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The
Hound of the Baskervilles
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8
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9 |
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10
= Highest Rating |
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Guest
Review by Rod
Barnett |
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It's
one of those often quoted movie facts that the
two most filmed characters in history are Dracula
and Sherlock Holmes. One of the great joys for
those who love these characters is watching different
actors take on the roles, to see what nuance and
insight can be brought out by new interpretations.
Holmes has been played on stage and screen by
hundreds of actors but only a few have been remembered
for "being" Holmes to a large number
of fans. Basil Rathbone was the first to be strongly
associated in the public consciousness with Doyle's
great creation in the '30s and '40s. Jeremy Brett
spent most of the 1980s becoming the most text-faithful
Holmes ever presented, in Granada's long-running
British TV series. But there was one legendary
actor in between these iconic portrayals that
qualifies to be mentioned in the same breath —
Peter Cushing. Best known for his always solid
performances in Hammer's horror movies, Cushing
was also famous in England as Sherlock Holmes.
In 1959 he starred in The
Hound of the Baskervilles; nine years later
Cushing again took the role in a 16-episode television
series for the BBC that included another adaptation
of the story. Of course, if you’re one of the
many people in North America who'd love to see
this series you're out of luck. The BBC destroyed
most of the tapes years ago to make space for
other things! (The surviving episodes have been
released on DVD in Britain, but the discs are
Region 2.)
The
packaging of MGM's new DVD release of Hammer's
Hound of the Baskervilles
carries the critic's quote, "The best
Sherlock Holmes film ever made." That
may be stretching the truth a little but I'm willing
to go along with the hyperbole when the film is
this good. The movie begins with Holmes and Watson
being told the tale of Sir Hugo Baskerville by
Dr. Mortimer (Francis DeWolff). One hundred years
earlier, Sir Hugo kidnapped a young girl servant
for his pleasure. When the girl escaped across
the moors Hugo gave chase with a pack of hounds
and stabbed her to death. Moments later he was
attacked and killed by a giant hound. Since that
day every male Baskerville heir has died a mysterious
death. Dr. Mortimer, a friend of the family, also
informs Holmes that just weeks before, the most
recent Lord of Baskerville Hall was found dead
under strange circumstances. Mortimer asks Holmes
to help him protect the life of the last male
member of the family, who is arriving soon to
take over the estate. The detective meets with
the new Lord and agrees to help in the matter
of the "Hound of Hell".
This is the best known and
most often filmed Holmes story, even though no
version has ever been able to overcome the difficult
problem of having Sherlock absent from the middle
part of the tale. One of the strengths of this
version is that when Dr. Watson and Henry Baskerville
take center stage, the film doesn't suffer for
it. Andre Morell is an excellent Dr. Watson, avoiding
the horrible trap of making the character an idiot.
Watson was never supposed to be a bumbling fool
and Morell shows us a competent man caught up
in mystifying circumstances, doing his level best
to solve the case. Christopher Lee, as Baskerville
heir Sir Henry, is given a rare opportunity to
play a romantic lead and does a fantastic job.
(Lee was petitioning for better roles at Hammer
and this film had to feel like a step in the right
direction.) Here he is urbane, sophisticated,
and a true gentleman — things that cannot be said
of Dracula in the sequels he was being asked to
make. But the real acting laurels have to go to
Cushing as Holmes. He wonderfully captures the
many facets of Doyle's beloved character. He is
at times arrogant and pompous but always most
concerned with finding and stopping evil. He doesn't
suffer fools but you never doubt his innate goodness.
Cushing is in many ways the perfect Holmes and
it's a shame that this fine film is our only record
of his interpretation.
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This
DVD from MGM is so good that I can find very little
to gripe about. The film is presented letterboxed
at 1.66:1, avoiding the too-cramped look of so many
Hammer films on DVD these days. The print of the
movie is incredibly sharp with rich colors and good
detail. While there are few spots of speckling and
marks as the film progresses I can imagine few people
complaining. I've seen the film on television and
on videotape and you'd really have to hunt to find
fault with the way it looks here. The film has never
looked better on your TV. This might be enough,
but luckily MGM has also included some extras. First
is a 13-minute interview with Christopher Lee, in
which he discusses Holmes (whom Lee has also played),
Doyle, director Terence Fisher and Peter Cushing.
This is a nice, informative piece that I was very
glad to see —
I only wish it were longer. The second major extra
is two separate readings from the original novel
done by Chris Lee! Talk about a surprise... This
is a marvelous idea and I'm shocked no one has ever
done it before for DVD. The first reading is the
opening of the book and last for about 15 minutes;
the second is the climax of the story and clocks
in at around 6 minutes. During each, Sydney Padget's
classic illustrations from the original stories
are played across your TV screen. This is a fantastic
extra and one I'd love to see more of in the future.
Also included is the theatrical trailer, which strangely
is in black & white and (not surprisingly from Hammer)
plays up the horror angle of the story very strongly.
This a
great DVD of a very good film and I recommend it
highly. Good job MGM!
6/05/02 |
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