Sherlock Holmes: soluzione settepercento

Dr. Watson (Robert Duvall) prepares a scheme to Sherlock (Nicol Williamson) meets Sigmund Freud (Alan Arkin) in Vienna to cure his drugs addiction . Besides , the trio will resolve an abducting of a famous actress damsel (Vanessa Redgrave) , rescuing her from villains still being beset by his dastardly and devilish rival . Holmes excursion brings the famed Victorian sleuth towards Austria , as Holmes along Freud will solve unanswered mysteries and Sherlock undergoes some risked experiences to resolve the cases using even his habitual disguise .

It is a nice Holmes film with gripping London and Vienna setting . A genuine ripping yarn and very intriguing . The movie blends suspense , thriller , detective action , cloak and dagger , mystery and being enough interesting . Packs an exciting amount of surprises with great lots of entertainment . This is a classy and effective romp with a strongly casting . Nicol Williamson as whimsical detective is top-notch , he's in cracking form . He makes an unique perspective on his life , revealing a complex personality . He's finely matched in battle of wits with Freud . The stars have a splendid fight aboard a train towards the end ; plus , Holmes tries to battle his arch-enemy Moriarty but with an amazing final surprise . Although Basil Rathbone will be forever identified as Holmes ; however , here Nicol Williamson is also played as an intelligent , cunning , broody and impetuous pipesmoking sleuth but addicted to cocaine , his interpretation is likeness to Christopher Plummer (Murder by decree) or Peter Cushing and Jeremy Brett in television . While Dr. Watson isn't a bumbling and botcher pal generally represented by Nigel Bruce , but a clever and astute partner magnificently incarnated by Robert Duvall .

Screenwriter Nicholas Meyer provides the original plot , creating the basis for this particularly storyline . After this film , source novelist-screenwriter Meyer realized a similar operation , uniting H.G.Wells with Jack the Ripper in the movie ¨Time after the time¨ , as he became a film director himself , in his another picture connected with Victorian England. Excellent sets by production designer Ken Adam in his fourth of seven collaborations to director Herbert Ross . The film boasts a beautiful cinematography by Oswald Morris and a haunting score by John Addison . The motion picture sparkles with polish and wit and the ending results to be as exciting as moving and being well directed by Herbert Ross .

Sherlock Holmes falls into a maisma of self-pity and paranoia through his repeated and continued use of a seven percent solution of cocaine. His faithful Watson and brother Mycroft concoct a scheme for him to go to Austria to meet Sigmund Freud, who can help him with his drug addiction. This is a brilliant film in many ways, and also a flawed film. The film is decidedly fresh with its coupling of Holmes and Freud, and its script which explains many of Holmes's character traits through a psychological examination of his character. The script by Nicholas Meyer is first-rate. The direction by Herbert Ross is also very good as it blends humour with mystery, as well as an introductory course in Freudian psychology. Nicol Williamson is a wonderful Holmes. He is precise, calculating, ego-maniacal, and blessed with just a tint of "real" madness. Williamson also is very adept at plowing through the dialogue with witty zeal. Arkin does almost as well as Freud. Arkin plays off Williamson very nicely and adds his own subtle kind of humour. The scene the two men share upon their first meeting is one of perfection of timing. The rest of the cast, however, is a bit weak, or serves as nothing more than scenery. Robert Duvall has to be one of the worst Watsons I have ever seen on screen before. He is so bland in the role, TOO stiff upper lip and his British affectation of speech sounds just like someone trying to imitate a Britisher. He also limps far too much. Joel Grey is wasted in his small role, as is Vanessa Redgrave(looking stunning if nothing else). Samatha Eggar is there just two or three minutes for absolutely nothing). Laurence Olivier does a nice job as a different Moriarity than we are used to, and character Jeremy Kemp is adequate as a wealthy Prussian villain. The next best thing for me in terms of acting after Williamson and Arkin has to be Charles Gray as brother Mycroft(a role he would reprise in the Granada Sherlock Holmes series with Jeremy Brett). Gray was a wildly under-appreciated actor. He gives a wonderfully eccentric performance. The film has a great climatic ending, a rollicking musical score, and some tense, suspenseful action. It also makes the most famous character in all of fiction a little more human to all of us. Good stuff!

I really enjoyed this little fantasy film about the supposed treatment Sherlock Holmes received for his cocaine addiction from Dr. Freud. This is awfully strange, having a real-life and fictional character interact together, but the writers were able to make it work.

Up front I should let you know that I am a huge Sherlock Holmes fan--having read all the stories several times. In most of my reviews for Holmes movies, I am very critical because they take such liberties with the stories--and almost always ruin the stories. At first, I was reticent to see this story because of this--after all, it's NOT based on a Conan Doyle story and the last such film I saw (THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES) was terrible in places because it took too many liberties with the character (especially at the end of the film). However, despite my reservations I saw the film and am glad I did.

At first it did bother me, as the film did SEEM to contradict many of the Holmes stories. However, through the course of the film, they were able to explain away all these differences very well--in particular, Holmes' hatred for Professor Moriarty. Additionally, having the fictional character be psychoanalyzed actually was pretty cool--though Freud's analysis almost always took months or years, not a few quick sessions.

Up until the last 10 or 15 minutes of the film, I was very pleased with the movie but then the film had a serious flaw that knocked off a point. The sword fighting scene at the end (interesting, by the way, in a Freudian sense) was totally unnecessary and totally distracting. It was like another writer took an intelligent script and added a macho idiot fight scene for no discernible reason. Had it been me, I would have had Holmes simply shoot the guy--not pad it out for no apparent reason. Additionally, while it was integrated into the story later, the whole tennis match sequence seemed contrived and silly. Still, with so much to like, both these scenes can be overlooked.

An excellent film for Holmes lovers. Additionally, psychology teachers and therapists will also appreciate the inclusion of Freud.

By the way, Charles Gray plays Holmes' brother, Mycroft in this film. A decade later, he played this same character in the Jeremy Brett series as well.

I remember seeing trailers for this film at the time it was released. I was interested in seeing it, having read the Meyer novel, but never did until May of 2006 when it showed up on cable. I guess what happened is that it came and went so fast back in 1976 that I never got around to it. And viewing it now, I can understand why it didn't last. Nicol Williamson, as good an actor as he is, just doesn't feel right as Holmes. Was Robert Duvall forced on the producers because he was a hot property? Otherwise, why cast an American for a quintessentially English role (Watson) with a phony plummy-British accent? Olivier and Arkin do nicely, although Larry is under-used (as is the lovely Samantha Eggar). The problem is with the script and pacing. It's not serious enough to be a thriller, and not funny enough to be a comedy. At almost 2 hours it's far too long for the content. The chase scene, "cold turkey" sequence, and other sections could easily have been trimmed. The weird "horse attack" sequence is meaningless, and provides the biggest laugh of all: the appearance of horse trainers running around in some of the long shots. This film would be OK for a long rainy evening, but you'll be tempted to use your fast-forward button!

Sherlockians will no doubt grouse, but this is certainly the best Sherlock Holmes tale outside the "canon" and one of the best Holmes films ever. Although Conan Doyle never really combined his characters with historical figures, it's a great device. Alan Arkin gives one of his wonderful performances, employing one of his all purpose accents, and initially very understated. Holmes helps bring out heroic qualities you don't suspect in Sigmund Freud, pace, Anna Freud. Nicol Williamson looks and moves like Holmes, truly "hawk-like". Robert Duval is one of the best Watsons ever, outside of the BBC. Some characterizations of Watson make it hard to believe that he could possibly be a doctor, or even any kind of useful member of society. But this Watson is believable as a person, doctor and friend. The plot line also provides an answer as to who Holmes really is, and what makes him tick. Not THE answer, but an answer. A lot of fun, and very well done. Great period color. Don't go all serious, and you'll have a good time. Nice use of the cimbalom in the score during action sequences. Gives it that "Hungarian" flavor.