Priklyucheniya Sherloka Kholmsa i doktora Vatsona: Sobaka Baskerviley

Russians are good at adapting English detective stories.Didn't they make the best version of Agatha Christie's "Ten little N....." aka "ten little Indians" aka "and then there were none" ,the only one which followed the plot of the novel till the end.

"Hound" is no exception.Its unusual length is explained by the fact it was a two-part MTV work.(One should notice that Russian "ten little N..." had a running time of two hours +)Well acted ,the movie sounds English wherever it takes place,in Baker street in Sherlock's flat -the streets of London are the only flaw ,but we do not see them that much- or in the Baskerville castle or on the moor .The butler serving porridge every morning could not sound more English.The flashback concerning Hugo Baskerville receives a treatment which retains its mystery.The landscapes and the color are excellent and the subtitles allow non-Russian-speaking to follow the plot ,in case they would not know it,which is ,like for Christie's novel ,dubious for whodunit buffs.

Outstanding performance of the famous group of actors makes you love this movie from the first sight. Seeing it once does not satisfy.

No doubt, Vasili Livanov is the best as Sherlock Holmes. I could not imagine any actor who could play this role as beatiful as he did. His especial tones in the voice make him incredible and unforgetable as the greatest consulting detective of all times.

Greatest part of the glory goes to Vitaly Solomin, who has played John Watson - great actor, great scene of "drunk baronet, Watson and Barrymore"

Of course, Nikita Mikhalkov. This actor and director is known now for many movies he participated in.Then, we saw him still young and already known, but not so famous as he is now. He makes this movie as amusing, as he can. Maybe this feature and all the twists and turns as he plays them as Henry Baskerville make this movie so different from those of other countries' ones. His performance makes you applauding him for this

And of course Barrymore as played by Aleksandr Adabashyan will be remembered in years. His announcements in the process of the movie and calm servants' character, which sometimes grows into overwhelming care for the young baronet adds to this movie another aspect, as a result of which, we, too, starting to worry about Sir Henry not less than Barrymore himself.

Many other actors also played their part in this movie on their best side. Oleg Yankovsky as Stapleton, Alla Demidova as Laura Lions, Yevgeni Steblov as Doctor Mortimer and many others. We have to thank them all, otherwise this movie would not ever been what we are used to see today. In two words, in this movie, we got the best of Soviet cinematograph and its actors.

All the glory I think should go to the director of these series of movies of Sherlock Holmes adventures, Igor Maslennikov.

I have seen "Hound of Baskervilles" many times, as well, I also saw movies that were made by Americans and English. Of course, it is only my subjective opinion, but the russian movie is the best of them all. If you did not see it, then it is a must for you to do it now.

Even at those, distant times of 20 years ago, when the movie was done, no computerized special effects, or whatever else, was available, this movie involves you deeply into the dark and brilliant story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who brings you into the age, where there were no electricity, cinema or planes. This was the age of Victorian England, the age of the British Empire, the age of Sherlock Holmes.

The movie, as well as others of this series, proves that if you got a talent, you can shoot even if you are somewhat short on means. To shoot this movie, the crew, of course, could not go to some British location, and its London portion was shot in the ancient quarter of Riga. But more than anything, marvelous play of V. Livanov and Co. made it possible to express the spirit of this novel by Arthur Conan Doyle as well as the atmosphere of the 19th century England (which, on the whole, was not the case when the Soviet movie-makers had to deal with American settings.) Unforgettable irony of almost omniscient Sherlock Holmes, Watson's ignorance, bordering on stupidity, charming sagacity of Mrs. Hudson, thick-witted inspector Lestrade - that's how the movie about Sherlock Holmes should look like.

If you come upon these rare old Soviet Sherlock Holmes variations I would advise you to jump on them quick, you'll see the best of any variation or story that's ever been done.

All that being said, that in know way takes away from what Jeremy Brett or Basil Rathbone accomplished. Each actors interpretation is different than another's but if you want a version that is true to the story, then this is the one...hands down.

Seeing these old Soviet versions are a real treat. You would think that they would try and sneak some anti-capitalist or pro Soviet type of propaganda in this but as far as I can tell, this is straight from the story itself and just pretty darn entertaining. With these bare bones versions of the Sherlock tales you'll get a setting they want you to believe is in London circa the time they were told but you can plainly see that the backdrop is Soviet with the architecture and style. Even with this, it's very charming the Soviets take on the Sherlock series.

I can't tell anyone enough how good this series is. They couldn't have picked a better pair to play the title roles. These were parts these two were made for. Make an effort to find these series of TV movies from cold war days and be ready for a real treat from the Iron Curtain. I'll bet cash money you'll love every minute of these hard to find gems.

Russian TV version of the story that was filmed as part of a series and then released elsewhere as a stand alone film. For the most part an excellent adaption of the story with a real genuine chemistry and warmth between Homes and Watson that would seem to predate the Jermey Brett series. This feels the way the stories should feel. If there are any flaws in the film it would be that Henry Baskerville is not English raised in North America rather he's decidedly Russian in manner, The moors, while very ominous-possibly the most in any adaptation-are not quite England and the last "flaw" is that the film is overly faithful to the story and runs two and a half hours.They are minor flaws and should not keep you from watching one of the better Holmes films made.