dudley Moore's 'The Hound of the Baskervilles'), and of the Sherlock Holmes films seen recently it is along with 'The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes' the best. It may not be Conan Doyle, and how Holmes and Watson meet here is contradictory to 'A Study in Scarlet', but as a standalone it delivers on the entertainment value.'Young Sherlock Holmes' can get pretty silly at times, with the last act being over-the-top nonsense and in a way that is not in keeping with the rest of the story, which took a fun and light-hearted approach often but never to extremes. There are times where it does feel like it was trying to do too much.Also found a few cast members to be on the hammy side, Freddie Jones goes overboard a bit. Otherwise there is not an awful lot to dislike about 'Young Sherlock Holmes'. It still holds up as a great looking film, it is beautifully and atmospherically shot but the stars are the set design for Baker Street and the imaginative special effects (the knight is a standout). The direction is efficient and at ease with the material on the most part. Bruce Broughton's music score is like a character of its own and adds so much character to the film. The writing is playful and witty while also intelligent and thought-provoking. The story throughout goes at a lively pace and is so much fun to watch, with a mystery that intrigues hugely. There are even some wonderfully strange moments, Watson's hallucination is one of the most bizarre on film but it's great fun to watch and imaginatively handled.Nicholas Rowe displays much charisma as Holmes, with even in youth shades of the detective's iconic character traits. Alan Cox is a loyal and amusing Watson and the chemistry between them is charming. Sophie Ward exudes charm and class and Anthony Higgins has a whale of a time. In summary, not great or perfect but a huge amount of fun. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Young Sherlock Holmes (1985) is a typical "modern" movie in which special effects are king and the story is constructed to serve the effects, rather than vice versa. The plot, of course, is full of holes, but trifles like that did not worry 1985's picture-goers. Admittedly, the movie is super- spectacular, over-poweringly so at times, and sufficiently well acted to get us involved in the story before the next bout of special effects takes us back to fantasy land. Needless to say, this picture was extremely popular when first released back in 1985.But it now seems to be forgotten by the corduroy set. In fact, I'd completely forgotten it myself until I stumbled across a few paragraphs I wrote for "The Hollywood Reporter".(Available on a 10/10 Paramount DVD).

This movie begins and ends by saying that there are no Sherlock Holmes novels written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle that this movie is based on. It says that it means no disrespect to the man and this is simply how the people who worked on this movie personally interpreted what it would be like if Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson met at an early age. This movie features a young Sherlock Holmes and that's really all you need to know. The most noteworthy thing about film is the special effects. It was the first time in any movie that a full CGI character appeared. It's the knight that appears out of the stained glass window.I was fearing it would just be a really brief scene but it really is important to the story. Even the DVD advertises the great special effects. Honestly, for a film decades old, they hold up! Of course, this is a good movie for the good writing and the like. I thought Sherlock was narrating at first, but it was actually Watson. We get some really cute set ups to later parts of the Sherlock Holmes mythology. It all pays up at the end with a great climax and be sure to stay after the credits too. I was reminded of "Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom" which came out the previous year also made by Steven Spielberg. I had no idea he worked on this movie and was so prolific! ***

I am a great fan of the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I have also enjoyed a number of the British TV adaptations of the Holmes stories over the years, with Jeremy Brett, Douglas Wilmer and Peter Cushing in the title role. I regret to say, however, that "Young Sherlock Holmes" is simply not my cup of tea. I like my Sherlock Holmes to be presented in a traditional fashion - with foggy streets peopled by urchins and beggars, smoke-filled sitting rooms and hansom cabs. We get little of that sort of thing in this film. What we do get are seemingly expensive special effects that are quite out of keeping with the world of Holmes and Watson in a film that reminded me in places of the Indiana Jones movies, The Goonies and even Back to the Future. I suppose that's the influence of Steven Spielberg for you (he's one of the executive producers of the film)!The plot centres on Holmes's adolescent years. Much of the action takes place at an English public school known as Brompton. The film suggests that it was, in fact, here where Holmes and Watson first met, when both were pupils together and shared the same dormitory. The story concerns the investigation by the teenage Holmes of a number of seemingly unrelated murders that involve a religious cult and the use of hallucinatory drugs. It's all enjoyable enough, I suppose, if you are happy to accept the use of special effects and, given what happens in the Conan Doyle stories, a somewhat unconvincing love interest for Holmes. There is no doubt that the special effects themselves are imaginative: a roast pheasant on a restaurant diner's plate bites back; hat stands seemingly come to life; and Watson is attacked by cakes in a bizarre graveyard scene. But, as I say, they have no place in a film of this sort. The acting is good - the supporting cast is made up of a number of high quality British character actors such as Freddie Jones, Nigel Stock and Roger Ashton-Griffiths. And the direction is competent, if uninspiring. So, I give some marks to "Young Sherlock Holmes" for trying to do something slightly different. But the film just doesn't work for me. 5/10.I should add that it is important to keep watching right up to the end of the closing credits, when a nice little twist is delivered. I wonder how many of the people who saw "Young Sherlock Holmes" in the cinema missed it, given that, in my experience, many cinema-goers seem to rush for the exit almost as soon as the closing credits begin to roll!