The Hound of the Baskervilles

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Summary: The Hound of the Baskervilles
Review: Having watched this adaption of the famous Holmes story on BBC, Boxing Day, I have to say that this is the most thrilling drama out and will leave you on the edge of your seat! (I've seen it twice now and its still extraordinary! :) I didn't actually know the plot to the story before since I hadn't watched any of the previous adaptions and hadn't read the novels but since viewing I've already bought and read the book. It's inspired me to get the others too! This is most definately a MUST BUY!!

Rating:
Summary: A good adaption of a classic story....
Review: To start with let me say that this quick review is not based on the DVD release but rather the original UK television transmission.
This is a very solid version of the often filmed Sherlock Holmes story. Where this very familiar story benefits greatly is in the acting as all cast members, especially the two leads, give excellent performances. Good direction, a wonderfully atmospheric score and top-notch production values are also a plus point. In addition the effects on the title beast are very well done with a mixture of both CGI and anamatronics in the same style as the creature in "Brotherhood of the Wolf".
This is a worthy addition to any Holmes fan's collection....

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Summary: FYI
Review: DO NOT buy this DVD, "Hound of the Baskervilles" from Amazon.com, it is not a Region 1 -- I don't appreciate paying for a DVD then finding out that it is not Region 1 and therefore will not play on a North American DVD player. If a website wishes to sell Region 2 DVD's it should be honest and state the truth.

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Summary: Eccentric Flop
Review: Why can't filmmakers trust the author (cf. Coppolla's ill-thought "Dracula")? Doyle was a craftsman; the Hound of . . . is arguably his most gripping and fascinating Holmes narrative; the Rathbone/Bruce version holds up beautifully; Hammer's Cushing/Lee outing, though lurid, is a delight; Jeremy Brett's BBC presentation is true to the core; but this latest entry is infuriating; Richard Roxburgh's Holmes verges on the sluggish (and I hold with the other discerning reviewer who cites the wrong-headedness of writing in a Holmes who used cocaine while on a case; apparently no one on the scriptwriting team read Doyle too closely), Hart's Watson testy and offputting, and black-hearted Stapleton -- here the always wonderful Richard Grant -- is far more appealing than the two leads; so much of this version just bogs -- the opening scene in Baker Street, for example, with Dr. Mortimer, a thrilling narrative in nearly every other filmed Hound, lies as flat as Roxburgh's line delivery. Don't engage this Holmes -- take a hansom cab to the real Baker Street where Rathbone, Cushing and Brett are enshrined. This is Road-show Doyle -- and he, as well as, Holmes, deserve 1st-class bookings. Always.

Rating:
Summary: Not perfect -- but worth a look for Holmes fans
Review: This 2003 BBC "Hound" has some flaws -- in particular the poorly done digital hound -- but the director/screenwriters have taken some interesting liberties with the Conan Doyle classic. Making Holmes and Watson younger (and possibly gayer) than the traditional characters is a bold choice. Also, their incorporation of historically accurate Victorian era elements -- like a fascination with the occult (Conan Doyle himself was a true believer) -- adds some spice as well. In sum, the film is not a replacement for reading the original; but if you've read the classic, the film gives you something to ponder over a cup of tea.

Rating:
Summary: Dire
Review: Just goes to show that a big budget does not make a great television drama. No chemistry between the two leads, which kills the film from the first scene. Roxburgh sounds like someone doing a bad impression of Prince Charles. Hart acts like a stroppy teenager for most of it. Rest of cast ham it up shamelessly. Hound itself hilarious (and worse than any previous versions). Avoid.

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Summary: BUYER BEWARE
Review: I gave this one star not because it was bad, but because it was not viewable. It states that it is a region 1 DVD, but it will not play on a region 1 DVD player. I cannot get Amazon to check this out for me. They even sent me another one and it still won't play. Someone wrote a review previously which is no longer on this site stating the same thing. I believe that this DVD needs to be played on a code free DVD player. When I get one, I will watch it and review it again.

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Summary: A refreshing new approach to the tale
Review: I found this version of 'Hound' to be superior to any other I have seen. My wife, an avid reader of Holmes stories, agrees it's the best screen adaptation she's seen, presenting Holmes and Watson more as Doyle wrote them rather than emulating the way they are usually portrayed on film. Watch with an open mind, and try to forget the deerstalker hat & magnifing glass.

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Summary: A most distressing case...
Review: Oh dear...

It's easy to tell where this latest version of Conan Doyle's perennial classic goes wrong because so little goes right. There's little fault with the script, which does a decent job of retelling a by now overly familiar tale and even throws in an intriguingly gothic Christmas Eve party for good measure. Some of the supporting performances are fine - John Nettles and Richard E. Grant in particular. But the leads are so very wrong that they sap the life from the thing.

Ian Hart's Watson is surly and obnoxious, all too easily offended and trapped in a deeply distrustful relationship with Holmes. Since Watson has to carry much of the drama, this keeps us at arm's length from involvement, especially since Matt Day is such a dull Baskerville. However, where Hart is a good actor giving a misjudged performance, Roxburgh gives every indication of being a bad actor giving a bad performance. He may not quite be the worst Holmes in the way that he was definitely the worst Dracula (in Van Helsing), but he's certainly the dullest and blandest despite his overstated distance and eccentricities.

Although Attwood's direction throws up the odd good bit of composition, the grotty lighting and perpetual green tint sap any signs of life before they can bloom. And the less said about the shoddily animated CGi hound the better - it's hard to believe that this is probably the biggest budgeted version since Rathbone and Bruce strode the Moor.

The BBC have previously had good luck with the tale - both their Peter Cushing and Tom Baker versions, studio-bound though they were, were more involving in their cosy Sunday teatime way. Sadly, this attempt to bring a more modern aesthetic, while marginally better than the dreadful Peter Cook and Dudley Moore spoof, is nonetheless a very poor show indeed.

Rating:
Summary: a movie that insults my eyes and ears
Review: i for one thought this adaptation of the Hound to be one of the better ones out there. Solid acting as well as a non bumbling Watson were all ++ in my book.