They Might Be Giants | |
---|---|
Directed by | Anthony Harvey |
Screenplay by | James Goldman |
Based on | They Might Be Giants 1961 play by James Goldman |
Produced by | John Foreman |
Starring | George C. Scott Joanne Woodward Jack Gilford Lester Rawlins Al Lewis Rue McClanahan |
Cinematography | Victor J. Kemper |
Edited by | Gerald B. Greenberg |
Music by | John Barry |
Production company | Newman-Foreman Company |
Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 98 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
They Might Be Giants is a 1971 American comedy mystery film based on the 1961 play of the same name (both written by James Goldman) starring George C. Scott and Joanne Woodward. The play opened at Stratford East in 1961, and closed after only four weeks. [1]
The film's title was later adopted as the name of a popular music group. [2]
Justin Playfair (Scott) is a judge who retreats into fantasy after his wife's death, imagining himself to be Sherlock Holmes, the legendary fictional detective. Complete with deerstalker hat, pipe and violin, he spends his days in a homemade criminal laboratory obsessing over plots hatched by his (Holmes's) archenemy, Professor Moriarty.
When his brother (Lester Rawlins) tries to place Justin under observation in a mental institution so he can get power of attorney, Justin attracts the attention of Dr. Mildred Watson (Woodward), a psychiatrist who becomes fascinated by his case. Justin demonstrates to her a knack for what Holmes describes as "deduction" (technically better categorized as abductive reasoning) and walks out of the institution during the ensuing confusion. Intrigued, Watson comes to his home to attempt treatment. Playfair is initially dismissive of Watson's attempts to psychoanalyze him and he analyzes her instead, but when he hears her name, he enthusiastically incorporates her into his life as Doctor Watson, the sidekick to his Holmes.
The duo begin an enigmatic quest for Moriarty, with Playfair/Holmes following all manner of bizarre and (to Watson) unintelligible clues, and encountering a rich tapestry of eccentric people in assorted urban situations, the two growing closer to each other in the process.
Eventually Watson invites Holmes over for dinner, but in preparation for this she becomes extremely nervous and distraught, apparently recognizing that they may be becoming romantically intimate. Strangely she is wearing a wedding gown for this very basic dinner in a small apartment. The two then head out on a kind of odyssey where they revisit each of the weird people that they’ve met, who then join up with them in a kind of triumphal parade, with Watson wearing her bridal gown.
But somehow, especially sans the supermarket scene with a melee, the minor characters melt away, and we are left with Holmes and Watson in a park, where they stand together in front of the underpass of a bridge, as if before an altar. They look on expectantly and a bright light shines, but the light resembles that of a police car or even a subway train more than a divine illumination.
The title is an indirect reference to Don Quixote's famous exploit of tilting at windmills, believing them to be "monstrous giants". In reference to this, the character Playfair argues:
Well he had a point. Of course, he carried it a bit too far. He thought that every windmill was a giant. That's insane. But, thinking that they might be...well...all the best minds used to think the world was flat. — But, what if it isn't? — It might be round — and bread mold might be medicine. If we never looked at things and thought of what they might be, why, we'd all still be out there in the tall grass with the apes. [3]
The film opened to mixed reviews. Vincent Canby of The New York Times called it "a mushy movie with occasional, isolated moments of legitimate comedy." [4] On Rotten Tomatoes it has an approval rating 61% based on reviews from 18 critics. [5]
There have been various running times of the film over the years with the Kino Blu-ray at 91 minutes. The largest missing material is a long sequence near the end that takes place in a grocery store. [6]
Murder by Decree is a 1979 mystery thriller film directed by Bob Clark. It features the Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who are embroiled in the investigation surrounding the real-life 1888 Whitechapel murders committed by "Jack the Ripper". Christopher Plummer plays Holmes and James Mason plays Watson. Though it features a similar premise, it is somewhat different in tone and result to A Study in Terror. It is loosely based on The Ripper File by Elwyn Jones and John Lloyd.
Young Sherlock Holmes is a 1985 American mystery adventure film directed by Barry Levinson and written by Chris Columbus, based on the characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The film depicts a young Sherlock Holmes and John Watson meeting and solving a mystery together at a boarding school.
A Study in Terror is a 1965 British thriller film directed by James Hill and starring John Neville as Sherlock Holmes and Donald Houston as Dr. Watson. It was filmed at Shepperton Studios, London, with some location work at Osterley House in Middlesex.
Without a Clue is a 1988 British comedy film directed by Thom Eberhardt and starring Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley. It is based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's characters from the Sherlock Holmes stories but, in this version, the roles are reversed: Dr. John Watson is the brilliant detective, while "Sherlock Holmes" is an actor hired to pose as the detective so that Watson can protect his reputation as a physician.
The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother is a 1975 American musical comedy film with Gene Wilder, Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn, Dom DeLuise, Roy Kinnear, and Leo McKern. The film was Wilder's directorial debut, from his own original script.
The stories of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle have been very popular as adaptations for the stage, and later film, and still later television. The four volumes of the Universal Sherlock Holmes (1995) compiled by Ronald B. De Waal lists over 25,000 Holmes-related productions and products. They include the original writings, "together with the translations of these tales into sixty-three languages, plus Braille and shorthand, the writings about the Writings or higher criticism, writings about Sherlockians and their societies, memorials and memorabilia, games, puzzles and quizzes, phonograph records, audio and video tapes, compact discs, laser discs, ballets, films, musicals, operettas, oratorios, plays, radio and television programs, parodies and pastiches, children's books, cartoons, comics, and a multitude of other items — from advertisements to wine — that have accumulated throughout the world on the two most famous characters in literature."
Sherlock Holmes has long been a popular character for pastiche, Holmes-related work by authors and creators other than Arthur Conan Doyle. Their works can be grouped into four broad categories:
The Spider Woman is a 1943 mystery film starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson, the seventh of fourteen such films the pair were involved in. As with all of the Universal Studios films in the series, the film is set in then-present day as opposed to the Victorian setting of the original stories. This film incorporates elements from the 1890 novel The Sign of the Four, as well as the short stories "The Final Problem", "The Adventure of the Empty House", "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" and makes explicit reference to "The Adventure of the Devil's Foot".
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a 1939 American mystery adventure film based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes detective stories. Although claiming to be an adaptation of the 1899 play Sherlock Holmes by William Gillette, the film bears little resemblance to the play.
The Woman in Green is a 1945 American film, the eleventh of the fourteen Sherlock Holmes films based on the characters created by Arthur Conan Doyle. Produced and directed by Roy William Neill, it stars Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson, with Hillary Brooke as the woman of the title and Henry Daniell as Professor Moriarty. The film follows an original premise with material taken from "The Final Problem" (1893) and "The Adventure of the Cardboard Box.
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1942) is the fourth in the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce series of 14 Sherlock Holmes films which updated the characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to the then present day. The film is credited as an adaptation of Conan Doyle's 1903 short story "The Adventure of the Dancing Men," though the only element from the source material is the dancing men code. Rather, it is a spy film taking place on the background of the then ongoing Second World War with an original premise. The film concerns the kidnapping of a Swiss scientist by their nemesis Professor Moriarty, to steal a new bomb sight and sell it to Nazi Germany. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson have to crack a secret code in order to save the country.
Sherlock Holmes in New York is a 1976 American made-for-television mystery film about Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson, played by Roger Moore and Patrick Macnee respectively.
Sherlock Holmes is a 1922 American silent mystery drama film starring John Barrymore as Sherlock Holmes, Roland Young as Dr. John Watson and Gustav von Seyffertitz as Moriarty.
Sherlock Holmes is a 2009 period mystery action film starring Robert Downey Jr. as the character of the same name created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The film was directed by Guy Ritchie and produced by Joel Silver, Lionel Wigram, Susan Downey, and Dan Lin. The screenplay written by Michael Robert Johnson, Anthony Peckham, and Simon Kinberg was developed from a story by Wigram and Johnson. In addition to Downey Jr. as Holmes, Jude Law portrays Dr. John Watson. The film, set in 1890, follows eccentric detective Holmes and his companion Watson attempting to foil a mysticist's plot to gain control of Britain by seemingly supernatural means. Rachel McAdams stars as Holmes' former adversary Irene Adler and Mark Strong portrays villain Lord Henry Blackwood.
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is a 2011 period mystery action film and a sequel to the 2009 film Sherlock Holmes. The film is directed by Guy Ritchie and produced by Joel Silver, Lionel Wigram, Susan Downey and Dan Lin.
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution is a 1976 Oscar-nominated British-American mystery film directed by Herbert Ross and written by Nicholas Meyer. It is based on Meyer's 1974 novel of the same name and stars Nicol Williamson, Robert Duvall, Alan Arkin, and Laurence Olivier.
"The Empty Hearse" is the first episode of the third series of the BBC television series Sherlock. It was written by Mark Gatiss and stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes, Martin Freeman as Dr John Watson, and Mark Gatiss as Mycroft Holmes. It also marks the first appearance of Amanda Abbington as Mary Morstan and Lars Mikkelsen as Charles Augustus Magnussen.
"The Abominable Bride" is a special episode of the British television programme Sherlock. The episode was broadcast on BBC One, PBS and Channel One on 1 January 2016. It depicts the characters of the show in an alternative timeline: the Victorian London setting of the original stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. The title is based on the quote "Ricoletti of the club foot and his abominable wife" from "The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual" (1893), which refers to a case mentioned by Holmes. The story also draws on elements of original Conan Doyle stories of Holmes such as "The Five Orange Pips" (1891) and "The Final Problem" (1893).
Holmes & Watson is a 2018 mystery comedy film written and directed by Etan Cohen. The film stars Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly as the eponymous characters Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, respectively; with Rebecca Hall, Rob Brydon, Kelly Macdonald, Steve Coogan and Ralph Fiennes in supporting roles. The plot follows the famed detective duo as they set out to find the culprit behind a threat at Buckingham Palace.
Professor James Moriarty is the fictional archenemy of Sherlock Holmes in some of the stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. He has appeared in several forms outside of the original stories.