Sherlock Holmes Editing Review

Moving on from the film’s movement, editing was a huge part of this film. Director Guy Ritchie’s, go-to editor is James Herbert. James Herbert explains, they “used four Avids, all running off a Unity- three PCs and one Mac, which the visual effects editor used.” (postmagazine.com) He said he prefers working with a 2.8 Avid Media Composer and using Mojo instead of Adrenaline allowed them to rarely need to digitize and it also kept the budget cost low. He explains during the workflow he looked through the rushes while Ritchie was shooting, he would cut and score what he thought it should look like and on most occasions Ritchie would love it. Herbert mentioned that the film was so linear that there wasn’t much they could’ve changed to the story. One very challenging scene, Herbert explains, was the hallucination scene. He made the montages as one and took Blackwood out making the scene more simplified. He used Final Cut Pro for the stylistic look as well. 

Sherlock Holmes Movement Review

Sherlock Holmes Movement Review

In Sherlock Holmes the movie the director Guy Ritchie emphasizes a lot of the action in this film by keeping the camera close in the scene. A lot of this movies movement is stylized when we look at the fighting or running into the streets.

The opening of the movie is a long shot of a bunch of horse carriages and then switches to Sherlock running through the streets. It goes back up close inside the one carriage to reveal Inspector Lestrade and John Watson getting their weapons for something. In this beginning sequence it’s almost as if the carriages are chasing after Sherlock. A couple carriage shots are angled as though we ourselves are riding on top of the carriage or we are running with Sherlock through the alley way. We feel connected to Sherlock with the types of shots he’s in. The camera is at a close and lower angle shot of him but also follows him through the alley way creating a more sped up intense scene.

A scene ahead Sherlock makes it into a building where he approaches a man he must knock out stealthily. He begins by narrating how the fight will go. All of this is done in a slow motion take. In this slow motion sequence this is suppose to give the audience a sense of how the victim really feels as Sherlock makes his swift and clever attacks. The slow-motion shots in Sherlock Holmes were one of my favorite things about this film. Each frame of the slow-mo were close up shots of the action. One example is when Sherlock must silence the man so he can’t scream for help or draw attention. In this demonstration Sherlock hits the man’s throat to paralyze his vocal chords, in this shot it’s an extreme close shot with Sherlock’s hand jabbing at the man’s throat all in slow motion. In these shots it’s as if we are Sherlock the way the camera is angled. This sort of movement with the camera really works well for this film.

Sherlock Holmes Mise En Scene Review

     

    

      This still frame of the movie Sherlock Holmes is when Holmes is trying to get information from a man but then it ends up becoming a chase between each other. The whole building they're in gets completely demolished and Watson has just saved Sherlock's life.

       Our eyes go towards Sherlock and Watson first. The background is too bland to really grab our attention but when you look at Sherlock and Watson' facial expressions it makes you wonder just happened or what on Earth are they looking at. There isn't much lighting to this image other than the light coming through the background and the lighting on Watson's face. 

       The shot is not quite a full shot or a close up of the two but it's in between so you can see parts of the background bu also see Watson and Sherlock. We seem to be at eye-level, slightly looking up at the characters as far as camera angles go. This image has more warmer colors such as some browns, grays, and blacks. The way the lens is shooting the image makes the background look sort of distorted or crumbled to show that something crazy just happened. 

       Aside from the main focus being Watson and Sherlock, the whole open background is an eye-stopper. The visual information that this image provides is moderately detailed. Nothing too crazy is going on besides the obvious parts of the construction broken or destroyed. The composition of this image has a right, left, and center. It in a way gives off suspense. The image also is open with everything placed well enough to balance. 

      The framing is loose, giving the characters enough room to move around if need be. There is a lot of depth to the background with tons of openings. Sherlock and Watson are placed in the center almost to the right side of the shot. It only makes sense that they are in the center to show they are the center of attention. Watson faces towards the audience while Sherlock has his back and shoulder towards us, although both of the characters seem to be looking at something above us. There isn't much space between Sherlock and Watson considering Watson jumped out to save Sherlock's life. So there as close as you can get. 

Sherlock Holmes Photography Review

       Philippe Rousselot is French born cinematographer who worked on films such as "Sherlock Holmes" (2009), "Big Fish" (2003), and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (2005). He caught the attention of Hollywood with his work as cinematographer on the John Boorman film "Hope and Glory" (1986). Aside from being known in America he is also celebrated throughout Europe and in native France for many years.
       The Vaugirard film school in Paris is what sparked his interest in photography, which is where he ended up studying at. Some artistic influences for him were paintings of Pierro della Francescsa; the photographic works of Sarah Moon, German Expression; the paintingsof the French 18th century school.Other artistic influences with films would be Sergei Chereau, Fritz Lang, Kenji Mizoguchi, Federico Fellini, and many more. Rousselot has said that his most satisfying moment on a project was "A very simple shot of an actor wearing a brown shirt against a wall that was the same color. In that moment, I realized I could get away with not using any backlight".
        In the film Sherlock Holmes the scene The Gravity of Coming Events was shot between cage bars. Sherlock on one side and Blackwood on the other. These shots were a very interesting technique made by Rousselot.  Another scene like this one was when Sherlock and Watson are in the slaughter house. They are searching for clues and suddenly hear Blackwood's voice. At some point Sherlock has his back up against the wall with a gap in it. Blackwood appears right into the gap next to Holmes. This shot was another good technique made by Rousselot.

Sherlock Holmes Acting Review

      The film Sherlock Holmes (2009) directed by Guy Ritchie ended up being a huge blockbuster hit. To most of the crowd Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law's performances playing Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson had nailed it.
       Robert Downey Jr. has been known to the acting industry since the age of five. It helped that his father was directing the first film he was in called Pound (1970). He continued to build his film reputation through the 1980s and 1990s. In 1992 he received an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Chaplin (1992). The Downfall of his career occurred during 1996-2001 when he was involved with drug-related problems. From 2003 he began to regain his career and in May 2008 he achieved critical acclaim and worldwide box office success for his starring role in Iron Man (2008). For his performance in Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes, that earned him a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture. And he has outstanding popular commercial success with his roles as Sherlock Holmes and Tony Stark. So it's no wonder why Sherlock Holmes was a huge success.
       Opposite to film actor Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law was better known for his stage performances. He starred in many plays in London and was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for "Outstanding New Comer". He was also rewarded the Theatre World Award. Once he finished Broadway he moved onto the big screen. His popularity to film gained through the 1990s and early 2000s withfilms like: Enemy at the Gates (2001), Road to Perdition (2002), I Heart Huclabees (2004), The Aviator (2004). Law is also active in many charitable activities which helps further with his career fame.
       Rachel McAdams is a well-known actress to many audience for her role as Regina George in the comedy Mean Girls (2004). This brought her onto the short list of Hollywood's hottest young actresses. She also starred in the Notebook (2004), The Lucky Ones (2008), State of Play (2009), The Time Traveler's Wife (2009), and Sherlock Holmes (2009). Her performance in Sherlock Holmes hit her perfectly. She is certainly an audience favorite.
       These Three main stars chosen by director Guy Ritchie had helped make the film a huge success.

Sherlock Holmes Ideology Review

       The famous Sherlock Holmes is at it again! It is obvious that Holmes is the protagonist of this film. And it is no question that he does the things he does for the better. He's a detective solving crimes.
        Now in the movie John Watson announces that Lord Blackwood the antagonist of the movie is indeed fact dead. Although later in the film it is revealed that Blackwood has resurrected from the dead. Blackwood's main goal was to become more of a power figure to London. And by doing this he scared the crowd with his so called "black magic". Holmes and Watson's job is to figure out Blackwood's magic tricks and redeem themselves of the goofed up case.
        Some symbols to look at in this film are the black crows which represent death. The occult symbols would be the satanic worships like the sphinx which represents a "gateway to immeasurable power". The sphinx is made up of four parts being: a foot of a lion, and tail of an ox, wings of an eagle and the head of a man. In the film each part was representing as someone who would die. This played a huge part in the film that the audience doesn't immediately make that connection until it is later revealed.
        This film had many great cinematic outlooks and ideas to Sherlock Holmes.

Sherlock Holmes Dramatization Review

      Sherlock Holmes the movie is shot in many different places in London. In this particular set, it is interior. The set is realistic and lifelike, it is styled like a late 1800's Britain room. Since the set is mostly shot in London it definitely makes the audience feel more in depth with the characters and story.
   
       The apparent income level of the owners I would have to say is fairly good, they seem to have a good bit of money to spend on the set. In this specific scene it was a decently sized room. It was filled with things but if it was all removed it's be a bigger room. It's furnished very well, lots of book shelves, some chairs, tables, papers, a fireplace. It is sort of cluttered considering this is Sherlock's work room.

       The overall image this set projects is an old style back in the 1800's. I think they did a great job putting together the set.

       Sherlock's costume falls into the late 1800's. It was a pretty accurate reconstruction. The apparent income level of Sherlock is probably middle-class. He isn't very porr but he isn't rich either. His costume could emphasize his virility, but it doesn't show that he has much power. I would the costume is appropriate to the character's age.

       His costume in this scene is sort of loose and baggy as a symbol of his crazy and strange side who doesn't have much hygiene. The material coarse is sturdy and plain. The costume has overalls which most men wore back then. His shoes are just plain old fashioned shoes for men in the late 1800's.

      There isn't much to the colors in this scene. If I had to decide it would probably have warmer colors and it's bright with solid colors. Not much of his body is exposed in this scene. For Sherlock, it is just for utilitarian purposes. Sherlock has never really cared about his appearance. Sherlock although a slob stands proud and tall with his type of confident attitude.

      The overall impression that the costume creates is a plain and maybe boring look. He is just wearing a usual outfit most men would wear back then.