夏洛克·福尔摩斯:经典的现代重塑
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As if all of a sudden, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s enduring hero—Sherlock Holmes—is everywhere. The last few months have brought us not only the smart BBC series, but also the blockbusting Robert Downey Jr. movie, which are the latest two on-screen adaptations of this classic figure vying for viewers’ attention.2 But if you dig a little harder, you will discover that Sherlock Holmes has made the Guinness Book of Records as the most frequently portrayed literary character in film history. And more than 70 actors have played the role in more than 200 films.
As the critic Michael Dirda3 remarks in his study of Conan Doyle, published late 2011: “... it is only Holmes who truly makes our hearts beat faster. As the popular Jeremy Brett television series, the steampunk Sherlock Holmes of Robert Downey Jr. and the BBC’s 21st century text-messaging Sherlock have shown, Holmes remains a great marketing commodity and a timeless archetype, adaptable to any era.”4
Everyone reads, or sees, or at least hears of something about Sherlock Holmes. Then how would you describe him? Resourceful, dynamic, enigmatic? Most Sherlockian fans know him as the master of deduction, a consulting detective, the only one in the world as he invented the job. He’s brilliant and a proper5 genius. Should you ever meet him, you might picture him as a tall, acerbic British gentleman wearing a cloak and deerstalker cap, habitually smoking a pipe.6
But establishing a classic image of British detective is certainly not Holmes’s biggest accomplishment. He was born in a good time for crime detection, of which the scientific upsurge of the 19th century yielded various discoveries.7 A method of analyzing blood stains was established in 1813, one for tracing arsenic in 1836 and one for identifying vegetable toxins in 1851.8 More than anything else however, it was Holmes and Conan Doyle’s stories, appearing from 1887 onwards, that turned such insights into an investigatory system.
It’s this combination of analytic induction with close attention to both the collection and interpretation of data that was to become the distinct mark of Sherlock Holmes. In recognition of the literary figure’s contribution to the forensic science, the Royal Society of Chemistry took the unusual step in 2002 of presenting Sherlock Holmes with a posthumous honorary fellowship.9
Hence, Holmes’s quick processing of large amounts of information and his cleverness, without doubt, lie at the heart of his appeal. This is true even on the big screen, where the director uses many special effects and much vertiginous10 cutting. And it is truly interesting for us to see Holmes’s supreme intelligence applied in different ways.
When it was released in 2009, Sherlock Holmes was a bit of a runaway11 success. Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, as the titular character and his sidekick Doctor Watson, respectively, formed an action/comedy duo that was both physically imposing and hilarious.12
The film was not without its criticism. The unclean, messy haired, scruffy-faced Robert Downey Jr., did not really look like Sherlock Holmes, who was described in the original texts to have a “cat-like love of personal cleanliness.”13 And Downey sweated and bled, fought bare-knuckled and dived out a window into the Thames. It was not convincing for many audiences who were more accustomed to Holmes’s traditional image. Besides, the plot didn’t have much in common with the source text. It was only forgivable for being an enjoyable action romp14.
But according to Guy Ritchie15, the director, the film was just trying to bring out aspects of the character that were always there which the books did mention, mostly in passing. For instance, he brilliantly showed Holmes’s supreme intelligence in a physical fight. In the film, we saw Holmes taking part in a bare-knuckled boxing match through his perspective. We saw how he examined his opponents and the flaws he intended to exploit before he exploited them as well as the amount of power he needed to apply to certain points of the body. It was a radical reinvention, of course, but it made sense that Holmes, a man of intellect before all else, would fight in this manner. He was supposed to be a man of the fist as much as the brain. Perhaps, it’s just Ritchie’s attempt to create a 19th-century James Bond16.
However, when you think of Holmes as he’s described in the books, something is still missing: the sheer joy that Holmes experienced when working on a case. In the books, Holmes would move frantically and make loud exclamations upon finding something useful. Downey’s Holmes seemed like most of his satisfaction came from proving how smart he was to those around him, not from actually finding the clues. And while Conan Doyle’s Holmes definitely loved to showcase his abilities, it was the thrill of the hunt that really excited him. This is a trait that has actually been handled very well on BBC’s Sherlock.
BBC’s updating Sherlock Holmes to the 21st century seems like a bold move. The TV series Sherlock has created this new texting, laptopping Holmes who is part Conan Doyle, part House, part willful rock star, and part Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory.17 He, instead of a 7 percent solution of cocaine18, depends on nicotine patches, and he solves daytime-TV mysteries and has a website to attract business. But the new Sherlock is inventive, witty, and most remarkably, true to the spirit of the original, an arrogant, antisocial man fixated on tiny details and deductive reasoning.
The concept may sound gimmicky19, but it unfolds quite naturally, thanks to Benedict Cumberbatch’s focused, hyperactive lead performance. It makes perfect sense that a present-day Sherlock would be Internet savvy, that he would arrogantly send a text blast reading “WRONG’ to a gathering of reporters during a Scotland Yard20 press conference. He solves cases at home in nothing more than a blanket, while Watson carries a laptop around crime scenes showing him all the telltale21 evidence with a webcam. He is a geek god, in a way, even while he crawls around London in a Victorian cape and an absurd haircut like a pale, fringe creature. Across the century, he perfectly fits Conan Doyle’s brainy bohemian22.
Moreover, Sherlock takes this a stage further: one of its great joys is the way in which its director has devised ways of showing Holmes’s mind working. Labels are flashed onto people’s clothing to reveal the methods by which Holmes deduces history and character; numbers float across his face as he cracks a code. Thanks to the development of film industry, we can actually “see” how a highly functional and observant mind processes large amount of
data that it sees.
Though inevitable comparisons will be made, and sides taken, we rapid followers of the Great Detective are very grateful that he is still alive today, and has reached a rare height—along with characters like Robin Hood, King Arthur and a few others. Therefore, perhaps rather than mourn how the adaptations have steered Sherlock Holmes away from its roots, we should celebrate the fact that they have put the classic stories back at the centre of the mainstream spotlight. S
似乎在突然之间，阿瑟·柯南道尔爵士创造的经久不衰的男主人公——夏洛克·福尔摩斯——充斥着影视屏幕。在过去的几个月里，有两部改编自这一经典人物的最新影视作品竞相登场，吸引观众眼球，一部是BBC推出的迷你电视剧，一部是小罗伯特·唐尼主演的卖座大片。但倘若你深入探究下去，就会发现夏洛克·福尔摩斯保持着一项吉尼斯世界纪录，他是影视历史上被塑造得最多的文学人物。二百多部影视作品中有超过70位演员曾扮演过福尔摩斯。
评论家迈克尔·德达在其2011年底刊登的有关柯南道尔的研究中指出：“……只有福尔摩斯才能真真正正地让我们心跳加速。杰里米·布雷特主演的电视剧获得广大好评，小罗伯特·唐尼塑造了蒸汽朋克式的福尔摩斯，BBC电视剧中的福尔摩斯则生活在21世纪，还会发短信，他们（的成功）都表明了福尔摩斯依旧是极具市场潜力和不受时代限制的人物原型，灵活多变，能适应任何时代。”
每个人都或多或少地读过、看过或至少听说过夏洛克·福尔摩斯，那么你会如何形容他呢？机智多谋？精力充沛？还是神秘莫测？大多数福尔摩斯的粉丝视他为推理大师，咨询侦探，而且是世界上独一无二的咨询侦探，因为是他创造了这一职业。他才华横溢，是一个真正的天才。如果你有幸遇见他，你很可能会将他描述为一位个子高挑、尖刻辛辣的英国绅士，穿着长风衣，头戴猎鹿帽，经常叼着烟斗吞云吐雾。
然而，树立一个英国侦探的经典形象显然不是福尔摩斯的最大成就。他出生在犯罪侦查迅速成长的好年头，19世纪科学的迅猛发展带来了各种发现。1813年出现了血迹分析法，1836年出现了砒霜追踪法，1851年出现了植物毒素鉴定法。然而，却是1887年及之后出现的一系列柯南道尔的福尔摩斯侦探故事才将这些科学方法引进了侦查系统之中。
这种分析推理与细致入微的数据收集分析的双重能力，成为了福尔摩斯独一无二的标志。2002年，为了表彰该文学人物对法医学的贡献，（英国）皇家化学学会做出了一个非同寻常的举动，追认夏洛克·福尔摩斯为荣誉会员。
因此毫无疑问，福尔摩斯快速处理大量信息的能力及其聪明才智是他无穷魅力的核心所在。在大屏幕上，即使导演采用了多种特效和花哨得令人眼花缭乱的电影剪辑技术，最终吸引我们的也还是福尔摩斯的个人魅力。对观众而言，看到福尔摩斯的高超智慧从各种不同的角度得以阐释，也确实非常有趣。
2009年上映的影片《大侦探福尔摩斯》迅速获得了巨大成功。小罗伯特·唐尼和裘德·洛分别扮演福尔摩斯及其死党华生医生，他们组成了动作喜剧二人组，动作场面十分壮观，同时搞笑十足。
这部电影也并不是没有非议。邋遢肮脏、头发凌乱、蓬头垢脸的小罗伯特·唐尼确实不像原文中所描述的夏洛克·福尔摩斯，后者“有些过度重视个人卫生”。而小罗伯特·唐尼在片中流血流汗，赤手空拳地打斗，破窗而出跳入泰晤士河。对很多习惯于福尔摩斯的传统形象的人来说，这些都令人难以信服。此外，电影情节也与原文没有太多共同之处。但如果只将其视为博人一笑的动作喜剧娱乐片，这部片子还算得上差强人意。
但导演盖伊·里奇说，这部电影恰恰在试图展现福尔摩斯性格的其他方面，这些性格在原书中的确提到过，但大多数时候一带而过。盖伊·里奇巧妙地展现了福尔摩斯在拳击比赛中如何运用自己的“绝技”。影片中，福尔摩斯参与了一场自由搏击赛（通常选手不带拳击手套和护具），镜头通过他的视角展示了他在打斗开始之前是如何仔细观察对手，找出其可以利用的弱点，以及打击不同身体部位应该使用多少力量，然后再将这一系列的观察判断运用到打斗之中。显然，这是一个大胆的再创造，但福尔摩斯这个聪明人采取这种打斗方式倒也合情合理。福尔摩斯应该是一位不但思维缜密而且身手也十分了得的人。或许，这只是里奇试图打造一个19世纪的詹姆斯·邦德的尝试罢了。
但是，当你回想书中对福尔摩斯的描述时，这部电影还是有所遗漏：福尔摩斯十分享受办理案件时纯粹的快乐。原著中，福尔摩斯一旦发现有用的线索，就会兴奋地走来走去，大声呼喊。而唐尼饰演的福尔摩斯似乎满足于向周围的人证明自己是多么的聪明，而非真正发现了线索。虽然柯南道尔描写的福尔摩斯肯定也爱展现自己的能力，但还是追缉凶手的刺激能让他真正感到兴奋。事实上，BBC拍摄的《神探夏洛克》在处理福尔摩斯的这一特点时就做得非常好。
BBC将福尔摩斯“升级”到21世纪，这似乎是一个大胆的举动：电视剧《神探夏洛克》塑造了一个能发短信、能用手提电脑的新福尔摩斯形象，他是柯南道尔、豪斯医生、任性的摇滚巨星及《生活大爆炸》中谢尔顿的综合体。他有烟瘾，依赖尼古丁贴片，而并非（原著中的）百分之七含量的可卡因溶液；他热衷于解答白天电视剧中的谜团，还建立网站招揽生意。但是这个现代版的福尔摩斯是极具创意、机智灵敏的，最为突出的是，他完全符合原著中那个高傲、不擅长社交的福尔摩斯，关注微小细节，擅长演绎推理。
这似乎听起来有点搞噱头，但多亏了主演本尼迪克特·康伯巴奇极度活跃的专注表演，剧情发展得倒是很自然。现代版的福尔摩斯是一位网络专家；他自负地在伦敦警察厅举办新闻会期间向在场记者发送写着“错误”的短信，爆料警察局的错误；他足不出户在家里破案，身上只裹着一条毛毯，而华生拿着带有网络摄像头的手提电脑向他“直播”犯罪现场，展示有用证据。这一切也都能说得通。从某种角度上看，他就是一个现代宅男极客，即使他穿着维多利亚风格的长风衣满伦敦乱窜，留着怪异的发型，活像一个面色苍白的边缘人物。跨越了一整个世纪，他完全符合柯南道尔笔下那个聪明而又放荡不羁的形象。
此外，《神探夏洛克》还做了更多的尝试：影片的一大有趣之处在于导演设计出多种方法来展示福尔摩斯的大脑是如何运转的。在福尔摩斯观察一个人，推断他的过去和性格时，这个人衣物上相应的地方会闪现提示标签；当他在破解代码时，他的脸上会浮现出不同的数字。多亏了影视技术的发展，我们能真正“看”到一个高速运转、观察缜密的大脑如何处理它所看到的大量数据。
尽管不可避免地，人们会比较不同的版本，然后选择自己的立场，但作为这位伟大侦探的追随者，我们心中充满了感激之情，因为他“活跃”到了今天，并且达到了前所未有的高度，与罗宾汉、亚瑟王和其他一些经典文学形象并驾齐驱。因此，与其哀叹新改编的夏洛克·福尔摩斯如何偏离原著，我们还不如赞美一下，因为正是这些作品让他的经典故事重新回归主流荧幕，成为众人的焦点。S
1. sleuth: 侦探。
2. smart BBC series: BBC拍摄的电视剧《神探夏洛克》一季只有三集。相对其他一季十几集或二十几集的电视剧而言，该剧只能称为“迷你”电视剧；blockbusting:〈 口〉轰动一时的（书籍或电影）；adaptation: 改编本；vie for: 竞争，争抢。
3. Michael Dirda: 迈克尔·德达（1948— ），书评家，《华盛顿邮报》的兼编辑，普利策奖得主。
4. Jeremy Brett: 杰里米·布雷特（1933—1995），英国电影演员，曾经在四部英国电视连续剧中扮演侦探夏洛克·福尔摩斯，被广泛认为是那个时代最具代表性的福尔摩斯扮演者；steampunk: 蒸汽朋克，是一种以蒸汽工业时代为背景（常见的是19世纪的英国或美国西部）、带有科幻元素的文学或影视作品，怀旧是其主要特点之一；archetype: 原型，典型。
5. proper: 〈英口〉真正的，像样的。
6. acerbic: 尖刻的，辛辣的；deerstalker cap: 猎鹿帽。传统猎鹿帽一般以英国花呢制成，以独特形状引人注意，被视为福尔摩斯的标准装备。
7. upsurge: 急剧上升，飙升；yield: 产生（结果等）。
8. arsenic: 砷，砒霜；toxin: 毒素。
9. forensic: 法医的；Royal Society of Chemistry: （英国）皇家化学学会，世界上历史最为悠久的化学学术团体，也是欧洲最大的化学学会，成立于1841年，是享誉全球的化学信息传播和出版机构；posthumous: 死后发生的，死后获得的。
10. vertiginous: 眼花缭乱的，迅速变化的。
11. runaway: 轻易的，迅速的，控制不住的。
12. titular: 被用作标题（或剧名、书名等）的；sidekick: 死党，好友；duo: 二人组合，二重唱。
13. scruffy: 破烂的，不整洁的；cat-like: 像猫一样的，具有某些猫的属性的，这里指的是猫的洁癖，经常自我清洁的习性。
14. romp: 〈口〉逗笑的娱乐节目。
15. Guy Ritchie: 盖伊·里奇（1968— ），英国导演、编剧，曾因与麦当娜的婚姻而闻名。他的影片充斥着大量无厘头的英式对白和匪夷所思的巧合，多采用快速剪接和酷炫镜头的拍摄技术。
16. James Bond: 詹姆斯·邦德，英国作家伊恩·弗莱明的一套小说和系列电影的主角。故事中，邦德是英国情报机构军情六处的特务，代号007，被授予可以除去任何妨碍行动的人的权力。
17. House: 这里指的是美剧《豪斯医生》里的同名主角，是一个愤世嫉俗的医生，常常被观众评为“福尔摩斯医生版”；willful: 任性的，执拗的；Sheldon: 美剧《生活大爆炸》里的谢尔顿·库珀，理论物理学家，是一位精明、吹毛求疵而又习惯性显摆他那超常智商的人物。
18. 福尔摩斯因为需要刺激思考，染上服用可卡因的恶习（在那个时代这一药物的使用是合法的）。后来在华生协助下戒除，而华生则认为这是福尔摩斯的唯一缺点。
19. gimmicky: 耍花招的，（用花招）骗人的。
20. Scotland Yard: 苏格兰场，负责整个大伦敦地区的公共治安及交通秩序（但伦敦市除外，该区的警务由伦敦市警察管辖）。苏格兰场本身既不是位于苏格兰，也不负责苏格兰的警备。苏格兰场这个名字源自1829年，当时坐落在白厅广场4号的伦敦警察厅开设有一扇后门，而后门正对着一条名为“大苏格兰场”（Great Scotland Yard）的街道上。之后，这扇后门变成了警察厅的公众入口，而“苏格兰场”也渐渐成为了伦敦警方的代名词。
21. telltale: 能说明问题的，泄露秘密的。
22. bohemian: 不拘于传统的，放荡不羁的。