Sherlock Holmes et le docteur Watson

Vasili Livanov dons the deerskin cap for the first time in the Russian series "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson" and does an excellent job at it. The movie begins with the titular acquaintance between Holmes and Dr. Watson as Watson, fresh from the East Indies, moves in with Holmes and in the 221 Baker Street apartment. Shenanigans of a mysterious, often baffling nature, lead Watson quite humorously to suspect Holmes as a criminal mastermind of some kind before he reveals himself as a private detective. The ensuing murder mystery involving two sisters, their stepfather and a heritage is not all that good but for an introductory film it's nevertheless solid material. What really stands out is the baroque atmosphere and sets, the cinematic feel for a movie that was practically made for TV and the cinematography that uses heavy blacks and lush colours.

This TV production from the Soviet Lenfilm studio is a superb screen translation of the Sherlock Holmes story to the screen. The producers found ways to remain very faithful to the original stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle while modifying things slightly to make them work well as films. Here they embellish the first parts of "A Study in Scarlet" before moving into a pared-down "Speckled Band," and it works very well as a film on its own.

It's an unanswerable question to me who the best screen Holmes (or the best Watson for that matter) was. Some have certainly been better than others but each has brought unique and interesting qualities to the role. It is enough for me that here Vasili Livanov and Vitali Solomin are extraordinarily good. Their performances are magnetic viewing and full of subtlety. Every scene between the is memorable.

In the first half of "Acquaintance," the real mystery doesn't revolve around a crime but around Sherlock Holmes' character -- and Watson, whose character -- a romantic, artistic, intelligent doctor who would like to think he minds his own business but really does not -- is wonderfully fleshed out -- is the detective. This makes perfect sense as a way of introducing the two characters, but still seems like an innovation here.

It also looks wonderfully lavish and the filming is contrastingly expansive and suspensefully claustrophobic. It's clear a lot of care was well spent on these adaptation, and it is only right that they should have received notoriety decades after they were filmed and far from the former USSR.

When you visit museum of Sherlock Holmes in London, Baker St., first thing that you see on the second floor is a number of pictures of all actors who ever played Holmes in the movies, and in the middle of that compilation you can see the biggest photo - the photo of Vasiliy Livanov.

All world cinematographers (including British ones) have admitted that Vasiliy Livanov is the best Sherlock Holmes that ever appeared on screen. And it is true. There were made several movies about the adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr.Watson for Russian TV in the late 70-ies and early 80-ies, including such films as The Meeting, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Bloody Script and many more (about 10 total number). Livanov as Sherlock, Vitaliy Solomin as Watson, Rina Zelenaya as Mrs.Hudson, Borislav Brondukov as Inspector Lestrade all make these series directed by Igor Maslennikov an all-time masterpiece. Almost all of actors started their careers in theaters (Livanov, Solomin and Zelenaya continued giving performances even after their success on the big screen) which gave films amazing atmosphere of reality. The images of old London were carefully reconstructed in Baltic cities almost untouched by time which gave movies a lot of similarities with real XIX century London. All movies (it wouldn't be right to call them episodes) are set on very high level, and from the opening unforgettable music score they charm every viewer. It's very hard to distinguish the best film of the series, every of them has something unique. The Hound of the Baskervilles for example has the greatest number of participating celebrities, including Nikita Mikhalkov (internationally known for directing and playing in such movies like An Unfinished Piece for Mechanical Piano, The Barber of Siberia, Oscar-winning Burnt by the Sun etc.), Oleg Yankovskiy (Nostalgia by Tarkovskiy), Evgeniy Steblov and many more. This set of movies is a must-see for everyone whether you've read the book or not. It's rather difficult to find these movies with English subtitles but they exist and trust me, they worth searching for them. 10 out of 10 for all films.

Detective. A screen version of the works of the famous English writer Arthur Conan Doyle about the world's most famous detective Sherlock Holmes and his adventures with the notorious assistant Dr. Watson. Well, finally, I got my hands on this episode, shot by the talented Soviet director Igor Maslennikov. I love the whole series immensely and I revise it from time to time for the umpteenth time, and here's my short opinion - The Best Sherlock Holmes. I do not intend to talk about the minuses, because there are none, and if you really want to nitpick about the little things, then read the review of someone else. Yes, this is a very subjective review, but I will still describe the expressive merits that make this picture a real masterpiece of Soviet cinema. So, here they are: 1. Atmosphere - from the first shots, the creators immerse the viewer in Victorian England, or rather London, with its well-known attributes, stiffness, costumes, and norms of behavior. Environment, small details, scenery, nature. Yes, London was played by the Soviet Riga and Leningrad, but the audience doesn't care. The atmosphere is excellent in all parts. The creators clearly tried - and they have earned my praise and the love of the audience for more than one generation! 2. Music - the composer Vladimir Dashkevich has created amazingly high quality and so attractive music that it is known even outside the former Soviet Union. It's not worth mentioning the title topic, how many alterations I have heard, but nobody has succeeded in surpassing the original and will never succeed! 3. Humor - surprisingly, in such a serious detective story there was a place for humor. But there is no need to worry, it is easy to understand, but you should not wait for "wild rzhaki", rather humor here serves to defuse. 4. Detective stories - in the first episode (Acquaintance) our heroes are just getting to know each other and decide to solve one riddle, and in the second (Bloody Inscription) our homies have to unravel a rather curious and non-trivial case from the philistine point of view. Its finale will make you think about some things and seal the unbreakable friendship of a retired doctor and an eccentric London detective. Of course, when you are not watching a detective story for the first time, you lose interest, but you still enjoy the process itself, and when all this is played by very talented actors, it is doubly pleasure! 5. Excellent cast - the director has collected, I'm not afraid of this word, the entire color of Soviet cinema in this series, here are just a few names (in addition to the main characters): Igor Dmitriev, Borislav Brundukov, Nikolai Karachentsov and others. When so many talents gather under one roof, success is guaranteed! Well, the gatherings of Holmes and Watson at the end of each episode are priceless! Well, everyone knows about replacing the word "Afghanistan" with "East" in the first episode. You yourself know that it was in that year that we entered Afghanistan, and what this led to is known. Censorship, so I had to re-sound, nothing can be done. A little about the main characters: 1. Sherlock Holmes performed by Vasily Borisovich Livanov is an eccentric London detective who is able to solve any crime. Loves intricate puzzles. A monstrous snob with an unimaginable number of bad habits, but after meeting Dr. Watson, he becomes the last sincere and devoted friend. The best role of Vasily Borisovich in his entire long career and simply the best screen embodiment of the legendary detective! Sincere bravo Vasily Borisovich and good health to you! 2. Dr. Watson performed by Vitaly Methodievich Solomin is a retired military doctor who arrived after being wounded in London, where he rented an apartment for a couple with the mysterious Sherlock Holmes. The initial antipathy soon gave way to genuine admiration, and then to friendship between two so dissimilar characters. Cheerful, cheerful, with a brilliant military bearing. An inseparable assistant and a reliable support for Sherlock. Vitaly Methodievich just perfectly fit into this famous role, and we will never see the best Doctor Watson. Bravo Vitaly Methodievich and the Kingdom of Heaven to you! 3. Mrs. Hudson, performed by Rina Vasilyevna Zelena, is the owner of the house where Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson live. A kind and endearing elderly lady who becomes an invariable attribute that complements the image of Sherlock Holmes. Rina Vasilievna played this role in such a way that there can be no question of any competition. This is her best role and the best Mrs. Hudson! Bravo Rina Vasilievna! Soviet viewers were delighted with these two episodes, so soon new ones were released, where our heroes had to face the "Napoleon" of the underworld and no less dangerous bandits, but I will tell you about this another time. As a result, we have a great start to the adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson with excellent detective stories, great music and atmosphere, and simply grandiose in their splendor acting works!

A lot of people make a big deal about the fact that in the Sherlock Holmes museum, Vasiliy Livanov's picture is the largest. The only thing this proves is the British found a great way to soften relations between the U.K. and the Soviets. I see it as a political maneuver, and little else.

There is no doubt that these films are of excellent quality, but they suffer from an overemphasis on the farcical. In particular, Vitali Solomin's portray of Watson borders on camp at times, with little subtlety. The relationship between Holmes and Watson, something that is near and dear to many a fan's heart, is too kitschy. Missing is the deep, abiding friendship that Jeremy Brett and David Burke (and later, Edward Hardwicke) portrayed so eloquently in the Granada productions.

The Baltic locations are clearly Eastern Europe and at times that is a bit distracting. The biggest problem is of course, the language. First of all, the subtitles have been poorly done. I have spoken to a couple of people who speak Russian and English who have bemoaned the quality of the subtitles. They assert that English-speaking audiences would appreciate the films more if they could experience them as intended rather than through the poor subtitles. Some characters are meant to be heard in their native language and Holmes is certainly one of those characters. Hearing Doyle's detective speaking Russian is very distracting as are the poorly translated subtitles. Perhaps in the future someone could redo the subtitles and the films would benefit from this.

The most interesting thing about these films are the little jokes and ironic elements that are littered throughout. Little jabs at the Soviet government and the British are present and done very slyly. In one instance, Doctor Watson is speaking to Holmes about his lack of understanding of things outside his profession, but it is clear he is speaking of the oppression of the Communist government in the Soviet Union. Watson says, "How awful it would be to live in a world, where you couldn't talk to anyone about poetry, about art, or politics." The irony is, the actors in this film — at the time this production was made — did live in a place where you couldn't talk about many things without fear of reprisals. There are quite a few of these moments and it is very interesting to listen for them. Surely the producers of these films had to be very careful not to glorify a society of the West, albeit a hundred years in the past. Perhaps it was at the behest of the Communist party that Holmes gets the following line: "The British are conservative, and we don't like changes. Anyone who is not like us in the ways of mind, is easily taken for a rogue". Great fun.

These films do deserve their place in the cinematic Holmes canon, but more for what they reveal about the Soviet Union at the time and their relations with the British. An interesting interpretation that demands viewing, but ultimately pales in comparison to the Granada productions with Jeremy Brett.