DVD Reviews

Young Sherlock Holmes – DVD Review

By June L. Mar 30, 2010, 13:52 GMT

VICTORIAN LONDON SCHOOLBOYS HOLMES AND WATSON FORM THEIR HABITS IN PURSUIT OF A DEADLY PAGAN CULT. ...more

Back in 1985, an adventure came to the theaters that brought Sherlock Holmes and John Watson together for the first time.  It was not the usual Holmes and Watson film, as this story was set in the time when the two were schoolboys. 

Youth was no obstacle to the personalities already tuned to become master sleuths, and they were out to solve a series of mysterious murders.

Young John Watson (Alan Cox) has been transferred from his school in the rural north of England to the upscale Brompton Academy in the heart of London.  Upon arrival he meets Sherlock Holmes (Nicholas Rowe) and they develop an instant friendship. 

Through his association with Holmes, John gets to know the eccentric Rupert T. Waxflatter, (Nigel Stock) a retired professor whose odd inventions are an accepted part of school life at the academy.  Waxflatter also serves as mentor to the young Sherlock, and his niece Elizabeth (Sophie Ward) is a friend and also a crush for Holmes. 

In a time period when secret societies were becoming fashionable and whispers of supernatural events pervaded in drawing room gossip, there were those who used the fear and superstition generated by the fascination with the occult to their advantage.  At schoolboy ages, Holms and Watson were seekers for the truth about the events,

It is fun to see this film again.  Obviously, it has been brought out to compliment the new Sherlock Holmes film, but Young Sherlock Holmes stands on its own in entertainment value. 

In spite of the new cover that makes this appear to be an earlier adventure of the current Holmes and Watson (Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law,) Young Sherlock Holmes is a completely different story and imagining.

In the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle original stories, Holmes and Watson first meet as adults on a case, but this is one of those “what if” imaginings that works well.  The screenplay is by Chris Columbus and it is directed by Barry Levinson with Steven Spielberg as executive producer, that magic combination puts the film on its feet. 

In addition to a new imagining, in this film Holmes and Watson give nods to earlier representations of their characters.  In their appearance, mannerisms and dialog, audiences see shadows of the familiar.  Sherlock is tall, elegant and already deeply involved in finding solutions, to the exclusion of anything else.  Watson is intelligent but no match for Holms’s brilliance. 

However he is a warmer person, more genial, sociable and even as a boy slightly chubby.  It is not a far stretch of the imagination to picture this Watson as the younger self of the Nigel Bruce characterization.

Young Sherlock Holmes is presented on single disc in widescreen format.  It looks great, and the sound is good.  There are things to admire from the Victorian settings to the first computer animation sequence when a stained glass window Knight comes to life.  Running time for the film is 108 minutes. 

With the emphasis on Sherlock Holmes in all representations, it is disappointing that there are no special features included in this release.  If you haven’t ever seen this film, or you haven’t seen it for a number of years, this is a great opportunity to add an entertaining adventure to your action/adventure collection.  

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