Sherlock Holmes

1. The genre of this film  Historical Action and Adventure. This is because there is a lot of combat, including fight large fight scenes between Holmes and Watson against many baddies. It is historical because it is set in Victorian English and uses colloquial language. The film creates the spectacle of the world of Victorian London in 1891 through its location shots of period buildings and gas lamps as well as horse and carriages and cobbled streets.The shot of St Pauls Cathedral anchors the location of the film to London. The murky lighting is a restricted palette of shades of grey and light orange, as it is a sepia pallet. It is very dark and murky, which creates a creepy atmosphere. The effect of this is to create a sinister underworld and a sense of jeopardy which fits the genre of historical action adventure An underground chamber seems to be the set for a ritual killing, because we see this it shows how gritty AA films can be. We encounter people dressed in period clothes such as Holmes and Watson, who wear bowler hats and three piece suits. Watson also uses an old fashioned cane. Some characters were clearly dangerous thugs, which was clear from their mannerisms, which was very stereotypical of an AA film.

Camerawork

1. The representation of Sherlock Holmes in this extract is a very physical one (rather than just a towering intellect) so the camerawork reflects his active qualities: it is dynamic, energetic and constantly on the move. The hand held camera makes you feel like you are immersed in the action of Victorian London.The sequence that we watched was composed mainly of a long tracking shot that took the audience through the London streets, inspiring curiosity but also nervousness because of so many hidden corners, dark alleys and potential traps. This type of camerawork is rather like a thrilling roller coaster ride as we are swept forwards skirting danger. A sense of jeopardy is an important ingredient in action adventure films. The tracking shot is very good at making the audience feel immersed, especially if it is following a vehicle. The tracking shot conveys speed and motion (essential ingredients of action adventure films) in the race to save a young woman and prevent her ritual murder  Lord Blackwood, who has killed five other young women similarly. They stop the murder before Inspector Lestrade and the police arrive to arrest Blackwood. Close up shots were used to allow the audience to see the expressions on the faces of the central characters such as Sherlock Holmes, and the thug he beats up in slomo, it is very effective as he you can feel the characters emotions or in Holmes's case non-emotion. Close ups help the audience to identify with the central character, which is vital as we should be on his side at all times. There was a low angle 'hero shot' of Watson and Sherlock to show they are the two main heroes of the film.
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