For Lord Bassington-Bassington, there will only be one Sherlock Holmes: Jeremy Brett. And no, it's not just because our friends at Orchestra Noir paid homage to him, though we here at Bassington Manor have to admit that this did play a part in our decision to purchase a DVD box of Jeremy Brett's collected works as Mr. Holmes.
As a result of this, His Lordship has so far refused to see the Sherlock Holmes film currently making the rounds in the cinemas. An American as Sherlock Holmes? No, thank you.
Which brings us to this little snippet, which illustrates why silent movies are so superb. For when small-talk is eliminated, only the truly relevant questions remain.
If one is going to choose a wildly inappropriate actor who likes to undress to portray Mr. Holmes, why not just as well go for Arnold Schwartzenegger? Or a Russian?
It turns out somebody already had that last idea. And as the film below shows, however evil the Soviet Union was, it could make a better Sherlock Holmes than the current capitalist movie industry (thanks to The World's Coolest Librarian for the tip).
Perhaps His Lordship has to moderate his passionate anti-communism?
Now playing: L'Orhestra Noir's homage to the real Holmes. On beautiful, single-malt coloured vinyl.
No comment. It became so bloody long that I put it here instead:
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My comment however, will be brief. Far be it from me to keep you from moderating your anti-communism, but I just wanted to raise my voice in defense of the new Sherlock Holmes movie, which I recently viewed with not a small amount of trepidation beforehand. I expected utter rubbish, and yes... it was rubbish-like, but it was also entertaining and aestheticaly pleasing. In particular if you share my steampunk sensibility for pseudo-victorian fashion and style.
ReplyDeleteWhile not a classic Sherlock Holmes tale, it was a decent romp, and should be enjoyed as such.
My dear Sirs; I suspect that I'll find the film quite enjoyable too, once my irritation subsides. One of the reasons I haven't seen it is that Norwegian cinemas aren't very Basset-friendly. But I have a feeling I'll see it some lazy afternoon sometime in the comfort of Bassington Manor.
ReplyDeleteDo that, but it really is a movie that is best enjoyed in a cinema, extremely visual as it is. And it's so damn loud you will not hear the chattering of the cinema-chattering classes.
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