The Evolution of Sherlock Holmes in Film and Media

The Modern Adaptations of Sherlock Holmes in Film and Television

By Adrian Barcia and Caitlyn Carlson

Redesign of Character's Physical Appearance from Previous Sherlock Works

Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes Film Series: Changes for Target Audiences

Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes Film Series

BBC's Sherlock: Changes for Target Audiences

BBC's Sherlock Similarities to Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock

Differences in Appearance

Glasses:

• Holmes (Robert Downey Jr. does wear glasses), common to older adaptations and books.
• Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch doesn't wear glasses), different from previous Sherlock works.

Hats:

• Robert Downey Jr. wears a bowler hat (Victorian/Steampunk Era), rarely used in earlier adaptations.
• Benedict Cumberbatch wears a deerstalker hat (Modern Day), predominantly used in earlier adaptations.

Cane/Accessories:

• Robert Downey Jr. carries a cane with him, along with a cape. This is used in previous adaptations as well.
• Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock (TV) does not have a cane or a cape.

• Ritchie's films have greatly changed the character of Sherlock Holmes. In these films, Sherlock is portrayed for a broader audience. As a result, the action hero who is engaged in a fast pace environment is more appealing than the hard-thinking detective, slowly searching for clues.

• "'[i]rreverence is important to Sherlock Holmes' ... This irreverence, which, interestingly, Moffat also extended to include the Warner Brothers franchise, is vital to keeping Sherlock Holmes relevant. Though this irreverence manifests itself in different ways in each set of adaptations, it is born of the same impulse to keep Sherlock Holmes fresh for each new generation. Guy Ritchie satisfies this impulse with the Steampunk aesthetic of his films..." (Polasek 390).

• Although it is a modern day version, Gatiss and Moffat, the writers of BBC's Sherlock, choose to preserve some of the qualities of Sherlock from Doyle's original works. For example, the character's lack of interest in romance is similar to the Victorian Sherlock. He believes that love would interfere with his work and rational judgement.

• Benedict Cumberbatch portrays Sherlock Holmes as a modern day "tech-geek," and is therefore seen as he was in Victorian times, a manly figure. Sherlock Holmes, both in Sherlock and in Victorian times was technologically at ease and had no romantic or familial relationships which made people see him as this manly figure.

• Victorian Holmes and BBC's Holmes both are heroic individuals who would willingly risk their lives for others. Victorian Holmes states that he would give his life to prevent Moriarty and his followers from hurting other innocent people. BBC's Holmes becomes a loyal friend to Watson and stages his own death to save his.

• Many critics have complained on the casting of Robert Downey Jr. for Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes. However, Robert Downey Jr. is an appropriate choice because in Victorian times, Holmes was seen as a more masculine character and Downey Jr. fits this description.

• Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes has done something that no other Sherlock adaptation has done. It has brought Sherlock Holmes into mainstream popular culture, where he had firmly been established in the Victorian times.

• The films draw from the action adventure genre rather than from the crime drama genre. The films must be made to appeal to large audiences since they have big budget status.

• The modern use of technology used in Sherlock allows the viewer to see the original stories the way the original reader would have read them. Instead of being old stories that do not have a large readership, the updated version makes Sherlock contemporary which provides an exciting new look into Holmes's life.

• As Steward argues, “TV adaptations of Sherlock Holmes stories have traditionally tended to produce the most youthful and vigorous versions of the characters of Holmes and Watson... Making Holmes and Watson youthful and vigorous clearly also speaks to the demographic priorities of producers and the requirements of television companies to attract young audiences, both by cornering the market for family and teenage viewing and enticing 16-35 demographic with their spending and cultural power to watch” (Steward 136).

• Porter argues that "the resulting 'Americanized' Sherlock reflects a slightly different culture via changes designed to make the detective more attractive to a wider audience. His sexuality is emphasized at times...going beyond the series' 'text' and its sexual commentary and innuendo. Action takes precedence over quiet moments, case discussions, or lab time; Sherlock's methods and the time needed to make deductions are streamlined so that the detective seems to solve cases faster. The changes may be subtle, but they customize Sherlock for the American audience" (Porter 125).

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2010

2015

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BBC's Modern Day Sherlock

Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes Film Series Differences to Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock

BBC's Sherlock Differences to Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock

Redesign of Character's Appearance from Previous Sherlock Works Continued...

Differences in Appearance

Drug Use:

• Robert Downey Jr. uses a pipe/cigar (commonly used before in both the stories and previous adaptations)
• Benedict Cumberbatch uses nicotine patches (first time it was ever done in newer adaptation)

Setting:

• Ritchie's Sherlock movies, starring Robert Downey Jr., take place in Victorian London (similar to stories and past adaptations)
• The BBC show Sherlock, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, takes place in Modern Day London (used in newer TV adaptation)

• BBC's modern day version of Sherlock allows Sherlock Holmes to use technology to his advantage. From using smartphones, to texting, to using computers for research, the newly updated setting allows Sherlock to do things that were never once imagined.

• His intelligence is shown through the scientific methods that he uses, which include forensic science and new modern technology, "revealing that audiences of both eras perceive technocratic ease as a sign of intelligence" (Bochman 3).

• Sherlock makes continuous references to social issues in the UK post-2008 and to contemporary issues in the media and various products, such as blogging and TV programs.

• Nicol states that“the BBC series, in contrast to the limited videogame action hero of the Ritchie film, brings a very nineteenth-century creation - Sherlock Holmes - perfectly into line with the character of our times” (139).

• What makes Sherlock Holmes so intriguing is his ability to use his highly intelligent mind to solve crimes. Ritchie's films limit Sherlock's rational judgment in order to portray him more as an action hero.

• Ritchie presents Sherlock Holmes with an antisocial nature. Holmes sits in his dark home alone for three months, waiting for a case to arrive. He even crosses the line from rudeness to cruelty with the few friends that he has.

• Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes claims that he "represents justice so far as his feeble powers go." Ritchie's film presents Sherlock Holmes as an "encroachment of antiheroic qualities" (Polasek 387). His desire to do good is out of self-interest, not justice.

• Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes is fast paced and has high energy. He is not portrayed as an armchair detective.

• In BBC's Sherlock both characters are younger than expected and refer to each other as their first names, rather than Doyle's traditional surname. The creators of the show stated that if they did that, it would have created a "public school boy" type of image and they felt that it was unsuitable for the series.

• Instead of using a pipe to smoke, Sherlock uses numerous nicotine patches,

• The use of technology is the most distinctive difference. Sherlock uses modern technology to solve many of his cases. Watson also posts their achievements onto his blog.

• Doyle's Holmes is "aloof, arrogant, and eccentric" whereas BBC's Sherlock is brilliant, unique, young, highly intelligent, and lacks social graces.