I don't know exactly how it came to be that The Hound of the Baskervilles would be the most frequently adapted of A.C. Doyle's stories. But it is so, and after Rathbone, Cushing and Peter Cook, and two years before Ian Richardson, it is Vasili Livanov's turn to don the deerskin cap and disappear for one third of the movie.
One of the reasons I find it peculiar that The Hound became the most popular filmic Holmes adaptation is that Holmes is absent for a good chunk of the running time. And while it's an engrossing murder mystery on its own, it so happens that in franchises of this sort people generally come to see the hero being a hero. And one of the flaws of this Russian adaptation is that, unlike Nigel Bruce, Vitali Solomin doesn't have the charismatic presence and weight to carry the movie while Livanov is away.
Still, like its predecessors, this sixth entry in the Soviet Sherlock Holmes saga with Vasili Livanov in the titular role, is every bit as stylish, entertaining and endlessly watchable. Exchanging the baroque opulence of London for the rural atmosphere of Devonshire and benefitting from the natural beauty of real locations, The Hound builds and sustains its mystery and suspense even though the novelty of the story has been worn out by now.
Excluding the natural flaw of a Sherlock Holmes movie with not enough Sherlock Holmes, the movie has been wisely split up in two parts making the 2.5 hour duration a manageable task. The murder mystery of a demonic hound terrorizing the last heir of the Baskerville family is great and from a technical perspective the movie, even though made for TV, has a lavish cinematic feel.
Definitely among the handful best adaptations of The Hound of the Baskervilles.
One of the reasons I find it peculiar that The Hound became the most popular filmic Holmes adaptation is that Holmes is absent for a good chunk of the running time. And while it's an engrossing murder mystery on its own, it so happens that in franchises of this sort people generally come to see the hero being a hero. And one of the flaws of this Russian adaptation is that, unlike Nigel Bruce, Vitali Solomin doesn't have the charismatic presence and weight to carry the movie while Livanov is away.
Still, like its predecessors, this sixth entry in the Soviet Sherlock Holmes saga with Vasili Livanov in the titular role, is every bit as stylish, entertaining and endlessly watchable. Exchanging the baroque opulence of London for the rural atmosphere of Devonshire and benefitting from the natural beauty of real locations, The Hound builds and sustains its mystery and suspense even though the novelty of the story has been worn out by now.
Excluding the natural flaw of a Sherlock Holmes movie with not enough Sherlock Holmes, the movie has been wisely split up in two parts making the 2.5 hour duration a manageable task. The murder mystery of a demonic hound terrorizing the last heir of the Baskerville family is great and from a technical perspective the movie, even though made for TV, has a lavish cinematic feel.
Definitely among the handful best adaptations of The Hound of the Baskervilles.