I debated putting this in the pipe forum, but thought I'd throw it out here. The new Sherlock Holmes movie starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law comes out in four days!
Check out the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUQbmFAE5WI
When I first saw the trailer, I thought out loud: "Sherlock Holmes a degenerate? WTF?" to which my wife, who'd read all the novels, said, "Um, yeah. He was the guy that you went to when you wanted discretion. He *was* a Victorian badass. Oh, and he had a bad heroin/opium habit... like, in one of the stories Watson makes him dry out." I realized that I'd gotten the sanitized version of it. So... hearing this, I can totally embrace the new Holmes movie and I'm excited to see it.
No, he's not wearing a deerstalker or smoking a calabash (in the movie it's a fedora and a Dublin style from what I can see in the trailer) - but then neither of these icons appear in any of the original stories - nor does the phrase, "Elementary, my dear Watson". Those were immortalized by William Gillette's portrayal of the popular historical detective in various stage plays of 1912.
From what I can find, Doyle's description of Holmes' pipes was that he varied them, depending on his mood and he like robust, strong tobaccos. The Calabash was chosen because it was easy for audiences to see when the stories were performed as stage plays. So this latest flick isn't nearly as heretical as one might think.
Check out the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUQbmFAE5WI
When I first saw the trailer, I thought out loud: "Sherlock Holmes a degenerate? WTF?" to which my wife, who'd read all the novels, said, "Um, yeah. He was the guy that you went to when you wanted discretion. He *was* a Victorian badass. Oh, and he had a bad heroin/opium habit... like, in one of the stories Watson makes him dry out." I realized that I'd gotten the sanitized version of it. So... hearing this, I can totally embrace the new Holmes movie and I'm excited to see it.
No, he's not wearing a deerstalker or smoking a calabash (in the movie it's a fedora and a Dublin style from what I can see in the trailer) - but then neither of these icons appear in any of the original stories - nor does the phrase, "Elementary, my dear Watson". Those were immortalized by William Gillette's portrayal of the popular historical detective in various stage plays of 1912.
From what I can find, Doyle's description of Holmes' pipes was that he varied them, depending on his mood and he like robust, strong tobaccos. The Calabash was chosen because it was easy for audiences to see when the stories were performed as stage plays. So this latest flick isn't nearly as heretical as one might think. 
