# The best Sherlock Holmes movies and TV shows

From Basil Rathbone and Jeremy Brett to Benedict Cumberbatch and Robert Downey Jr.: the Sherlock Holmes adaptations ranked highest by the Deseret News and TheGamer.

- 226 votes · 13 items
- Aug 31, 2025 · boxoffice_atlanta
- https://even.best/en/l/4322/the-best-sherlock-holmes-movies-and-tv-shows

## Top 12

1. **The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1984)** (20 · ▲22 ▼2) — Granada TV: Jeremy Brett, the most faithful Holmes for many fans.
2. **Sherlock (2010)** (18 · ▲20 ▼2) — BBC: Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman in modern-day London.
3. **Elementary (2012)** (18 · ▲19 ▼1) — Jonny Lee Miller's Holmes and Lucy Liu's Watson in New York.
4. **Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)** (18 · ▲19 ▼1) — Barry Levinson: Holmes and Watson meet at boarding school.
5. **The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)** (15 · ▲18 ▼3) — Hammer Films: Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee on the moors.
6. **The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970)** (13 · ▲15 ▼2) — Billy Wilder's melancholy, witty take on the detective.
7. **Mr. Holmes (2015)** (12 · ▲15 ▼3) — Ian McKellen as a 93-year-old Holmes with a failing memory.
8. **Sherlock Holmes (2009)** (12 · ▲14 ▼2) — Guy Ritchie: Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law as an action-hero duo.
9. **Enola Holmes (2020)** (11 · ▲12 ▼1) — Netflix: Sherlock's younger sister, with Henry Cavill as Sherlock.
10. **House (2004)** (9 · ▲14 ▼5) — Hugh Laurie's diagnostician, a Holmes in a hospital.
11. **The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939)** (9 · ▲9 ▼0) — Basil Rathbone's Holmes, beginning his long run of films.
12. **Murder by Decree (1979)** (7 · ▲12 ▼5) — Christopher Plummer's Holmes on the trail of Jack the Ripper.
13. **The House of Fear (1945)** (4 · ▲7 ▼3) — Basil Rathbone in a Scottish mansion of mysterious deaths.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.