Sherlock Holmes - The Hound of the Baskervilles

Rating:
Summary: The best film version of the story to date: 4 stars!
Review: Douglas Hickox is among the few directors who have understood the mystic horror of Doyle's terrifying masterpiece. Directing a brilliant Nicholas Clay, Hickox presents the audience with the best film version of the story to date: 4 stars.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing & Dull
Review: I could not watch this movie all the way to the end. I found the acting to be sub-par especially the American actor. I was hoping the scenery of old England would hold me through the movie but the scenery wasn't even good. The Sherlock Holmes series that aired on television was better than this DVD. Perhaps I can give my DVD as a gift to a non movie buff.

Rating:
Summary: warning
Review: I made the mistake of watching this with my kids and family after church one Sunday. I had no idea there would be a rape scene! For kids stick with the Halmark version with Matt Frewer.

Rating:
Summary: Good version of the Hound
Review: I still like the Rathbone/Bruce version best, but this one is right behind it. Print is of good quality, and Richardson is great as Holmes. Highly recommended!

Rating:
Summary: Good version of the Hound
Review: I still like the Rathbone/Bruce version best, but this one is right behind it. Print is of good quality, and Richardson is great as Holmes. Highly recommended!

Rating:
Summary: It's a dud
Review: I'm a fan of Ian Richardson's from the FU series and when I saw tapes were finally available of him doing Sherlock Holmes I immediately bought them. They're AWFUL. He doesn't play Holmes well at all and the action in them is slow and stagey. Even the damn credits take too long to roll at the beginning. Mothers, tell your children not to do what I have done--SAVE YOUR MONEY and watch Jeremy Brett instead. Richardson seems like a natural for this role, but it's a disappointment.

Rating:
Summary: This is the Best version
Review: If you like old, nostalgic, black & white movies, then the Basil Rathbone version is for you. If you like a fast paced version, then the energetic Peter Cushing version is for you. However, I like this version best for several reasons. First,the personalities of the characters are better developed. Second, the sets are more lavish than the other versions, and this gives you the feeling of the wealth of the Baskervilles and the atmosphere of the time. Street scenes, the moors, and Grimpin Mire are more elaborate and believable. Finally, the interaction between characters is more believable. Add in a very good video and audio transfer, and this makes good viewing.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent and Memorable
Review: This 1983 version of the Hound, with Ian Richardson as Sherlock Holmes, has rarely received the accolades it so richly deserves. While not the most faithful adaptation of the Conan Doyle classic, it is nevertheless sumptuously atmospheric. It features a truly menacing hound that more closely approximates the horror elicited by the novel's original than the veritable slew of disappointing hounds from several other film versions, the obvious exception being the equally terrifying Basil Rathbone hound. This TV movie's strengths stem from a variety of sources. First of all, Michael Lewis's engaging, memorable film score is exquisitely dynamic and resonates with excitement. Secondly, the production's choice of authentic Devonshire locales for outdoor filming, and effective use of sound stages to evoke the melancholy and dreary mystique of the moors at nighttime,imbues this stylish version with an appropriately gothic flavor. It stunningly depicts the eerie essence of the Grimpen Mire, replete with its miasma of swirling, amorphous ground mist, and compellingly involves the viewer in the visual ambience of its surroundings. The film's denouement, as Holmes pursues his villainous quarry through the mire's impenetrable sea of fog, is masterfully photographed and provides a highly dramatic and satisfying catharsis to an enjoyable film.
This is not to discount the film's few shortcomings. Certainly Richardson's Holmes, invariably prone to overtly amiable behavior, deviates from the disconcerting arrogance and brooding demeanor so brilliantly and faithfully rendered by Peter Cushing and Jeremy Brett. This is not to negate Richardson's charismatic and magnetic presence, however, and he is a pleasure to watch. (Recently, he compellingly played Dr. Joseph Bell, the real-life inspiration for Sherlock Holmes, in an equally atmospheric mystery series broadcast on Public Television). However, his Holmes portrayal remains somewhat revisionist. Furthermore, Donald Churchill's slightly bumbling rendition of Dr. Watson is too much of a frustrating throwback to Nigel Bruce's comedic and dim-witted depiction of the much maligned-doctor in the classic Basil Rathbone films of the 1940s. As Watson's character, for once, takes center stage in the Hound, casting for this role is more imperatively crucial than for Holmes. Among the most convincing and enjoyable Watsons from productions past included the more cerebral Andre Morell from the 1959 Hammer film and the equally astute and somber Edward Hardwicke from the 1987 Jeremy Brett version. However, that said, this stylish production deserves unstinting praise for the masterful way in which it skillfully reproduces the macabre spirit of the classic novel.

Rating:
Summary: Unmissable.
Review: This is certainly the best version of this classic tale that I've seen. Ian Richardson is superb as Holmes and the other characters are well-acted and believable. There is also some hauntingly good dialogue and an unforgettable soundtrack which adds to the wonderful atmosphere.

Rating:
Summary: It's a dud
Review: This version of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic story featuring Sherlock Holmes offers a fun and solid take on the tale of the Great Detective and his investigation of a deadly family curse. Wonderfully photographed, the film makes great use of the dark settings of the moor. Ian Richardson leads the pack with a sly, puckish take on Sherlock Holmes. It is a wonderful performance that makes one wish that he had filmed more Holmes stories then he did. Denholm Elliott has his amusing moments as the local doctor with a case of absent-mindedness. Unfortunately, the actor playing the faithful Dr. Watson, seems to be too much the Cockney with his gravelly voice. It's frustrating since his character spends much of the time onscreen, while Holmes is offscreen thoughout the middle part of the film. Brian Blessed and Connie Booth (formerly married to John Cleese, and a sometime performer with Monty Python), do well in smaller roles. A decent film, but not the definitive version.