More Russian Holmes and Watson squee
Jan. 26th, 2009 07:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elabyThese movies have so much goodness in them I don't even know where to start. How about we start at plot level? I watched The Mortal Fight (The Final Problem) and The Hunt for the Tiger (The Empty House) the other night, and the plot changes they made were interesting and made sense for a movie. The Charles Augustus Milverton affair was made into a movie right before these two, and it had Milverton as a friend of Moriarty's. This is what triggered Moriarty's attacks on Holmes, which I think makes plenty of sense. The Ronald Adair thing was also in place from the beginning, not just a plot in The Empty House – Watson was in the process of observing/protecting Adair while Moriarty was harassing Holmes. All in all, I was impressed with the attempts to pull these three stories together to make a cohesive whole.
Okay, enough plot. On to the characters XD
Moriarty was positively creepifying. He moved like a lizard and looked cadaverous. The effect, of course, was fantastic, but I couldn't like him the way I like Granada's Moriarty simply because he was so disturbing. He also had very little facial expression, which was even creepier. The fight scene between him and Holmes at the Falls was magnificent, though. Really well choreographed and realistic. They truly looked like they were trying to kill each other.
Vasily Livanov's Holmes continues to be charming while still not matching the Holmes in my head. He reminds me, actually, of Holmes in the very early stories – enthusiastic, suave in some situations, sarcastic in others, somewhat hyperactive, but without the cynicism of post-Falls adventures. He plays a very warm Holmes, in contrast to the detached reasoner we usually see in movies. He's pretty laid back, too. His Holmes seemed only serious, not rattled, when shuttering Watson's windows against air guns. The only time (pre-Falls) that he doesn't act like everything is under control is right before his fight with Moriarty, when he says all these maudlin things to Watson about his career coming to an end and Watson's like "Please stop talking like that o_o" Then when he watches Watson go off to take care of the fabricated English tuberculosis patient, he just has this look on his face and you know he knows.
Speaking of which, one weird addition to the story was that they had Steiler from the hostel they were staying at show up right after Watson when he returns to the Falls. I totally thought the guy was going to be in cahoots with Moriarty, but he wasn't. And it was weird because he was all soliloquizing about the greatness of Holmes and I kind of wished he'd leave Watson alone with his trauma :\ Which was considerable.
Vitaly Solomin's Watson is the most adorable Watson I've ever seen ever. He's never stupid – so far, he's not even dense, just a little naive and inexperienced – but he's intensely dedicated, loyal, and driven. They also play up both that he's a doctor and that he's a writer, which movies sometimes tend to neglect. He's always got his notebook out, and one of the times they showed him drawing little pictures of Holmes XD You may be able to imagine my glee.
One of the things I really like about this interpretation even though it's very different from canon is that Holmes and Watson have practically no tension. They are absolutely comfortable around each other all the time. This obviously isn't the case in the movie where they meet, but it definitely is for the Final Problem/Empty House movies and Hound of the Baskervilles, and even the Study in Scarlet movie (which incidentally isn't the one where the meet). They communicate with looks and body language more often than with words. When Holmes suggests that Watson go home when they're being chased across Europe by Moriarty, Watson just gives him this look, as if to say "How can you even think I might?" They don't argue. Holmes just goes "Okay, I get it, sorry if I offended you."
One of the plot changes that made this interesting was that Holmes asked Watson, in his "farewell" letter, to take care of Ronald Adair. Seeing as anyone who's familiar with the story knows that Adair gets shot early on in The Empty House, poor Watson's attempts are doomed to failure, but they're valiant attempts nonetheless. As valiant as they are, it's obvious he's no Holmes, but he really tries (in disguise as an Italian priest!) and does a fairly good job.
One of my favorite scenes (aside from the reunion, obviously, which I'll get to shortly) is when Scotland Yard shows up at Baker Street to tell Watson that Adair is dead and Watson is a suspect (Lestrade is particularly stupid in this version). In the first movie, Watson had told Lestrade to keep an eye on Adair because he was in danger from Moran (Moriarty henchman extraordinaire, possibly scarier in the stories than Moriarty himself). So what does Lestrade do but go ask Moran if he trying to kill Adair, which of course he denies, and Watson becomes their only suspect. The reason I like this scene is because Watson yells at Lestrade for not protecting Adair. Solomin's Watson is so calm and sweet and soft-spoken that his anger here was really effective.
Watson tries to investigate Adair's death, but no one will trust him. Lestrade tells him that they won't arrest him "in view of their long relationship" (*snicker*) but he shouldn't leave London. Watson comes home absolutely devastated that he's failed in carrying out Holmes's last wishes. In another modification that I really like, Mrs. Hudson has a much larger role than she does in the stories. There's no marriage in this, so Watson is living at Baker Street, and Mrs. Hudson does the best she can to comfort him (although telling him to read Holmes's letter again only makes him more upset). This leads directly into the reunion scene, which bears describing in full. It's played just a little bit for laughs, but we've had enough of the utterly heart-wrenching that it's welcome.
Holmes, disguised as the bookseller, comes into their sitting room to find Watson in tears. He does the whole "buy this copy of Birds of Great Britain!" spiel while Watson, ever polite, tries to get him to go the hell away. Mrs. Hudson brings Watson his coffee and while they're preparing it Holmes takes off his disguise. He's very casual about it in speech - "Hello, Watson!" - but he looks like he's about to keel over (using himself rather too freely, indeed). True to canon, Watson does keel over, much to Holmes's surprise. Mrs. Hudson is the next to drop, and then we see Holmes pouring smelling salts on handkerchiefs and draping them over his poor traumatized friends' faces.
When Watson finally comes round, he says in the saddest and most pathetic little voice: "Holmes! They want to arrest me!" Holmes knows; he read it in the Times. He helps Mrs. Hudson up, who clings to one arm. The rest of the scene goes like this (keep in mind that the dialogue is from subtitles, so it probably sounds more eloquent in Russian):
Watson: *peering closely into Holmes's face* Alive... alive. *prodding him* You're not a ghost. *hand on Holmes's chest* It really is you.
Mrs. Hudson: *scolding* Where have you been all this time?
Watson: My god!
Mrs. Hudson: It's been a long time!
Watson: We missed you terribly! *presses face into Holmes's neck*
Holmes: *catches him, looking stricken*
Then the camera switches (switches! Gah!) to show one of Moriarty's henchmen at the window, and we hear (and in my case, read) this:
Holmes: *choking sound*
Watson: Come on, Holmes! Stop it!
[at this point the camera's back on them, and Holmes does something that's very much like he is in canon – he pushes himself away.]
Watson: Let's be happy today! Holmes!
Holmes: *covering his face* I am happy!
Watson doesn't seem to mind, though. He's too elated, and man is it nice to see him that happy after the anguish he spent this movie in. Happiest Watson I ever saw.
I'll love Vasily Livanov forever for this scene alone, no matter how he plays Holmes in the other movies. The way he looks at Watson through the whole thing is just beyond explanation, and the expression on his face when Watson hugs him is brilliant - it finally hits him what he's put everyone through. No other adaptation I've seen does that, although if I understand correctly, the stage play that Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke were in goes into the whole trust issue more than most.
Another thing I thought was awesome – when Holmes and Watson are discussing their plans for catching Moran, Holmes remarks about Watson's clothes and Watson pulls a black mourning band off his lapel, which I didn't even notice he had until then. As he does this he looks so happy it's incredible.
The ruse with the bust of Holmes in Baker Street is done magnificently in this. Instead of a silhouette behind a drawn shade, they have a whole mannequin that Mrs. Hudson and Mycroft move around so it looks like Holmes is really sitting in his chair. The sort of light-hearted feel that started with the reunion scene continues even as Holmes is grappling with Moran:
Watson: *leaning over them* Do you need some help, Holmes?
Holmes: *being strangled* That would be appreciated!
Watson: *clocks Moran with gun*
Watson doesn't get mad at Holmes in this version, either. From what I could tell, it seemed like Holmes was only gone for a couple of months at most (certainly not three years). He had been in London living with Mycroft for the past month, he said, but couldn't reveal himself. Watson takes this all in stride, though he still blames himself for Adair's death – a point which Holmes is insistent on refuting. Like I said before, there's no tension between them whatsoever. Watson isn't mad or hurt by Holmes's deception in Hound, either – when he hears Holmes's voice outside the hut, he just gets the happiest smile ever on his face and runs out to glomp Holmes not once but twice. It's very much a "Yay, you're here and I haven't seen you in weeks!" hug on both sides, and it gave me the impression that Livonov and Solomin's regular method of greeting each other as Holmes and Watson is by hugging. I'm sure you can imagine how happy this makes me.
Okay, enough plot. On to the characters XD
Moriarty was positively creepifying. He moved like a lizard and looked cadaverous. The effect, of course, was fantastic, but I couldn't like him the way I like Granada's Moriarty simply because he was so disturbing. He also had very little facial expression, which was even creepier. The fight scene between him and Holmes at the Falls was magnificent, though. Really well choreographed and realistic. They truly looked like they were trying to kill each other.
Vasily Livanov's Holmes continues to be charming while still not matching the Holmes in my head. He reminds me, actually, of Holmes in the very early stories – enthusiastic, suave in some situations, sarcastic in others, somewhat hyperactive, but without the cynicism of post-Falls adventures. He plays a very warm Holmes, in contrast to the detached reasoner we usually see in movies. He's pretty laid back, too. His Holmes seemed only serious, not rattled, when shuttering Watson's windows against air guns. The only time (pre-Falls) that he doesn't act like everything is under control is right before his fight with Moriarty, when he says all these maudlin things to Watson about his career coming to an end and Watson's like "Please stop talking like that o_o" Then when he watches Watson go off to take care of the fabricated English tuberculosis patient, he just has this look on his face and you know he knows.
Speaking of which, one weird addition to the story was that they had Steiler from the hostel they were staying at show up right after Watson when he returns to the Falls. I totally thought the guy was going to be in cahoots with Moriarty, but he wasn't. And it was weird because he was all soliloquizing about the greatness of Holmes and I kind of wished he'd leave Watson alone with his trauma :\ Which was considerable.
Vitaly Solomin's Watson is the most adorable Watson I've ever seen ever. He's never stupid – so far, he's not even dense, just a little naive and inexperienced – but he's intensely dedicated, loyal, and driven. They also play up both that he's a doctor and that he's a writer, which movies sometimes tend to neglect. He's always got his notebook out, and one of the times they showed him drawing little pictures of Holmes XD You may be able to imagine my glee.
One of the things I really like about this interpretation even though it's very different from canon is that Holmes and Watson have practically no tension. They are absolutely comfortable around each other all the time. This obviously isn't the case in the movie where they meet, but it definitely is for the Final Problem/Empty House movies and Hound of the Baskervilles, and even the Study in Scarlet movie (which incidentally isn't the one where the meet). They communicate with looks and body language more often than with words. When Holmes suggests that Watson go home when they're being chased across Europe by Moriarty, Watson just gives him this look, as if to say "How can you even think I might?" They don't argue. Holmes just goes "Okay, I get it, sorry if I offended you."
One of the plot changes that made this interesting was that Holmes asked Watson, in his "farewell" letter, to take care of Ronald Adair. Seeing as anyone who's familiar with the story knows that Adair gets shot early on in The Empty House, poor Watson's attempts are doomed to failure, but they're valiant attempts nonetheless. As valiant as they are, it's obvious he's no Holmes, but he really tries (in disguise as an Italian priest!) and does a fairly good job.
One of my favorite scenes (aside from the reunion, obviously, which I'll get to shortly) is when Scotland Yard shows up at Baker Street to tell Watson that Adair is dead and Watson is a suspect (Lestrade is particularly stupid in this version). In the first movie, Watson had told Lestrade to keep an eye on Adair because he was in danger from Moran (Moriarty henchman extraordinaire, possibly scarier in the stories than Moriarty himself). So what does Lestrade do but go ask Moran if he trying to kill Adair, which of course he denies, and Watson becomes their only suspect. The reason I like this scene is because Watson yells at Lestrade for not protecting Adair. Solomin's Watson is so calm and sweet and soft-spoken that his anger here was really effective.
Watson tries to investigate Adair's death, but no one will trust him. Lestrade tells him that they won't arrest him "in view of their long relationship" (*snicker*) but he shouldn't leave London. Watson comes home absolutely devastated that he's failed in carrying out Holmes's last wishes. In another modification that I really like, Mrs. Hudson has a much larger role than she does in the stories. There's no marriage in this, so Watson is living at Baker Street, and Mrs. Hudson does the best she can to comfort him (although telling him to read Holmes's letter again only makes him more upset). This leads directly into the reunion scene, which bears describing in full. It's played just a little bit for laughs, but we've had enough of the utterly heart-wrenching that it's welcome.
Holmes, disguised as the bookseller, comes into their sitting room to find Watson in tears. He does the whole "buy this copy of Birds of Great Britain!" spiel while Watson, ever polite, tries to get him to go the hell away. Mrs. Hudson brings Watson his coffee and while they're preparing it Holmes takes off his disguise. He's very casual about it in speech - "Hello, Watson!" - but he looks like he's about to keel over (using himself rather too freely, indeed). True to canon, Watson does keel over, much to Holmes's surprise. Mrs. Hudson is the next to drop, and then we see Holmes pouring smelling salts on handkerchiefs and draping them over his poor traumatized friends' faces.
When Watson finally comes round, he says in the saddest and most pathetic little voice: "Holmes! They want to arrest me!" Holmes knows; he read it in the Times. He helps Mrs. Hudson up, who clings to one arm. The rest of the scene goes like this (keep in mind that the dialogue is from subtitles, so it probably sounds more eloquent in Russian):
Watson: *peering closely into Holmes's face* Alive... alive. *prodding him* You're not a ghost. *hand on Holmes's chest* It really is you.
Mrs. Hudson: *scolding* Where have you been all this time?
Watson: My god!
Mrs. Hudson: It's been a long time!
Watson: We missed you terribly! *presses face into Holmes's neck*
Holmes: *catches him, looking stricken*
Then the camera switches (switches! Gah!) to show one of Moriarty's henchmen at the window, and we hear (and in my case, read) this:
Holmes: *choking sound*
Watson: Come on, Holmes! Stop it!
[at this point the camera's back on them, and Holmes does something that's very much like he is in canon – he pushes himself away.]
Watson: Let's be happy today! Holmes!
Holmes: *covering his face* I am happy!
Watson doesn't seem to mind, though. He's too elated, and man is it nice to see him that happy after the anguish he spent this movie in. Happiest Watson I ever saw.
I'll love Vasily Livanov forever for this scene alone, no matter how he plays Holmes in the other movies. The way he looks at Watson through the whole thing is just beyond explanation, and the expression on his face when Watson hugs him is brilliant - it finally hits him what he's put everyone through. No other adaptation I've seen does that, although if I understand correctly, the stage play that Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke were in goes into the whole trust issue more than most.
Another thing I thought was awesome – when Holmes and Watson are discussing their plans for catching Moran, Holmes remarks about Watson's clothes and Watson pulls a black mourning band off his lapel, which I didn't even notice he had until then. As he does this he looks so happy it's incredible.
The ruse with the bust of Holmes in Baker Street is done magnificently in this. Instead of a silhouette behind a drawn shade, they have a whole mannequin that Mrs. Hudson and Mycroft move around so it looks like Holmes is really sitting in his chair. The sort of light-hearted feel that started with the reunion scene continues even as Holmes is grappling with Moran:
Watson: *leaning over them* Do you need some help, Holmes?
Holmes: *being strangled* That would be appreciated!
Watson: *clocks Moran with gun*
Watson doesn't get mad at Holmes in this version, either. From what I could tell, it seemed like Holmes was only gone for a couple of months at most (certainly not three years). He had been in London living with Mycroft for the past month, he said, but couldn't reveal himself. Watson takes this all in stride, though he still blames himself for Adair's death – a point which Holmes is insistent on refuting. Like I said before, there's no tension between them whatsoever. Watson isn't mad or hurt by Holmes's deception in Hound, either – when he hears Holmes's voice outside the hut, he just gets the happiest smile ever on his face and runs out to glomp Holmes not once but twice. It's very much a "Yay, you're here and I haven't seen you in weeks!" hug on both sides, and it gave me the impression that Livonov and Solomin's regular method of greeting each other as Holmes and Watson is by hugging. I'm sure you can imagine how happy this makes me.
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no subject
Date: 2009-01-27 03:40 am (UTC)Holmes: *being strangled* That would be appreciated!
Watson: *clocks Moran with gun*
*grin spreading from ear to ear*
Wow, they sound marvelous! A look can say so much. It's fascinating too to hear overtones in the Russian scenes like a translation from English. Imagine two Victorian English gentlemen hugging each other on a street corner. What a lovely thought!:-)
no subject
Date: 2009-01-28 12:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-27 07:20 am (UTC)It does make you high :D
I was in clouds for days after seeing them.
They're so mad and adorable.
no subject
Date: 2009-01-28 12:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-28 09:54 pm (UTC)He's always got his notebook out, and one of the times they showed him drawing little pictures of Holmes XD You may be able to imagine my glee.
Yes. Yes, I think I can. *glomps you*
no subject
Date: 2009-01-28 11:05 pm (UTC)*huggles you*