Last night I watched a very entertaining film on DVD, 'The Seven Percent Solution' it is not based on anything written by Arthur Conan Doyle but on an ingenious book by an American writer. In the film Sherlock Holmes (Nicol Williamson) is tricked by Dr Watson (Robert Duvall, complete with bizarre English accent) into going to Vienna to see Sigmund Freud (Alan Arkin - brilliant!) to get treatment for his cocaine addiction and, of course, gets mixed up in solving a mystery. I thought it was great fun, part drama, murder mystery, adventure and comedy.
So, I thought I'd open a Sherlock Holmes thread where you can discuss anything you like about the fictional detective. My daughter made my visit the Sherlock Holmes Museum in London recently, which was fun although odd visiting a museum to a fictional character. I also live very near the town of Crowborough where Arthur Conan Doyle lived ( his house is now an old people's home). There is a statue of Conan Doyle in the town. Some of the stories are set locally including the English sections of 'The Valley of Fear', which is mainly set in an American mining community and features an agent of the Pinkerton Detective Agency. The Hound of the Baskervilles, both the book and the Basil Rathbone film are favourites and, of the short stories I like The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton when Holmes and Watson become burglars. Anyway this is a general thread for any aspect of Sherlock Holmes. I can't find an earlier Holmes thread but sorry if one exists.
Sherlock Holmes was based on a true person that Doyle met at the Edinburgh Infirmary in 1877. ACD was his clerk and he was very taken with Dr Joseph Bell's powers of observation. Bell had the ability to deduce facts about his patients from otherwise unremarkable details.
Quote from: Holden on November 04, 2017, 12:45:41 AM
Sherlock Holmes was based on a true person that Doyle met at the Edinburgh Infirmary in 1877. ACD was his clerk and he was very taken with Dr Joseph Bell's powers of observation. Bell had the ability to deduce facts about his patients from otherwise unremarkable details.
Yes, an interesting point.
Thanks.
I loved the stories as a boy and teenager (and at that age one finds at least some of them even scary). Around 2011 I became aware of the TV series with Jeremy Brett and I liked this a lot (it is one of two series I actually found worth buying on DVD and keeping, the other one is Jeeves and Wooster.) Brett is visibly aged and too stout in the last few but overall it is a great performance and overall a superb series. So around that time I re-read a few stories (one can get most of them for free for kindle). Not all of them hold up all that well, I am afraid, but many can still be an enjoyable read. While I seem to recall that as a kid I was particularly fond of the longer stories, I found them less interesting later, except maybe the "Hound" which is the best of the four novellas.
(Probably an unpopular opinion but I did not much care for the more recent "modernized" series (only saw the first handful) with Cumberbatch and even less for the steampunkish pseudovictorian movie with Robert Downey jr.)
Quote from: Jo498 on November 04, 2017, 12:58:55 AM
I loved the stories as a boy and teenager (and at that age one finds at least some of them even scary). Around 2011 I became aware of the TV series with Jeremy Brett and I liked this a lot (it is one of two series I actually found worth buying on DVD and keeping, the other one is Jeeves and Wooster.) Brett is visibly aged and too stout in the last few but overall it is a great performance and overall a superb series. So around that time I re-read a few stories (one can get most of them for free for kindle). Not all of them hold up all that well, I am afraid, but many can still be an enjoyable read. While I seem to recall that as a kid I was particularly fond of the longer stories, I found them less interesting later, except maybe the "Hound" which is the best of the four novellas.
(Probably an unpopular opinion but I did not much care for the more recent "modernized" series (only saw the first handful) with Cumberbatch and even less for the steampunkish pseudovictorian movie with Robert Downey jr.)
Interesting points - thanks.
I couldn't stand the much praised recent TV series with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. I found it insufferably knowing and smug. My students loved it. Bring back Basil Rathbone!
Douglas Wilmer was my favourite TV Holmes and he did some fine audio-book readings of the stories. Just bought the DVD of his TV Holmes series.
Quote from: vandermolen on November 04, 2017, 04:29:02 AM
Bring back Basil Rathbone!
The Basil Rathbone movies were my introduction to Sherlock Holmes as a boy and I loved them. I now have several of them on DVD and find them entertaining but rather quaint. I don't have The Hound of the Baskervilles from that series but have always enjoyed it when it has been shown on TV. Later I read several of the stories but never got hooked on them, unlike a schoolfriend who seemed to know them all off by heart. I have downloaded a 'complete' (probably isn't) Sherlock Holmes on to Kindle but haven't got far with reading them.
The TV series with Jeremy Brett is excellent and pretty much definitive as far as I am concerned. The movies with Robert Downey Jr are entertaining but pretty silly. The updated version with Benedict Cumberbatch started off well but eventually became tedious and self-regarding. Peter Cushing was an excellent Holmes in The Hound of the Baskervilles but like many Hammer films the production values were a bit creaky.
Quote from: Biffo on November 04, 2017, 04:48:16 AM
The Basil Rathbone movies were my introduction to Sherlock Holmes as a boy and I loved them. I now have several of them on DVD and find them entertaining but rather quaint. I don't have The Hound of the Baskervilles from that series but have always enjoyed it when it has been shown on TV. Later I read several of the stories but never got hooked on them, unlike a schoolfriend who seemed to know them all off by heart. I have downloaded a 'complete' (probably isn't) Sherlock Holmes on to Kindle but haven't got far with reading them.
The TV series with Jeremy Brett is excellent and pretty much definitive as far as I am concerned. The movies with Robert Downey Jr are entertaining but pretty silly. The updated version with Benedict Cumberbatch started off well but eventually became tedious and self-regarding. Peter Cushing was an excellent Holmes in The Hound of the Baskervilles but like many Hammer films the production values were a bit creaky.
Very much agree with this analysis Biffo. The Hound of the Baskervilles in the Basil Rathbone series is my favourite SH film of all time. For one thing it's the only one set in the correct historical period as most of the others were set in World War Two as far as I recall with Holmes and Watson battling Nazi agents etc. I recently bought an excellent remastered DVD of the Basil Rathbone HOB film, which is excellent not just for the picture quality but also because of the analysis and discussion in the 'extras'.
Here is the link:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hound-Baskervilles-DVD-Basil-Rathbone/dp/B01COZGLGU/ref=sr_1_12?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1509801240&sr=1-12&keywords=Hound+of+the+Baskervilles
I also grew up watching and enjoying those wonderful Basil Rathbone films. I think that I have read most of the Conan Doyle Holmes books. However, I much preferred the G. K. Chesterton character and stories based around Fr. Brown. Holmes and Fr. Brown are two very different characters and, although I like both, my preference was always for the self-deprecating Fr. Brown. I did, however, always enjoy the process of logic with both characters; I just comes down to personal preference, as with most things :)
I probably saw one of the Basil Rathbone films as a kid a long time ago.
I dimly recall that we also once got to watch an old Sherlock Holmes film (Hound of Baskerville) in English class at school, this seems so quaint but even in the late 1980s this was considered a treat for the last lesson before holidays or similar situations.
The Brett series is pretty close to perfection, also great supporting cast, costumes and overall authentic victorian atmosphere, except that in the later parts Brett appears too old; he probably is too old all the time but makes it up with his intensity. Holmes is usually portrayed "ageless" middle-aged (~mid-40s) but in the stories he is fairly young (I'd guess late 20s) when Watson meets him in "A study in scarlet" and he is probably in his mid/late 30s in most stories. (I think I also preferred the more dynamic first Watson of the Brett series to the later although he is good enough.)
Quote from: vandermolen on November 04, 2017, 05:13:08 AM
Very much agree with this analysis Biffo. The Hound of the Baskervilles in the Basil Rathbone series is my favourite SH film of all time. For one thing it's the only one set in the correct historical period as most of the others were set in World War Two as far as I recall with Holmes and Watson battling Nazi agents etc. I recently bought an excellent remastered DVD of the Basil Rathbone HOB film, which is excellent not just for the picture quality but also because of the analysis and discussion in the 'extras'.
Here is the link:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hound-Baskervilles-DVD-Basil-Rathbone/dp/B01COZGLGU/ref=sr_1_12?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1509801240&sr=1-12&keywords=Hound+of+the+Baskervilles
Thanks for the link. This Wikipedia article explains the discrepancy between HoB and the later films - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherlock_Holmes_(1939_film_series) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherlock_Holmes_(1939_film_series)) . Briefly, Rathbone made 14 SH movies, the first 2 a full length features for 20th Century Fox. Universal Studios bought the rights and updated the stories to the 1940s, issuing them as B movies. Rathbone eventually quit as he thought they were become repetitive.
I grew up watching the Universal Studios produced Sherlock Holmes films on TV and loved them all. Basil Rathbone is my all time favorite Holmes portrayer. Whenever anyone mentions Sherlock Holmes, I automatically think of Rathbone. It's wonderful being able to watch and enjoy a film that was made at a time when computerized special effects in Hollywood films were still a long way off in the future. Even if Holmes never actually said this, I can still hear Rathbone saying that it's just "Elementary, my dear Watson". Ah, the good old days... 8)
Quote from: aligreto on November 04, 2017, 05:58:52 AM
I also grew up watching and enjoying those wonderful Basil Rathbone films. I think that I have read most of the Conan Doyle Holmes books. However, I much preferred the G. K. Chesterton character and stories based around Fr. Brown. Holmes and Fr. Brown are two very different characters and, although I like both, my preference was always for the self-deprecating Fr. Brown. I did, however, always enjoy the process of logic with both characters; I just comes down to personal preference, as with most things :)
I've never read any Father Brown so this has encouraged me to do so.
Thanks.
Thank you guys for the responses and Biffo for the explanatory link. I've see. A few of the Brett series and enjoyed them I also liked the HOB film with Peter Cushing as Holmes. Have just ordered 'Murder by Decree' which I think I saw at the cinema in which Holmes solves the 'Jack the Ripper' case.
Something I loved about some Holmes cases already as a kid is when he just sits in his comfortable flat, smoking, sending telegrams to stir something up or some street urchins to get some bits of information and then solves the cases by putting these together without ever leaving. (Of course, this way of detecting was "perfected" by Stout's Nero Wolfe who only leaves in emergencies or to win a contest with his orchids but he has Archie for the leg work.)
Quote from: vandermolen on November 05, 2017, 12:39:35 AM
I've never read any Father Brown so this has encouraged me to do so.
Thanks.
A different reading experience but a worthwhile one. I would be interested to read your thoughts when you do read some of the stories.
Although I like most things British, I really find most of the English language versions quite dull (perhaps with an exception of a movie or two). I see Rathbone (or Brett or any of the old timers) in his SH outfit, and I can't change the channel fast enough. I haven't seen the most recent Cumberbatch version. I do enjoy the books!
I recently started reading selected stories of Sherlock Holmes, with several short stories in it and one novel (The Sign of the Four). Before starting on this collection I had read The Hound of Baskervilles and a couple of summers before The Valley of Fear. Just read Silver Blaze from above-mentioned collection which I enjoyed even though I guessed many things in it beforehand. Next, I am tackling The Adventure of the Speckled Band, which Doyle thought his best Sherlock Holmes story.
Quote from: Alberich on March 30, 2018, 03:59:44 AM
I recently started reading selected stories of Sherlock Holmes, with several short stories in it and one novel (The Sign of the Four). Before starting on this collection I had read The Hound of Baskervilles and a couple of summers before The Valley of Fear. Just read Silver Blaze from above-mentioned collection which I enjoyed even though I guessed many things in it beforehand. Next, I am tackling The Adventure of the Speckled Band, which Doyle thought his best Sherlock Holmes story.
The Speckled Band is a classic, although I personally found it to be quite static and the most intriguing character only gets one brief appearance at the end of the first act. I thought that was a bit of a shame, but in the end there is pretty much just the right amount of everything that makes a standard Sherlock Holmes story, nothing more and nothing less.
Charles Augustus Milverton is one of my favourites of the short stories and very well read by Douglas Wilmer on an old Penguin audio book.
Recently finished The Sign of the Four.
Quote from: Alberich on July 15, 2018, 04:39:39 AM
Recently finished The Sign of the Four.
What did you think of it?
Quote from: vandermolen on July 15, 2018, 06:08:11 AM
What did you think of it?
When it comes to the full-length Holmes novels I liked it better than Baskerville and The Valley of Fear, especially because in here there are no long gaps with Holmes out of the picture (usually I like the villains more than the heroes but Holmes is one of exceptions to the rule, because he is such an interesting personality, full of character flaws yet also having intellectual brilliance and wit which reminds me why I love House M.D. so much). Also Watson's marriage proposal was an important event. I liked the villain, surprisingly (relatively) pleasant for Doyle villain and the chase scene was full of tension. Although the ending was a bit abrupt, even though the bad guy was caught and had told his tale, the treasure was unrecovered (although its recovery would have put an end to Watson's marriage proposal to Mary Morstan) and it thus felt a bit of an anti-climax. But now, looking back at it, I think it worked rather better that way.
I also read the Adventure of the Speckled Band, which was a fun murder mystery. I can see why this was Doyle's favourite of his Holmes stories (although I still have read only few of them).
About a month ago I reread the 1122 page Penguin Complete Sherlock Holmes. I hate when paperbacks get yellowed pages. Sometime I should replace this copy with a more elegantly bound one but it did supply many hours of enjoyment and fascination.
One of the things that struck me this time around was Conan Doyle's very good grasp of the American landscape, its speech patterns but also a deep knowledge of the history of the West and Mormonism.
I particularly liked the TV series in the 1980's with Jeremy Brett as Holmes.
https://www.arthur-conan-doyle.com/index.php/Sherlock_Holmes_(TV_series_1984-1994)
(https://www.arthur-conan-doyle.com/images/thumb/7/7f/Granada_sh_generique2.jpg/300px-Granada_sh_generique2.jpg)
Quote from: Alberich on July 15, 2018, 07:13:54 AM
When it comes to the full-length Holmes novels I liked it better than Baskerville and The Valley of Fear, especially because in here there are no long gaps with Holmes out of the picture (usually I like the villains more than the heroes but Holmes is one of exceptions to the rule, because he is such an interesting personality, full of character flaws yet also having intellectual brilliance and wit which reminds me why I love House M.D. so much). Also Watson's marriage proposal was an important event. I liked the villain, surprisingly (relatively) pleasant for Doyle villain and the chase scene was full of tension. Although the ending was a bit abrupt, even though the bad guy was caught and had told his tale, the treasure was unrecovered (although its recovery would have put an end to Watson's marriage proposal to Mary Morstan) and it thus felt a bit of an anti-climax. But now, looking back at it, I think it worked rather better that way.
I also read the Adventure of the Speckled Band, which was a fun murder mystery. I can see why this was Doyle's favourite of his Holmes stories (although I still have read only few of them).
Interesting - thanks. I don't know this story and am only familiar with the Hound and the Valley of Fear. I do like the Valley of Fear even though Holmes is absent for a long time. The chief villain is really villainous and the English part is set very near to where I live so I'm familiar with the locations, especially Groombridge Place which was the setting of the early part of the book (I think it's called 'Birlstone' in the novel). The Pinkerton's agent is an interesting character as well.
http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2018/01/the-real-house-that-inspired-birlstone.html#.W0xCNnB4WrU
Quote from: vandermolen on July 15, 2018, 10:56:04 PM
Interesting - thanks. I don't know this story and am only familiar with the Hound and the Valley of Fear. I do like the Valley of Fear even though Holmes is absent for a long time. The chief villain is really villainous and the English part is set very near to where I live so I'm familiar with the locations, especially Groombridge Place which was the setting of the early part of the book (I think it's called 'Birlstone' in the novel). The Pinkerton's agent is an interesting character as well.
http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2018/01/the-real-house-that-inspired-birlstone.html#.W0xCNnB4WrU
Yes, I liked Valley of Fear too. Boss McGinty is really a terrifying character.
Quote from: Alberich on July 16, 2018, 02:03:09 AM
Yes, I liked Valley of Fear too. Boss McGinty is really a terrifying character.
Oh yes, that's the man!!
The surprising end of the novel is good too.
Apparently, after The Final Problem, Valley of the Fear is the only other Sherlock Holmes story in which Professor Moriarty plays role in the events even though he doesn't appear in person. I guess it makes sense that in TV series and movies they tend to make him a recurring archnemesis to Holmes even though he was originally basically just a device to kill Holmes off (although Doyle later changed his mind and revealed that Holmes survived the Reichenbach Falls fight).
Just how indebted was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to Edgar Allan Poe? ;D
Having finished The Final Problem, I'm now moving on to The Adventure of the Empty House. Unfortunately, I already spoiled myself about the culprit.
Quote from: Alberich on September 02, 2018, 04:37:10 AM
Having finished The Final Problem, I'm now moving on to The Adventure of the Empty House. Unfortunately, I already spoiled myself about the culprit.
I met friends in a pub last week, just opposite Groombridge Place, the setting of the opening of 'The Valley of Fear'. Sadly the house is threatened with closure. I like the end of 'The Valley of Fear' (SPOILER ALERT) where despite the apparently 'happy ending' the main hero is subsequently lobbed over the side of a ship by Professor Moriarty.
Groombridge Place, East Sussex (complete with moat, which features in the story).
(//)
Interesting, Jeffrey (it was Jeffrey, right?)! Thanks!
Quote from: Alberich on September 02, 2018, 05:11:17 AM
Interesting, Jeffrey (it was Jeffrey, right?)! Thanks!
My pleasure!
Yes, it's Jeffrey.
:)
PS my friend went to visit Groombridge Place with her children send me an image of some Conan Doyle memorabilia in the place (he lived locally hence the local setting). Sadly she said that the place was rather run down now.
Purchased and read this at age twelve decades ago, before I had even heard of Sherlock Holmes. I was drawn by the promise of the title, and the mystery of the cover illustration-- which cannily left the hound (and Holmes) to my imagination.
(https://s22.postimg.cc/6dw9abwtd/5467015913_bfbdcb0ea8_z.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)
Addendum: Fortunately my introduction to Holmes wasn't through this book cover which, I think, misses the point.
(https://s22.postimg.cc/4jjestug1/h1-hound.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)
Interesting addition to my SH book collection; 'The Case Notes of Sherlock Holmes' a book featuring the 'raw material' of the stories, letters, diaries, artefacts etc. Looks fun:
(//%5Bimg%5D)[/img]
Long-time Sherlock Holmes fan here... they've been among my very favorites since I was a child.
One option I haven't seen mentioned in this thread... the BBC Radio productions with Clive Merrison as Holmes and Michael Williams as Watson are superb. They did the whole canon (the only Holmes & Watson pairing to ever do so), plus quite a few additional stories. These are very stylish adaptations... they were all on CD at one point, but I believe they are available to download -- I know Audible has them, for example.
Merrison may actually be my favorite Holmes -- he captures the humor of the character in a way that few others do, without going over the top. And his relationship with Watson is pitch perfect. If you're a Sherlockian, I can't recommend these enough...
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51xVu4VEbuL._SX258_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
Quote from: j winter on November 22, 2019, 10:28:00 AM
Long-time Sherlock Holmes fan here... they've been among my very favorites since I was a child.
One option I haven't seen mentioned in this thread... the BBC Radio productions with Clive Merrison as Holmes and Michael Williams as Watson are superb. They did the whole canon (the only Holmes & Watson pairing to ever do so), plus quite a few additional stories. These are very stylish adaptations... they were all on CD at one point, but I believe they are available to download -- I know Audible has them, for example.
Merrison may actually be my favorite Holmes -- he captures the humor of the character in a way that few others do, without going over the top. And his relationship with Watson is pitch perfect. If you're a Sherlockian, I can't recommend these enough...
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51xVu4VEbuL._SX258_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
I really enjoy those too. I have them mainly on audio-tape and they seem tricky to track down on CD. I'm a great fan of the readings by Douglas Wilmer, also difficult to track down and of course he played SH on TV. Just last week I listened to a CD of Ian Mckellen reading 'The Valley of Fear' in my car which I really enjoyed.
After a relatively long pause from reading Holmes stories, I returned to reading The Red-Headed League. I think I might already suspect where Doyle's going with this one.
Maybe I didn't mention this (unless it was in the what are you reading thread) but before my rather long pause from Holmes I also read Naval Treaty, The Greek Interpreter and The Golden Pince-nez. Liked them all. Does Doyle ever create wholly unsympathetic female characters, the one in Golden Pince-nez was rather a tragic figure, unlike that smug bastard Professor Coram.
I have been gradually working my way through The Complete Sherlock Holmes on Kindle; so far I have got to Adventure VIII. The Resident Patient in The Memoirs of Shelock Holmes.
Also I have watched quite a few TV series, courtesy of Netflix, YouTube etc. I rewatched all of the recent Benedict Cumberbatch series with the same result - Series 1-3 good, series 4 pretentious tweddle. I also saw the 1954 TV series with Ronald Howard - laughably bad but at least it had a decent Watson in H Marion Crawford.
Re-watching the Basil Rathbone films sent them down even further in my estimation - The Hound of the Baskervilles apart. What sinks them, however good BR, is the updating to the 1930s, the feeble scripts and the imbecilic Dr Watson from Nigel Bruce.
Overall,for me, the Jeremy Brett series is the best.
Quote from: Biffo on December 02, 2019, 02:10:06 AM
I have been gradually working my way through The Complete Sherlock Holmes on Kindle; so far I have got to Adventure VIII. The Resident Patient in The Memoirs of Shelock Holmes.
Also I have watched quite a few TV series, courtesy of Netflix, YouTube etc. I rewatched all of the recent Benedict Cumberbatch series with the same result - Series 1-3 good, series 4 pretentious tweddle. I also saw the 1954 TV series with Ronald Howard - laughably bad but at least it had a decent Watson in H Marion Crawford.
Re-watching the Basil Rathbone films sent them down even further in my estimation - The Hound of the Baskervilles apart. What sinks them, however good BR, is the updating to the 1930s, the feeble scripts and the imbecilic Dr Watson from Nigel Bruce.
Overall,for me, the Jeremy Brett series is the best.
I like 'The Resident Patient' very much. The Rathbone HOTB is excellent but it was a terrible mistake to set the other films during the era of World War Two. Such a shame. 'Charles Augustus Milverton' and 'The Valley of Fear' are other favourites.
Quote from: vandermolen on December 02, 2019, 09:34:34 AM
I like 'The Resident Patient' very much. The Rathbone HOTB is excellent but it was a terrible mistake to set the other films during the era of World War Two. Such a shame. 'Charles Augustus Milverton' and 'The Valley of Fear' are other favourites.
Indeed, though the trend to contemporize Holmes certainly hasn't gone away. I guess the intent is to make Holmes less of a "period piece." The Rathbone movies were trying to be current, but today they look like cheap 40's noir -- I imagine that
Elementary or Cumberbatch's
Sherlock will look similarly dated in a few decades.
The irony is, while it's true that one of the biggest reasons that modern readers love the original stories is the powerful way in which they evoke the Victorian era, for the original audience they were contemporary crime stories, just as Rathbone's films were when released. So while a modernized Holmes is in many ways problematic, in other ways it is actually closer to Conan Doyle's intent -- he didn't write them as historical stories, he had other books like
The White Company, etc. for that.
Of course this is all an extension, in its way, of the eternal HIP debate... Jeremy Brett is superior to Cumberbatch because he performs in an authentic, period deerstalker... :P
Quote from: j winter on December 02, 2019, 10:27:14 AM
Indeed, though the trend to contemporize Holmes certainly hasn't gone away. I guess the intent is to make Holmes less of a "period piece." The Rathbone movies were trying to be current, but today they look like cheap 40's noir -- I imagine that Elementary or Cumberbatch's Sherlock will look similarly dated in a few decades.
The irony is, while it's true that one of the biggest reasons that modern readers love the original stories is the powerful way in which they evoke the Victorian era, for the original audience they were contemporary crime stories, just as Rathbone's films were when released. So while a modernized Holmes is in many ways problematic, in other ways it is actually closer to Conan Doyle's intent -- he didn't write them as historical stories, he had other books like The White Company, etc. for that.
Of course this is all an extension, in its way, of the eternal HIP debate... Jeremy Brett is superior to Cumberbatch because he performs in an authentic, period deerstalker... :P
You make a good point I think. I always liked Douglas Wilmer in the role. By the way, if you get the chance, you might enjoy the recent BBC drama series 'Vienna Blood' (coming out on DVD I think) which is rather Holmesian.