Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)
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Young Sherlock Holmes, also known as Young Sherlock Holmes and the Pyramid of Fear, is a mystery and adventure teen film directed by Barry Levinson with music by Bruce Broughton and premiered on December 4, 1985. Starring Nicholas Rowe, Alan Cox, and Sophie Ward.
Summary
A young John Watson (Alan Cox) arrives at Brompton Academy, a boarding school for boys in London, where he meets Sherlock Holmes (Nicholas Rowe), an amateur detective and frustrated violin learner. At their very first meeting, Sherlock tries to deduct Watson's identity, although he fails to properly guess his name, Sherlock leaves Watson surprised by his skills. Sherlock Holmes and John Watson become fast friends.
At Brompton Academy, Sherlock is mentored (and friends) with Professor Rathe (Anthony Higgins), who teaches him fencing, and with the retired Professor Rupert Waxflatter (Nigel Stock), a very eccentric man who lives on the school grounds with his niece, Elizabeth Hardy (Sophie Ward), who is Sherlock's girlfriend.
While Sherlock Holmes and John Watson go through their school curriculum, the town is strung by a series of mysterious deaths where the victims get hallucinations that push them to take their own lives.
As one of the mysterious deaths strick close to Sherlock Holmes, he, with the help of Watson and Elizabeth, tries to discover who the culprit behind the murders is...
Thoughts
For starters, if you are a fan of Sherlock Holmes but have never watched this movie before, you might be thinking: "Sherlock Holmes and John Watson never met at a boarding school" and you are right! The movie explicitly states that it's just a sort of fanfiction reimagining a what-if they had actually met before, so it's not canon to any of the works by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. That doesn't mean that this movie is any kind of bad; I found it to be brilliant, even if I'm not a big fan of Sherlock Holmes (detective-wise, I'm more of a fan of Hercule Poirot).
If you like the Harry Potter movies, especially the first two, Young Sherlock Holmes is very similar to them (actually is vice-versa, but... 😅), except without the magic. Trivia: Chris Columbus worked in the three movies (In Young Sherlock Holmes as a writer and in the Harry Potter movies as a director).
-By the way, I know that the summary of this movie is rather short, but I just didn't want to give any major plot points away (sorry!)-
The cinematography is fantastic, although I have to say that some of the special effects don't look that great anymore, they still don't take you away from the movie (I do like them, tho!)
One of my favorite scene is the one where our protagonists are being chased through a cementery; it's quite thrilling!
The acting is great as is the ensemble cast. I really liked the interpretation of Sherlock Holmes by Nicholas Rowe, in fact, whenever I think of Sherlock, he is the first actor who crosses my mind.
The soundtrack is fantastic, the most standout tracks is the "Rame Tep" song, whenever I watch this movie, I can't help but sing "Rame tep, rame tep" afterwards.
I recommend this movie if you like Sherlock Holmes, a great mystery, and a fantastic trio of friends.
Rating
Acting – 10/10
Plot – 10/10
Romance – 10/10
Soundtrack – 10/10
Overall Rating – 10/10
Extended Movie Info
Run Time: 109 minutes (1hs 49min).
Release Date: December 4, 1985.
Based on: Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Directed by: Barry Levinson.
Cinematography by: Stephen Goldblatt.
Screenplay by: Chris Columbus.
Edited by: Stu Linder.
Music by: Bruce Broughton.
Costumes by: Raymond Hughes.
Starring: Nicholas Rowe, Alan Cox, and Sophie Ward with Anthony Higgins, Susan Fleetwood, Earl Rhodes, Roger Ashton-Griffiths, and Nigel Stock.
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