Oh Poor Watson
I just watched the two 1939 Sherlock Holmes movies starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. These tend to be the most well know and popular Holmes movies (at least in the US). And while the stories in the movies themselves are not bad (at least they didn't turn Sherlock Holmes into an action movie like the latest movie seems to be doing) the portrayals of the principal characters are so off it's depressing.
I like Basil Rathbone. He has a lot of screen presence and he is very charismatic. You can almost see why people who grew up with this version of Sherlock Holmes enjoyed the character. But this is not Holmes. If anything Basil Rathbone is way too normal. Holmes is eccentric. Someone that I think most people really cannot relate to on a personal level (which is what makes his relationship with Watson so special).
But the real thing that bothered me about these movies is what they did to Watson. Watson is actually my favorite character in the novels. He is easy to relate to, brave, and loyal. He might not be a genius like Holmes but he is still intelligent. In this movies they portray Watson as a bumbling fool. He is more like Holmes silly side kick than the trusted confidant he is in the actual stories. I hate the idea of Watson being depicted like this. I also heard it gets worse in other movies where Watson becomes even more of a stereotype (of course the other movies seem to be set in contemporary times so I don't plan to watch them anyways).
Yes I know there are other Sherlock Holmes movies. But these movies and these portrayals are so popular that in some ways I feel they are more well known than the actual book portrayals. I mean I grew up knowing the phrase "elementary my dear Watson" and that was from the movies not the books.
I remember watching an episode of the anime Sherlock Hound and I am convinced Japan took their portrayals of Holmes & Watson from this movie. D:
I like Basil Rathbone. He has a lot of screen presence and he is very charismatic. You can almost see why people who grew up with this version of Sherlock Holmes enjoyed the character. But this is not Holmes. If anything Basil Rathbone is way too normal. Holmes is eccentric. Someone that I think most people really cannot relate to on a personal level (which is what makes his relationship with Watson so special).
But the real thing that bothered me about these movies is what they did to Watson. Watson is actually my favorite character in the novels. He is easy to relate to, brave, and loyal. He might not be a genius like Holmes but he is still intelligent. In this movies they portray Watson as a bumbling fool. He is more like Holmes silly side kick than the trusted confidant he is in the actual stories. I hate the idea of Watson being depicted like this. I also heard it gets worse in other movies where Watson becomes even more of a stereotype (of course the other movies seem to be set in contemporary times so I don't plan to watch them anyways).
Yes I know there are other Sherlock Holmes movies. But these movies and these portrayals are so popular that in some ways I feel they are more well known than the actual book portrayals. I mean I grew up knowing the phrase "elementary my dear Watson" and that was from the movies not the books.
I remember watching an episode of the anime Sherlock Hound and I am convinced Japan took their portrayals of Holmes & Watson from this movie. D: