MovieChat Forums > The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970) Discussion > every one gone mad?

every one gone mad?

posted 21 years ago by swalic
20 replies | jump to latest

This film is probably the most saddest film on the exposition of sherlock holmes ver captured on celluloid by by billy wilder. It is a trribute to a talented film maker who took the time to make a film which most studios would have thought uncommercial in 1970.
Look very carefully and the film has many deep faceted layers between characters and their meanings and you will find a tale about a tortured soul who was brilliant in his profession....but very lonely. I hope they restore this film to its original length and the way billy wilder intended it to be.

[–] BigPerm1974 21 years ago

This is agreat film. I saw it years ago on FLIX. And I remeber feeling sorry for Sherlock. What a lonely man he was.

This is a 4 star Movie.

[–] persistenceofvision 21 years ago

I rated this film 10/10 and I can't believe how few votes it's got and how negative so many of the User Comments are. By the way, if you're interested in the bits of the film that hit the cutting- room floor, you might like to read a book called "Stage People" by Roger Lewis which has an in-depth profile of R. Stephens. Lewis tracked down an old poster for the movie and noted how many pictures on it didn't relate to anything in the film. One of his guesses was that we see for ourselves what Holmes tells Gabrielle on the train: in the short version it's not clear whether or not he's putting her on.

[–] filmfan86 20 years ago

I thought it was a wonderful film - Sherlock Holmes was finally portrayed with a little more humanity - a brilliant, but lonely man - rather than those films where he is simply a genius detective who occasionally gets bored. Hope they restore the film one day - if possible.

~It would have been catastrophe!

[–] hawkes04 19 years ago

this is a great film with lots of interesting scenes. I dont believe that the bits left out are lost. They must be lying somewhere in some vault. I just hope they can restore it to Wilder's original version.

[–] csifanuk 19 years ago

I hope they find them somwhere, but I've heard that the missing bits are lost forever!!! Did you watch The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes while it was on over Christmas/New Year?

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] hawkes04 19 years ago

yea that was the first time I saw it. I heard that some of the missing scenes were available on laser-disc.

[–] rsgre 19 years ago

The scenes are available as extra features on the DVD version (which I have). Frankly, they were a little disappointing when I finally saw them. I think the original conception of the film was very odd, and way too long.
Wilder's private joke throughout the film seems to be the implication that Holmes was gay. (Especially in the ballet sequence, which is "way over the top" and somewhat offensive). I still like it overall (the final scenes are very haunting especially).
I might have more to say at this site later....

Steve G.

[–] Lost2in5thought 18 years ago

The only problem with that is that Holmes has always seemed as such a cold, calculating machine in the books. To see him portrayed as a "human" kind of freaked me out. I'd never thought of him as truly showing those emotions of lonliness. Still, the film was great and I check TV Guide for TCM every day!

"We've got to stop this talk. What if we got married?"
"Well, then they'd really talk!"

[–] Rheli 18 years ago

Holmes is here not the masterful detective we have come to expect and love from other interpretations. Instead he seems weak and unsure of himself. Meanwhile, Christopher Lee as Mycroft has greater charisma and steals every scene he's in. Moreover, Holmes hardly has any case to solve and does but little detecting -- had he not been there Mycroft still would have had everything well in hand. Watson is rather good, however. Overall things go too far away from the Holmesian tradition without adding enough other appealing story elements to replace what's missing.

[–] rsgre 18 years ago

I agree with your comments. The film seems to spend most of it's time hinting (in a rather odd form of humor) at Holmes's possible asexual/homosexual tendencies, rather than serious investigative matters. Perhaps it reflects the late 60's film era, when other films explored this subject as well. Interesting that Tchaikowsky was mentioned...an epic film was made at about the same time, exploring the composer's hidden sexual problems. It was a bomb at the box office as well...(I think, but I'm not sure)

Regards,

RSGRE

[–] gasfarty 18 years ago

But that's the point of the story -- the Holmes we think we know is an exaggeration of the real man. The irony is that the greatest mystery is not some whodunnit, but who really is Sherlock Holmes. And he's duped by the sort of mystery that dupes most of us: love. It's a wonderfully poetic story, made all the more so by Wilder's mixture of pathos and suspense. I'd also point out that Mycroft does not have everything well at hand; for all his perfunctory confidence, he completely miscalculates the reaction of Queen Victoria. Even without the interference of the Germans, the Jonah project would have been a failure.

[–] rsgre 18 years ago

Thanks for your comments gasfarty. You are right in some ways, the problem is that the question of: "is Holmes really gay?" is carried on for too long, and I think the audience loses their respect and interest for him at some point. The associate of Wilder that does the DVD narrative track admits that he wasn't happy with the final results either. It's okay overall but a little bit silly. The ending is the best with nostalgia for the past, and the hint of the violence to come in the next century.
Regards,

RSGRE

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] terrythomas 18 years ago

Personally, I love the film; arguably Billy Wilder's most underrated work. (To be fair, I'm by no means an avid reader of the original stories, so I have very little knowledge of how the character is "supposed to be", other than having seen several of the Basil Rathbone-Nigel Bruce films.) Robert Stephens and Colin Blakely are just incredible, especially in the way they manage to dance between the various moods of the film; one minute it's bawdy comedy, the next minute it's melancoly.

And in addition, the score is absolutely BEAUTIFUL.

Sorry for sounding like a blithering idiot.

[–] rsgre 18 years ago

Thanks for your comments terrythomas. You are right to say that there are some good things in this film. It's just that the overall tone is rather strange, and too much emphasis is placed on Holmes possible (alternate) sexual preferences. The ballet scene is the only one I find somewhat embarassing, with it's overemphasis on Holmes possible gay inclinations. I still like it overall however, and you are right...great score!

Regards,

RSGRE

[–] cwente2 18 years ago

Musical score? Yes . . . one of the finest in film history. It brings so much to the images, the period, the genre, and the imputed feelings between Holmes and Gabrielle.

[–] PunkPebbs 17 years ago

did this guy actually use the phrase "Most Saddest"?

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] Redsfan001 (6006) 3 years ago

I agree.

I also love responding to a 18 year old thread to keep it alive.