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Yuri Stickney
Professor Linda Greene Haas
Writing 39B
May 21, 2014
Holmes In Action
Can you imagine Sherlock Holmes in a fistfight? The genius detective, brought to life
along with the detective genre by writer Arthur Conan Doyle in the Victorian era, was not
originally a brawler. He became popular in late Victorian England through his mental prowess
and unwavering resolve to solve crimes; mMoreover, the stories were an excellent mirror of the
time period. Just as in the Victorian era, in modern depictions of the detective, Holmes mirrors
what the audience wants to see. One version of the 21
st
century Holmes is an action packed super
hero detective, set in the original Victorian era, played by Robert Downey Jr. in Guy Richies
movies Sherlock Holmes, released 2009, and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, released in
2011. Film director Guy Richie is recognized for directing fast paced crime and action movies
with complex plots like Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. In his Sherlock
Holmes films, Richie does an excellent job of incorporating aspects of the action-adventure
genre into the classic detective genre conventions through the use of certain camera techniques
and by making Holmes into a beast, both intelligent and vicious. A bit of action was the secret
ingredient Richie used to spice up the juicy Sherlock Holmes formula. Good introduction! You
might want to establish that the action genre became popular in the 20
th
century (and the
detective genre in the 19
th
) and so here in the 21
st
century, Ritchie blends the older with the
newer in a mash up that is appealing to our time.
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There are multiple scenes in the movie Sherlock Holmes by Guy Richie that illustrate a
synthesis of both the detective and the action adventure genres. The action adventure genre is
actually just a synthesis of the action genre and the adventure genre. According to AMC Film
site edited by film critic Tim Dirks, action movies have continuous high energy physical
stunts and activity battles martial arts fights [and] spectacular rhythm and pacing
(http://www.filmsite.org/). Furthermore, action films have high potential of over-lap with many
other genres, including the adventure and detective genres. The film makes good use of action
conventions like martial arts or fighting, and physical stunts and activity as well as adventure
conventions like travels, conquests and explorations of the protagonist. However adventure is
already a major characteristic of the detective genre, since Sherlock and Watson have to travel
around on an adventure to gather information to solve their cases.<<and most of the stories are
called something like The Adventure of.. Action is an aspect that did not exist in the original
Holmes that has made its appearance in Richies movie.<<it didnt exist as a genre back then at
all (my point earlier) A good example of action in the film is the scene when Sherlock is in a
boxing match with another man larger than he is right after Sherlock has an unsuccessful first
meeting with Ms. Morstan. In the old Sherlock Holmes stories by Doyle, Sherlock was known to
be an expert boxer as Watson <<would be worth giving a little detail from that scenethe
person who recognizes Holmes is a prize fighter in London and Holmes says something about
being good at boxing>> mentions in A Study in Scarlet<<its in The Sign of Four, but there were
never any stories in which Sherlock actually gets in a fistfight with a foe. In this new era remake
of Holmes, Robert Downey Jr. is an action packed superhero genius with extraordinary physical
as well as mental abilities. First, the scene starts with a quick visual transition from Holmes
eating a steak to being thrown around in a rink, and to smooth out the sudden change, lively Irish
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music starts playing as Sherlock inserts the filet mignon into his mouth. The whole scene is
extremely fast paced showing the occasional close-up shot of either the worked up sweaty
Holmes, enthusiastically and violently yelling crowd, and his opponent, a large and dumb
looking brute. The scene highly utilizes whip pan to emphasize urgency or action, and hand held
camera from a slight upper angle to simulate point of view of the audience. Most of the scene is
seen from the point of view of the crowd watching the fight, and the duration of each shot is very
short, switching back and forth between different locations in the audience to show various
angles of the action. The camera techniques used here include the medium shot to show the
struggle between Sherlock and his opponent from the waist up and keep the audience focused on
their bodies, a synthesis of the point of view shot and canted framing where Sherlock is seen
through the crowd by someone standing in the back, and reframing to keep the camera centered
on Holmes. The lighting in the scene is low-key and emphasis is on the shadows and light
gleaming off of the champions sweat, and since the fight is in a basement in a homemade rink
the shadows create the mood for the underground fighting arena. When Holmes notices the
handkerchief and looks around for its owner, Irene Adler, he is knocked down and the high angle
is used to show his vulnerability. After this Holmes goes into a trance and the audience sees what
Holmes is about to do as he maps it out in his head. Sherlock uses his deductive skills to form a
plan to cripple his foe by blocking every hit and countering it with a critical strike, eventually
discombobulating his enemy. This scene is shown through a slow motion take of what Sherlock
is about to do while in voice over he explains every move and states the physical state of his
opponent after he is through with his combo. Sherlocks use of deduction to formulate a counter
combo and know exactly the scale of damage he is about to deal is a classic convention of the
detective genre. This scene is a perfect instance of Holmes using his deductive skills to destroy
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an enemy in a high action fistfight. Good analysisyou mentioned what part of the scene is
from the detective genre, and that the fight itself is from the action genreI wonder if you can
get a bit deeper into what specifically in the cinematic elements is following how an action scene
works? Might be good to see if you can find a source about conventions of action film scenes,
esp. fight scenes (ie, is there a conventional way to shoot a fight in an action film? Are there
certain things that always happen in a fight in an action film?)
The movie Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows also includes countless conventions of
the action genre to complement and add energy to the detectives story. To establish that, like its
prequel, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is a detective action film, in the first 6 minutes of
the film starts out with Holmes stalking his prey, the agent of a public bombing scheme, and
getting outnumbered and surrounded. The movie starts with Watson narrating as he types on a
typewriter and explains that Holmes has a radical theory of the bombings causing tensions
between France and Germany, quickly transitioning into next scene: a building exploding in
Strasbourg Germany. Up to here is just background. The next scene is a long take of a package
being handed off to a woman, who is revealed to be Irene Adler who then walks casually with
the suspicious parcel. Holmes in disguise is a classic convention of the Sherlock Holmes in
Doyles stories. For example, in A Sign of Four, Holmes dresses up as an old geezer sailor and
presents himself at 221B to Watson and Jones and fools them both. Holmes explains, You see, a
good many of the criminal classes begin to know me, especially since our friend here took to
publishing some of my cases: so I can only go on the war-path under some simple disguise like
this (Doyle Kindle Locationsloc. 1487-1488). Adler walks by Holmes disguised as a Chinese
merchant by wearing a wig, glasses, and whiskers. He gets up promptly and begins to tail her. As
he gets up he grabs a handful of rice and a handful of beans, which come to use later. He stalks
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her until she enters a crowded marketplace where he sneaks up next to her stealing the package
from her. She invites him to dinner, and he pulls her off behind a carriage and exclaims that three
men have been pursuing her. She shows urgency and leads him hurriedly into a back alley where
she reveals that the not three but four men were in fact escorting her. The fact that Holmes got
the number off by one indicates the convention that sometimes Holmes is incorrect but not by
very much. The woman then takes the package and proceeds leaving Holmes behind surrounded
and outnumbered four to one. Up until this point, the camera techniques used work together to
create a focus on Irene Adler and Sherlock Holmes walking through the crowded market place.
Camera movement is slow and some of the shots are long lasting up to 20 seconds; the
background music is ambient creating a calm dialogue. As soon as Holmes mentions the
pursuers, the music changes to an intense orchestral riff, creating suspense as Adler leads
Holmes into the alley. The music momentarily calms as Irene reveals the mens incentive. As she
leaves the four men tear off Holmess disguise and suddenly the leader of the pack grabs Holmes
by the neck and slams him up against a wall. Holmes proceeds to get in an all out brawl with the
men and at this point the music is intense again and camera movement is fast, utilizing whip pan
and short shots no longer than a second. Camera level is at eye level to keep focus on the mens
faces as they fight, and camera proximity ranges from the medium long shot to the close up to
show different perspectives of the fight. From here on out, low key lighting is used on the men
attacking Holmes while Holmes himself is lit up a bit more to show the difference between good
and evil. Sherlock starts the fight by throwing the rice he grabbed earlier into the eyes of two of
the men stunning them, and skillfully counters the other twos moves.<<he is often out-brawned
in these fights and resorts to using whatever is around him as a toolthis seems like a detective
mash-up with action too, right? After struggling for a few seconds three men manage hold
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Sherlock up against the wall. The leader tries to hit Holmes upon the head with a crate, and
Sherlock spits out the beans that he also took earlier into the mans eyes stunning him
momentarily, but not enough to stop him. The man breaks the crate on his head and starts
choking Holmes. Here the canted camera angle and hand held camera is used to show chaos and
instability. Holmes then manages to kick off the one holding his leg and the shot changes to a
medium long shot to show the full picture of the fight: Holmes being held against a wall by three
men being choked oriented on the right third of the screen and one man stumbling on the ground
trying to regain balance oriented on the left third of the screen. This shot shows the true power of
Holmes and that even with four men he is tough to keep down. Suddenly the man on the ground
notices policemen walking by and warns his friends. The men quickly back off from Holmes and
he slides down to a sitting position. They fool the policemen by throwing Holmes change and
winking at them. As the policemen walk away the men nervously look around at one another.
Here the close up shot is used to show their tense expressions and Holmes relaxed face as he
meditates with his eyes closed before them. Like in the boxing match, here a take of what
Holmes deduces each man will attempt is shown using extreme close up shots to emphasize their
highly murderous intentions. Jarring and earsplitting noises go along with each shot to create
suspense. After these images flash through Holmess mind he opens his eyes, and the men give
the signal to jump him. One of the men throws an apple in the air and Holmes uses a technique
known into action films asby TVTropes.org as Juggle-Fu (TVTropes.org). Juggle-Fu is when
someone throws an object in the air, performs some sort of action sequence while it is airborne,
and then catches the object on its way down. <<good! (http://tvtropes.org/). Holmes counters the
moves of every man making them swing their lethal objects into each other and finally disarming
the man with a pistol at the end and then catches the apple. Dumbfounded and intimidated the
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leader of the pack stands there alone as Holmes walks away hastily to catch up to Irene Adler. In
Doyles stories, there are no scenes that are devoted solely for Sherlock Holmes to beat the crap
out of some thugs in his way. This scene is a prime example of the mash up between the
detective genre and action conventions giving the movie high energy and good old five minute
fight scenes where the hero freely unleashes his power upon evil.
The addition of action to the Sherlock Holmes cannon successfully created excitement in
the detective genre. Action-adventure conventions work well in harmony with conventions of the
detective genre because the action-adventure genre is highly compatible with almost any genre.
Most movies out now that try to be exciting or fast paced dont work unless there is action;
therefore for the audience of now, action is almost a predicate for a movie to be popular among
all audiences. With this new tool called action, Sherlock Holmes, who successfully conquered
Victorian England, is ready to conquer the exhilaration craving 21
st
century audience.
Very nice job, Yuriyour analysis is very detailed and the two scenes are well chosen. For
revision I think you should prioritize cutting any filler and repetition you can find and then make
sure that each element you mention as you describe the scene is helping you point out how the
two genres conventions are being mixed.


Works Cited:
Dirks, Tim. AMC Filmsite. "Action Films." American Movie Classics Company LLC. Web. May
17, 2014.
Doyle, Arthur Conan. A Study in Scarlet. United Kingdom: Ward Lock & co: United Kingdom,
1887. [EBook #244].
Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Sign of the Four. Seattle: Amazon Digital Services, 2013. Kindle
eBook.
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TVTropes. Action Adventure Tropes. Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
ShareAlike 3.0 Unported. Web. May 21, 2014.