Sherlock Holmes
SHERLOCK HOLMES:
Written by
Michael Robert Johnson,
Anthony Peckham & Simon Kinberg
Sherlock Holmes and Watson characters created by
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
September 29, 2008
1.
FADE IN:
1 EXT. STREETS OF LONDON - NIGHT 1
Autumnal streets seen through the sooty glass of a STREET
LAMP. Shadows within shadows. Fog in the air. Full
moon.
WATSON (V.O.)
The year was 1891. London was the
capital of the world -- the height
of modernity, with the hiss of
steam and smell of coal in the
air. It was also the great
cesspool into which all the
sinners and criminals of the
empire drained.
Gas hisses audibly, the street lamp ignites, and casts a
POOL OF LIGHT onto the street, silhouetting a MAN making
his way through the fog and dark shadows with a lantern.
WATSON (V.O.)
I had come to London, ten years
prior, to find a life after the
Afghan war. I had hoped to start
a medical practice and settle into
a nice, steady existence. The
life I found was anything but nice
and steady.
We can see that the MAN wears a cape. The distinctive
silhouette of his deerstalker hat is unmistakable. A
FURIOUS CLATTER OF HOOVES APPROACHES in the distance.
The MAN tugs on a pipe and turns towards the growing
stampede.
WATSON (V.O.)
And that had everything to do with
one man. My friend, my partner,
my burden...
The MAN exhales a plume of smoke calmly, giving us the
impression that he knows something that we don't.
WATSON (V.O.)
... Sherlock Holmes.
WHAM! The MAN in the deerstalker hat is KNOCKED FLAT by
A RUNNING MAN who has vaulted over a wall, sending him,
his pipe, and hat flying across the cobbles.
(CONTINUED)
2.
1 CONTINUED:
1The RUNNING MAN leans down as if to assist, but instead
just picks up the smoker's broken umbrella and studies
it. The MAN in the deerstalker hat's eyes widen as he
recognizes his famous assailant.
MAN:
Sherlock Holmes?!
SHERLOCK HOLMES offers the handle of the umbrella to the
MAN, hauls him to his feet and hands back his broken
umbrella.
HOLMES:
My apologies. Send the bill to
John Watson, 221B Baker Street.
Sherlock Holmes sprints off down an alleyway. The MAN
takes a step into the road to watch him go --
-- and is nearly flattened for good by the first of a
number of POLICE CARRIAGES, hurtling by on a serious
pursuit, Victorian-style.
2 2
INT. CARRIAGE - CLOSEUP ON THE OFFICERS - NIGHT
inside. Big, uniformed guys assemble their weaponry -- a
19th century SWAT team. One man stands out as a leader,
older than the rest, INSPECTOR LESTRADE.
A man in plainclothes sits to one side of the officers:
DR. JOHN WATSON, physically as tough as anyone else in
the carriage, but with a more pensive air about him. A
thinking man of action.
3 EXT. STREETS OF LONDON - NIGHT 3
Almost tipping over, the carriage turns onto the
Embankment and hurtles through the writhing fog along the
river.
As the carriage banks, we see Holmes cut across the
carriage path again, taking a line the horses cannot
follow.
CUT TO:
ANOTHER ANGLE:
Holmes bursts out of an alley, sprints round a corner and
runs across a courtyard to a side door.
WE PULL BACK to see the FACADE OF ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL.
3.
4 OMITTED 4
5 INT. CATHEDRAL CRYPTS - ENTRANCE - NIGHT 5
Holmes enters through the door and stands at the top of a
stairwell. He takes a moment to recover; he's fit, but
not as fit as he used to be.
Holmes descends the stairwell to a door and a spiral
staircase beyond it. He stops at the doorway and peers
round the corner.
A lantern glow ascends the spiral stairway towards
Holmes. Holmes withdraws into the shadows behind the
door. A BOWLER-HATTED MAN ascends the stairs, carrying
the lantern and a gun.
He peers behind the door and holds the lantern up to the
shadows, but does not see Holmes, who has pulled his
black jacket up to conceal his face. The man swings the
lantern away again. He peers about, confused.
We see Holmes' eyes from the shadows, as he lowers his
jacket and thinks through his plan of attack.
HOLMES (V.O.)
Head cocked to the left, partial
deafness in right ear. First
point of attack.
PRE-VISUALIZATION IN VARI-SPEED
FOCUS ON the spot behind the man's right ear, just at the
top of the jaw -- the most vulnerable point. Holmes
launches a hammer blow, and we ramp from 24 fps to 400
fps (ULTRA SLOW MOTION) as he makes contact. The man's
head is thrown back as he spins round.
HOLMES (V.O.)
Then throat, paralyze vocal
chords, stop screaming.
BACK TO 24 fps. The man's mouth opens to cry out. We
RAMP BACK UP TO 400 fps as his Adam's Apple is struck
with a precision karate chop, strangling his scream.
HOLMES (V.O.)
Stink of alcohol, heavy drinker --
knuckles to liver.
BACK TO 24 fps, RAMPING TO 400 fps as a devastating
knuckle-punch to the liver doubles up the bowler-hatted
thug and crumples him to his knees.
(CONTINUED)
4.
5 CONTINUED:
5SECOND-TIME ACTION - SUPER FAST REPEAT OF ABOVE
Holmes flashes out of the shadows, moving so fast that we
can barely see what he's doing.
THWACK! Hammer blow to ear.
CRACK! Karate chop to throat.
WHAP! Knuckle punch to liver.
BACK TO NORMAL MOTION as the man crumples to the ground,
Holmes takes his bowler hat from his head and flips it
onto his own in one super fast move.
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