Sherlock Holmes - Il mastino di Baskerville

Before I bought the DVD of this version of the "Hound of the Baskervilles" with Matt Frewer playing Holmes, I read the other user comments listed on the IMDB and I have to agree that the script was not very good and in fact, I found it to be somewhat poor in many respects. I also must mention that Jason London's performance as Sir Henry Baskerville was in my opinion dismal. He played the role as if the casting company went out in the street and asked the first guy they came across to please step in and take the role. I would think that Joe Namath could have done better but on the other hand maybe that is what London was trying to do. Maybe London was trying to put into the role such realism as a simple man pulled into a situation as an inheritor to a vast English estate that he played the role with a deadpan delivery of his lines. I wonder.

On the other hand I was delighted with Matt Frewer's Sherlock Holmes. His physical appearance fit the role well and his particular charactaristics in stage presentation I think added an interesting twist to the Holmes character. As a Sherlockian, I like to see the differences that various actors give to the character. I would have liked to seen more of Frewer's Holmes in this film but the dismal script distorted and shortened the story so that the Holmes character is only seen in the first quarter of the film and then near the end of the film.

In agreement with most of the other comments made on this version, If you are a film buff and a Sherlockian as I am, than this DVD is worth adding to your collection. If you are simply a fan of mystery films perhaps it is better for you to wait for this version to be rerun on TV or if you find it in your video rental store, the film is certainly worth the rental fee.

Trailrider

It only took a couple minutes of watching Frewer as Holmes to make me stop watching this film. Holmes is supposed to be arrogant of course, but never before have a seen a Holmes that was snide and belittling of Watson. It was too bad, because the production looked well done. But this version of Holmes was too much for me to take, and I turned it off.

When i saw the promo for this i knew i had to see it. I've always liked Matt Frewer but i could not conceive of him as Sherlock Holmes. Matt Frewer as Sherlock Holmes? Come on! Maybe as inspector LeStrade but not Holmes. But, being a fan of the actor i thought i'd give it a try and i sat down eagerly to watch. Man, i was disappointed. My first thought was he had dealt a serious blow to his career or maybe he had lost it as an actor. His performance was abysmal. It reminded me of Richard Dreyfus's portrayal of Richard III in "Goodbye Girl". It was that bad. His Holmes was an effeminate smug superior clown. I am at a loss to see that they actually made more of these. I'll have to check them out to see if they improve.

Now, i admit that I am a HUGE fan of the Jeremy Brett Holmes, so take that into account.

On the positive side, the portrayal of Watson by Kenneth Walsh was fantastic. Very much in the new tradition established by David Burke and Edward Hardwicke in the Grenada version. It is nice to see Watson portrayed as a thoughtful, intelligent professional man, as a competent doctor and of strong character.

Visually the movie is decent and if i had to toll it up i'd say it was worth watching but only just.

By the way, having seen Matt Frewer in "Taken" i was reassured to see he is still the earnest and entertaining actor i believed he was.

One minor disappointment - I cringed to see the deerstalker hat make an appearance. (i don't think Brett wears one once in the Grenada versions) Why is Holmes always pictured wearing one? I don't recall that he ever wears one in the stories.

Jeremy Brett rules!

In London, Sherlock Holmes (Matt Frewer) and Dr. Watson (Kenneth Welsh) are visited by the countryside Dr. Mortimer (Gordon Masten). He tells that Sir Baskerville has officially died of heart attack; however there are rumors and he believes that he was murdered by the notorious devil hound. Dr. Mortimer asks whether Sherlock Holmes would accept to investigate the case and also provide protection against the curse to the heir Sir Henry Baskerville (Jason London). Dr. Watson travels with Dr. Mortimer to meet Sir Henry and protect him while Holmes stays in London. Will they resolve the case?

"The Hound of the Baskervilles" is a Canadian version of the famous novel of the same title made for television. The high quality cinematography and the good screenplay are partially wasted with the unbearable arrogance of Sherlock Holmes performed by Matt Frewer, the worst Sherlock Holmes ever. Jason London is also miscast but his performance is satisfactory. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Demônio do Pântano" ("Demon of the Swamp")

I cannot agree with most of the comments here. Any film version of a Holmes story is going to be a problem - why pick on this one? After all, something of the rather pointed (sometimes uncomfortable) sarcasm of the literary Holmes comes through. No performance is seriously bad in this film; Frewer comes over well, so do the rest. I sometimes wonder if affection for certain film portrayals rather overrides the accuracy of the story - this one was not the worst by a long shot. Utter accuracy is not probable in the film world, so we should, I think, not be all too picky. Even so, the flavour of the stories is one which no director has ever captured, I admit. This film goes some way towards rectifying the matter.