The Final Problem - Part 3 of 6 (Sherlock Holmes)

[mimi6619]

Back when actors knew how to act!

[MsSSnow]

Moriarty was based on a real criminal of that time named Adam Werth/werth.

[petertheallblack]

Brett is my exact idea of holmes :)

[jangbahadur1]

well professor morriorty is called taliban now a days

[GooglFascists]

Looks like Holmes is messing around with the Illuminati.

Let's see, who is the "Professor Moriarty" of our time?

Henry Kissinger? Dick Cheney? Zbigniew Brzesinski?

Or is it a mastermind so clever he/she keeps totally out

of the public eye? One thing for certain, there IS a cabal

of criminals behind all that is going on; especially the

planned destruction of the American economy with the

desired result of turning us all into poor serfs who live

to serve the elites. DAMN THEM TO HELL!

[RingSaberWardrobe]

@postmoderna7 I feel nervous, too - ha, even though I know I have nothing to be nervous about! Holmes does indeed seem vulnerable, and it's so great!

[codymr1974]

Jeremy Brett > Robert Downey Jr. Fact.

[syrka2000]

@codymr1974 Jeremy Brett = gentleman. That's all.

[Songsmirth]

I remember being impressed with the size of Moriarty's gang of professionals. It was very organized. And one the police couldn't seem to touch. Does anyone remember in which case it is that describes his organization?

[cha5]

@Songsmirth The Final Problem, and The Valley Of Fear are the main two cases that give a memorable description of Moriarty's organization

The Final Problem

"He is the Napolean of crime Watson, He is the organizer of half that is evil and nearly all that is undetected in this great city. He is a genius, a philosopher, an abstract thinker. He has a brain of the first order. He sits motionless like a spider in the center of its web."

[Songsmirth]

@cha5 Our President is paid $200,000.00? How many people's wages are in the millions so you telling me his second in command is paid so handsomely, doesn't surprise me at all. M needed loyal people. If you study the organizations of crime in the U.S., they did the same thing. The large criminal organizations are as organized as M was! I'm sure some of M's men had families and it was everyday life for them. Same as the real ones in the US and elsewhere. Taking evil as a given.

[cha5]

@Songsmirth The Valley Of Fear

"But in calling Moriarty a criminal you are uttering libel in the eyes of the law, and there lie the glory and the wonder of it! The greatest schemer of all time, the organizer of every deviltry, the controlling brain of the underworld, a brain which might have made or marred the destiny of nations. That's the man."

[Songsmirth]

@cha5 It's interesting that M is so comfortable in his power that he comes to H's rooms and bawls him out. He knows H's is brilliant and respects him for it but his downfall is believeing H's is less intelligent as himself. It is an irony had M used his intelligence for good, Europe could have advanced a great deal with the aide of one genius. It's rare for H's to respect anyone but he does M. He's at least a challege to him.

[cha5]

@Songsmirth And later in TVOF

"I happen to know who is the first link in his chain - a chain with this Napoleon - gone - wrong at one end, and a hundred broken fighting men, pickpockets, blackmailers, and card-sharpers at the other, with every sort of crime in between. His chief of the staff is Colonel Sebastain Moran, as aloof and guarded and inacessable to the law as himself. What do you think he pays him?"

"I'd like to hear."

"Six thousand a year" more than the Prime Minister gets

[Songsmirth]

@cha5 Thank you kind person for doing all of these.I had forgotten the extent. I've studied Neopolean and many others and I'm not sure they weren't as wicked as Moriarty.N took 10,000 men to Egypt without adaquate supplies, knowledge of the land and left back to France in one boat, at night, with those closest to him. Many men thought themselves gods they got so powerful and felt they had the right to sacrifice lives for their own good. Alexander was one. He got angry one nite, killed his lover.

[TwistedHarbinger]

GUN GUN! He's got a gun in his cane!! OMG!

[UglyBetty70]

Moriarty is a worthy villian..wonderful cast and best adaption.

[Imverycute2]

This is how I'd always imagined Moriarty -- cold, reptilian, oozing pure evil. I can even almost see fangs. Moriarty is truly the devil incarnate. I also think he looks a bit like Ebeneezer Scrooge.

Holmes is so cool in the scene where Moriarty confronts him.

[sitithesecond]

Why does Holmes not address him as Professor? he is a genuine professor with a Chair (mathematics I believe). It says so in the canon.

[thrawndaala]

Professor James Moriarty ( Eric Richard Porter )

A Treatise on the Binomial Theorem

-- Binomial theorem

The Dynamics of an Asteroid

-- Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss

---- 1821

---- Ceres ( 1 Ceres ) ( dwarf planet )

---- orbit determination

[thrawndaala]

Professor James Moriarty ( Eric Richard Porter )

University of Leeds

-- Leeds

---- West Yorkshire

------ Yorkshire and the Humber

University of Durham ( Durham University )

-- Durham

---- County Durham

------ North East England

[thrawndaala]

Moriarty is seen with a map of Paris in The Red-Headed League.

Professor James Moriarty ( Eric Richard Porter ) is mentioned.

The Return of Sherlock Holmes

-- The Adventure of the Norwood Builder

-- The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter

His Last Bow

-- His Last Bow

The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes

-- The Adventure of the Illustrious Client

The Valley of Fear

[thrawndaala]

Moriarty is seen with a map of Paris in The Red-Headed League.

Professor James Moriarty ( Eric Richard Porter ) is seen.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

-- The Red-Headed League

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

-- The Adventure of the Final Problem

The Return of Sherlock Holmes

-- The Adventure of the Empty House

His Last Bow

-- The Adventure of the Devils Foot

[Krizushi]

Only me or dos Mariaty look like a fish, in the face? =_=?

[Raeyven76]

How polite and respectful Moriarty is, even giving Holmes time to write a note to Watson. Also, on the subject of the two Watsons - David Burke's Watson was always very vocal about Holmes' drug use and never shied away from expressing his disapproval. Hardwicke's Watson never really said anything directly about it, he just did what he could to support Holmes and help him. Just an observation, not sure if that's how it was written by Conan Doyle.

[lollipopfop]

Huh, the way Moriarty puts it makes him seem pretty reasonable. Why shouldn't he go after Holmes as he goes after him. They both die, right? Even if Doyle ressusitated Holmes, its clear Holmes died here.

[lollipopfop]

Id like to see a more handsome Moriarty.

[professorsiebelink]

I agree...Eric Porter is the perfect Moriarty, he looks alot like the original Sidney Paget pictures, and obviously JB is the greatest Holmes ever...but who is the better Watson here, Edward Hardwicke or David Burke? I like EH myself...

[ZolotayaKoshka]

@ professorsiebelink:

I think both Watsons have their unique qualities. I remember EH best from my childhood, so he must have made a special impression, but recently I have become quite a fan of DB's cheerful enthusiasm, which I think is just the thing a character like Sherlock Holmes would need to complement his moodiness. So I'll say like BarnabasFrid: I gotta love them ALL!

[ZolotayaKoshka]

I like the Porter Moriarty, he's very good, but the Russian version's Moriarty scares me more - he's like a big spider. Check out 'The final problem' in the Russian version. That one's very sad, too, with respect to Watson's reaction to Holmes' death. I think it's on YT.

...But JB is the supreme Holmes for me. VL is fine, but JB's mannerisms as well as facial bones, build, colours etc. are too perfect, Holmes-wise, to be paralleled.

[BarnabasFrid]

I am totally torn between Holmes and Moriarty! Russian and English! Can't I love them ALL?

[ZolotayaKoshka]

@ BarnabasFrid:

Of course you can - the more good ones, the better. Luckily, I suppose one doesn't have any obligation to be actor-monogamous? It's just fun to compare sometimes.

[BarnabasFrid]

LMAO@ "actor-monogamous!" I have been battling this for a few weeks now. I've been trying to decide which actor will be the star of my first Holmes tattoo. I have finally decided... Jeremy next week... when it heals, Vasily is next!

[ZolotayaKoshka]

@ BarnabasFrid:

Sounds great!

[KermitW00T]

Wow. I always imagined the conversation between Holmes and Moriarty in a different way, but nevertheless... this depiction was amazing.

[TheKulu42]

Don't you love how Moriarty and his henchman emerge from the fog, only to descend into it again? It's a great, creepy moment symbolizing how the Professor is a threat lurking in the foggy shadows of London.

[finaldestiny17]

the reason english film is so impressive is because actors are required to perform extensively in theater before they move on to media

[TheKulu42]

Eric Porter is wonderful as Moriarty, right down to that reptilian twitch of the head. As a menace, he make's Dracula look like a playground bully.

[sparrowgirl25]

When the stories start, they are both young. Watsons just out of the army, and Holmes is just out of college.

And since the stories go on, its almost a study in lifelong friendships, as well.

[cederwallj]

big change from the book in the book holmes goes to watsons home not baker st

[yrti0121]

holmes look reealy genuinly scared in the beginning scene

yet again well done brett

[nas703z]

Brett in a role of Holmes I like more than 00_00

[Alexandra12341234]

Russian Holmes are better! really.

[yeees123]

P.S I really like Vasily LIvanov as Sherlock Holmes... I like the Russian series made about Holmes...

[flormarplay]

then go watch them and spare us the comments

[yeees123]

"us" who ?

[ShawDAMAN]

2:47- *click* Are we to assume that Moriarty has some sort of firearm built into that stick of his? eek O_O :P

[BarnabasFrid]

Sexual tension here is AMAZING!

[charcharbinks2]

Amazing acting... They all do such a great job in this, though it could easily be interpreted as the least Holmesian story.

Response to below... Moriarty's weapon is the "air rifle" mentioned later on, which is the cane he carries.

[Johnston212]

I believe the air rifle mentioned at the beginning is actually the one owned by Moriarity's 2nd as explained in The Empty House

[BushMac1]

Eric Porter's voice makes my spine tingle.

[sherbuy]

Jeremy Brett, David Burke  and Eric Porter are all excellent in this episode.

[Alistair5270]

Has Moriarty got a gun? This moniter isn't very good and I can't see properly.

[19996669991]

Forgot to say that Basil of Baker Street beats them all into a cocked hat of course!!!

[19996669991]

I love the way Brett plays Holmes....what I like about Holmes is his misanthropy, his eccentricity, his angst and predilection for solitude and Brett brings that out brilliantly...........a genius like Holmes couldn't be a straightforward stiffly laced Victorian Englishman that Rathbone tends to make him.........Brett gets it just right.

[yeees123]

JB is good, respect... But I never pictured Holmes that labile, nervous or loud.. Conan Doyle always described Holmes as stabile eagle like eccentric person not jumpy... I don't see that witty wisdom that radiated away from Holmes... Sry... And besides, the direction tends to be somehow dry for me... it lacks atmosohere and story telling feeling to it.. but Sherlock Holmes is a legendary story...

Again, sry and respect for JB..

[alguien1234]

Holmes is as you say, BUT Jeremy plays it well. Simply, Holmes is aware of the danger and he's prudent.

Sorry for my bad English.

[alzarianfox]

I'd have to disagree... I think that Holmes has always had his faults and that it is perhaps Watson's worshipful perspective that makes him appear a cold, emotionless intellect... even in the stories, he's a very strange person, sometimes manic, sometimes depressed, arrogant and dismissive yet completely brilliant. It's what makes him such a fascinating character.

[yeees123]

If you don't mind, name some of the stories  (I'd like to recheck them)..

[alzarianfox]

Well, in A Study In Scarlet, "Nothing could exceed his energy when the working fit was upon him; but now and again a reaction would seize him, and for days on end he would lie upon the sofa in the sitting room, hardly uttering a word or moving a muscle from morning to night" He's also very snippy to Watson in that story, and at first pompously refuses to even consider Lestrade's case. Not to mention his drug use and crazed violin playing.

[yeees123]

I agree but if you read the stories themselves, adventures, he always is a witty gentleman and there is always a good friendship radiating from their relationship. Very energetic and sharp - yes, but never labile or flabbily nervous or overly teatric or condescending. There is a fine line between neuroticness and moodiness. And one thing more: why do thay almost always find an old actor to portray Watson? Waaay to old.. He was a young medical officer when he came from Afganistan in SIS"

[yeees123]

Hey but thanks for the intelligent conversation! Really, thank You! I really do respect your points of views!

[alzarianfox]

Heh, thank you too! Discussion is fun.

I totally agree about Watson. He's not the stout bumbling idiot these productions always portray him as. He's intelligent, and a bit of a womanizer :)

[MVeyn]

the cast is just the ideal.a great episode for a great story. glad it's not actually the final problem

[WomaninBlack215]

Though Eric Porter doesn't have as much dialogue as Brett or Burke, he certainly plays the part of Moriarty well! He's not how I imagined Moriarty in the books (thought he'd be younger,) but after seeing him in this, I can imagine no other form of The Napoleon of Crime!

[Songsmirth]

@WomaninBlack215 Me too Woman. I just wrote a comment on Moriarty's age. I thought he was in his 40's when he died. Have you seen the episode of Star Trek where Data plays Holmes and takes on Moriarty? Actually, there were two. Both wonderfully done. I bought the first one. That man (?) plays a wonderful Moriarty. :)

[aznpimp182]

@WomaninBlack215 wait for the sherlock holmes 2 movie this december... they will cast a younger version of him....

[cha5]

@aznpimp182 Nah, I'll pass, I'm not interested in a Moriarty who's wet behind the ears,

Eric Porter and George Zucco will always be the essential two Moriarty's.

[89mrapp]

@WomaninBlack215 His lifestyle has aged him beyond his years.

[buildthis99]

What a fantastic Moriarty. I've never seen anyone play that part so well. As for Holmes, Brett is exact in his playing but in my view he doesn't quite have the right look. That belonged to Basil Rathbone (although Rathbone played a much less 'authentic' Holmes, meaning less of a Conan Doyle version).

[sailorearth2007]

I think Bret hit the nail on the head, maybe not the look, but all other aspects of Holmes, especially the voice.

I do have to say, if the original Holmes was played by an actor named basil, maybe just a coincidence, but I bet that's where Disney came up with "Basil of Baker Street" for the Great Mouse Detective Movie that came out a few years back. Just a thought. :D Holmes rules. I want to read all of his stories (4 books in all).

[QueenAlyss]

I agree, Brett def. hit the nail on the head. In my opinion he is the best actor to portray Mr. Sherlock Holmes.

Not a coincidence, they named that Mouse Detective after the actor.

There are 4 full length books, but you can't forget the short story collections.

[2000Erich]

Basil Rathbone must be the one you are thinking of, who played holmes long before Jeremy Brett did. But I agree that Brett did it best.

[DrZenith]

Yes, you're right, Eric Porter's portrayal of Moriarty couldn't be bettered. In the 60's BBC TV series 'The Forsythe Saga' Porter played the family patriarch 'Soames' and did it brilliantly.

[Mrauh]

Thanks for uploading! :)