Various Holmes-related things
Mar. 23rd, 2009 08:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elabyUbuh. *brain falls out*
*eyeballs follow suit*
Only tangentially related to the previous, I just watched Blue Remembered Hills, a television play about seven children, played by adults, in Gloucestershire during WWII. I got it from Netflix because it's got Colin Jeavons in it (Granada!Lestrade) in what various places call his most critically acclaimed role. I can see why.
I only acted on stage in high school, and I've never acted in a movie or on television (duh) but I've often though about what it would be like, and Blue Remembered Hills would definitely require a theatre-acting-mindset rather than a television/movie-acting-mindset. Again, not that I know, but I imagine that with most TV shows and movies, you don't have to use your imagination quite as much. You look like you're supposed to look. You're in the place you're supposed to be. You're wearing the clothes you're supposed to wear. You're immersed in the part, so you don't have to pretend quite as hard. My theatre group in high school was woefully underfunded, and so we had to imagine everything. Once, our set was made of cardboard. That's how I learned to act, and I always thought how awesome it would be to actually be in the place I was pretending to be.
That's, uh, neither here nor there, because Blue Remembered Hills is shot on location, but the thing with the acting mindset - these are adult actors pretending to be children, and god almighty do they act like children. You forget they're not until there's a close-up and you're like "Oh, he's balding in the back. Oh yeah." Janine Duvitski played one of the girls, and I have never seen anyone act more like a little girl just in her motions and stance. I mean, I don't hang around kids much; I'd have no idea. And Colin Jeavons, good lord. The other boys were all of a similar vein to varying degrees - rowdy, shouting, running-jumping-climbing-trees - but Donald, his character, was an abused, introverted, sensitive little kid whose father was in a POW camp and who was the one all the other children zeroed in on as vulnerable enough to pick on. The look of hope on his face when one of the other boys said that their mother wanted to take Donald in was gut-wrenching, no less so than when the same kid mentioned Donald's father.
The whole thing ended in Lord of the Flies-like tragedy. I have also been staring at a computer for... *counts* fifteen hours. Hence the brain-and-eyeball death.
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dakegra sent me the link to this neat webpage! 22 Cases of Sherlock Holmes in Science Fiction. It had this fantabulous quote, which makes me need to see this movie again:
Oh, and Spock quotes one of Holmes's most famous lines in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country when he says, "An ancestor of mine maintained that if you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains – however improbable – must be the truth", which totally implies Holmes is his great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather or something. You know, come to think of it, I can sort of see the resemblance.
So can I! XD Both of them do a bit of a crap job trying to out-logic their feelings on occasion. Hmm, wonder why I love them?
Also, because I'm just that big of a dweeb, I've been going through all of the canon stories with Lestrade in them to chart the progression of his and Holmes's "prickly but ultimately affectionate relationship"* over the years of their acquaintance. It's so I can better annotate "The Six Napoleons"! Really!
*Incredibly apt quote from the Wikipedia entry on Lestrade, which has been edited recently by somebody who does their research (policemen generally didn't carry firearms in the 1890's! I even knew that!)
*eyeballs follow suit*
Only tangentially related to the previous, I just watched Blue Remembered Hills, a television play about seven children, played by adults, in Gloucestershire during WWII. I got it from Netflix because it's got Colin Jeavons in it (Granada!Lestrade) in what various places call his most critically acclaimed role. I can see why.
I only acted on stage in high school, and I've never acted in a movie or on television (duh) but I've often though about what it would be like, and Blue Remembered Hills would definitely require a theatre-acting-mindset rather than a television/movie-acting-mindset. Again, not that I know, but I imagine that with most TV shows and movies, you don't have to use your imagination quite as much. You look like you're supposed to look. You're in the place you're supposed to be. You're wearing the clothes you're supposed to wear. You're immersed in the part, so you don't have to pretend quite as hard. My theatre group in high school was woefully underfunded, and so we had to imagine everything. Once, our set was made of cardboard. That's how I learned to act, and I always thought how awesome it would be to actually be in the place I was pretending to be.
That's, uh, neither here nor there, because Blue Remembered Hills is shot on location, but the thing with the acting mindset - these are adult actors pretending to be children, and god almighty do they act like children. You forget they're not until there's a close-up and you're like "Oh, he's balding in the back. Oh yeah." Janine Duvitski played one of the girls, and I have never seen anyone act more like a little girl just in her motions and stance. I mean, I don't hang around kids much; I'd have no idea. And Colin Jeavons, good lord. The other boys were all of a similar vein to varying degrees - rowdy, shouting, running-jumping-climbing-trees - but Donald, his character, was an abused, introverted, sensitive little kid whose father was in a POW camp and who was the one all the other children zeroed in on as vulnerable enough to pick on. The look of hope on his face when one of the other boys said that their mother wanted to take Donald in was gut-wrenching, no less so than when the same kid mentioned Donald's father.
The whole thing ended in Lord of the Flies-like tragedy. I have also been staring at a computer for... *counts* fifteen hours. Hence the brain-and-eyeball death.
dakegra sent me the link to this neat webpage! 22 Cases of Sherlock Holmes in Science Fiction. It had this fantabulous quote, which makes me need to see this movie again:Oh, and Spock quotes one of Holmes's most famous lines in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country when he says, "An ancestor of mine maintained that if you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains – however improbable – must be the truth", which totally implies Holmes is his great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather or something. You know, come to think of it, I can sort of see the resemblance.
So can I! XD Both of them do a bit of a crap job trying to out-logic their feelings on occasion. Hmm, wonder why I love them?
Also, because I'm just that big of a dweeb, I've been going through all of the canon stories with Lestrade in them to chart the progression of his and Holmes's "prickly but ultimately affectionate relationship"* over the years of their acquaintance. It's so I can better annotate "The Six Napoleons"! Really!
*Incredibly apt quote from the Wikipedia entry on Lestrade, which has been edited recently by somebody who does their research (policemen generally didn't carry firearms in the 1890's! I even knew that!)
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no subject
Date: 2009-03-24 08:23 am (UTC)I'm very sorry about The Blue Remembered Hills. I sort of bad for putting you through that, given that I did kinda recommened it. *gives puppy dog eyes* Sorry.
Yes Holmes and Spock. I actually really dislike the kind of fanwanky my good character is related to your good character because they're both soooo cleveeeer! Still though, Spock = Holmes.
right down to the fact that they're both in love with doctors /my personal canon>
no subject
Date: 2009-03-24 09:47 pm (UTC)EEEEE XD Your personal canon is SO my personal canon, what is up with that? XD
And totally don't feel bad about Blue Remembered Hills :) I really enjoyed it, from a watching-people-act-incredibly-skillfully way, and I'm VERY glad you recommended it, because I never would have thought to go look for it otherwise. Please don't feel bad :)
The Holmes-has-descendants thing always kind of bothers me, because no, no children. That's just silly. And people tend to make Irene Adler the mother, which is even more ridiculous e_e
no subject
Date: 2009-03-24 10:06 pm (UTC)That's so exciting! I love it when people share my canon views.
Glad you liked the programme, I often worry about making recommendations, especially things that are so...heavy.
No, Holmes has no children
because men can't bear children ;)
no subject
Date: 2009-03-25 10:13 pm (UTC)You did definitely warn that it was rough.