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.

Hard to find in the US, my DVD was a gift from my sister -- a Slavic Languages professor -- who knows how to find such things. Faithful to the original novel, this probably isn't the best introduction to the series, as Holmes is absent through much of it while Watson investigates alone. With so little Holmes/Watson interaction, some of the appeal must certainly be missing.

That said, I very much like how Watson seriously, diligently, and intelligently carries out his investigation, not unlike numerous other successful fictional detectives. Except when tipsy, he is rarely the stereotypically foolish Watson. If I had never heard of Sherlock Holmes I might even have expected Watson himself to solve the mystery. However, because he is so serious it makes his character a bit too dry through much of film; though that in turn makes his actual flashes of foolishness and his reunion with Holmes more effective illustrations of Watson's true character.

What was interesting about the supporting characters is that they definitely seem to have more than a little Russian in them, from the humorously extroverted Sir Henry Baskerville to the arch-slavic-tragedian portrayal of Beryl Stapleton. I found it a bit jarring at first, expecting more British reserve in the characters, but eventually just let them be themselves and let myself be entertained. Much of Dartmoor also looks far more Russian than English, but that's only to be expected and easily overlooked.

Overall, this is a well done 'Hound', true to the story and true to the characters of Holmes and Watson. I got some hint of Vasili Livanov and Vitali Solomin's vast appeal, but not enough for me to become a wildly enthusiastic myself. At least, not yet. Because that hint is more than enough for me to nag my sister into getting me the rest of the Livanov/Solomin Holmes series. And then we'll see....

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 have slightest possibility to get it and if you enjoy reading Conan Doyle, you have to get it! It's the best film about Holmes I've ever seen! Its director made no one step from the original plot and kept everything safe. You will appreciate warm irony and humor of this film. It's a masterpiece.