Hercule Poirot vs Sherlock Holmes

I would hire Sherlock Holmes, with the amount of cocaine that he does, the guy would be at your case day and night and might even forget to charge you after he solved the damn thing.

It has been a few years since I have read the books but most of the films and series still don't represent the actual diversity of the character in the book very well. I think that Robert Downey Jr's version in 'Sherlock Holmes' maybe a bit closer. It is easy to ask the question? James Bond Vs. Sherlock Holmes, and you would get a pretty good comparison going. Poirot seems to be mostly a detectives detective while Holmes always seems to border on supernatural abilities and you could say that he was the Victorian version of a crime-fighting Batman ridding London of evil doers and anarchists.

really great and informative post  thanks

Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes is a refreshing take on the character and I agree with you the womanizing aspect is really only there to try to make him more the adventurer type suited to the movies own direction rather then the very capable Brainiac he appears to us in the novels.

After some on-line research here are Holmes known abilities:

Dr. Watson subsequently assesses Holmes's abilities thus:
1. Knowledge of Literature – nil.
2. Knowledge of Philosophy – nil.
3. Knowledge of Astronomy – nil.
4. Knowledge of Politics – Feeble.
5. Knowledge of Botany – Variable. Well up in belladonna, opium and poisons generally. Knows nothing of practical gardening.
6. Knowledge of Geology – Practical, but limited. Tells at a glance different soils from each other. After walks, has shown me splashes upon his trousers, and told me by their colour and consistence in what part of London he had received them.
7. Knowledge of Chemistry – Profound.
8. Knowledge of Anatomy – Accurate, but unsystematic.
9. Knowledge of Sensational Literature – Immense. He appears to know every detail of every horror perpetrated in the century.
10. Plays the violin well.
11. Is an expert single-stick player, boxer and swordsman.
1. Ability to use pistols, shown in a few stories e.g. Hound of the Baskervilles and The Sign of Four.
2. Ability to use cane/walking stick as weapon
3. "Apparent" ability to use a sword (according to Watson in A Study of Scarlet he is an expert). 
4. Ability to use a riding crop as a weapon (and described in The Six Napoleons story as his favorite weapon).
5. Formidable bare knuckle boxer, discussed and shown in A Sign of Four.
6. Ability to use martial arts (in particular baritsu). This was mentioned by Holmes in The Adventure of the Empty House as how he defeated Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls.
12. Has a good practical knowledge of British law.
13. Holmes knows Latin and needs no translation of Roman epigrams in the original—

--Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet

Later stories also contradict the list. Despite Holmes's supposed ignorance of politics, in "A Scandal in Bohemia" he immediately recognizes the true identity of the supposed "Count von Kramm". Regarding non-sensational literature, his speech is replete with references to the Bible, Shakespeare, even Goethe.

Holmes is also a competent cryptanalyst. He relates to Watson, "I am fairly familiar with all forms of secret writing, and am myself the author of a trifling monograph upon the subject, in which I analyze one hundred and sixty separate ciphers". One such scheme is solved using frequency analysis in "The Adventure of the Dancing Men".

Holmes's analysis of physical evidence is both scientific and precise. His methods include the use of latent prints such as footprints, hoof prints and bicycle tracks to identify actions at a crime scene

sherlockspy.blogspot.com/p/knowledge-and-skills.html

" But love is an emotional thing, and whatever is emotional is opposed to that true cold reason which I place above all things. I should never marry myself, lest I bias my judgment. "- Sherlock Holmes quote from "The Sign of Four"

That's true, Watson persuaded Holmes to quit taking drugs, if I left something out on his night table? hmmmmm.....then called back in the morning? Well I did lose my favorite umbrella, 

I didn't remember that but it does sound like something Holmes would do. BTW, I don't think "Sherlockian" is an accepted term in the USA, either. We use "Holmesian", too. 

I became a major Holmes fan many years ago, ended up with a volume which includes everything Conan Doyle wrote about Holmes, and have read everything at least once. My favorite is "The Adventure of the Dying Detective". An ancestor of mine, Christopher Morley, started the very first Sherlock Holmes club and wrote the forward (or is it introduction?) to the all-inclusive book I bought. 

I agree that Jeremy Brett's version is the most faithful to the stories, but I feel that Rathbone was closer to the actual Holmes overall, especially as I see Brett's as too effeminate-like. I enjoy Downey as Holmes despite his version's being the least faithful, so far. Nevertheless, I think there'll never be an accurate theatrical Holmes; maybe he's too complex. Some literary things aren't very translatable to any other art form.