Director Guy Ritchie is working on a new movie adaptation Sherlock Holmes, the fictional detective created more than a century ago by Arthur Conan Doyle. Guy Ritchie wants to bring Sherlock Holmes back in his heyday, when the fictional detective was epitomizing adventure and a sense of danger: Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes, interpreted by Robert Downey Jr., is literally kick-ass. Just check those two official pictures (via FirstShowing) of the upcoming Sherlock Holmes movie:
(Click on a picture to enlarge it.)
Sherlock Holmes is not only a great detective but he his also a marvelous martial-arts expert. And this take on Sherlock Holmes is actually respecting the orignal source material. Indeed, it is Arthur Conan Doyle who described Sherlock Holmes as an expert in Bartitsu, an eclectic martial art and self-defense method originally developed in England during the years 1898-1902. Take a look to this montage of Bartitsu self defence techniques:
Bartitsu looks rather kitsch nowadays… But I suppose that Robert Downey Jr. will surprise us a usual in his role as Sherlock Holmes.
;-P
For historical information on Bartitsu, the real 19th century mixed martial art, check out back issues of the Journal of Asian Martial Arts. The art really existed with at least one London dojo and Conan Doyle intentionally wrote Holmes’ martial arts expertise into his stories.
This is a great movie and the books by Sir Conan Doyle are fantastic. Robert will play a great role… The game is a foot.
RDJ as i like to refer to him, will no doubt thrill old sherlock fans and may bring some new ones to the fold. Except for the poorly scripted “Chaplin” film he has always been a fave of mine.
I’ll wait you Holmes….Love holmes so much