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 enlarge | Director: Brian Mills
Actors: Jeremy Brett, Edward Hardwicke, Fiona Gillies, Raymond Adamson, William Ilkley
Studio: Mpi Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.98
Buy New: $10.02
You Save: $4.96 (33%)
New (27) Used (10) from $8.50
Avg. Customer Rating:  38 reviews
Sales Rank: 13667
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dvd-video, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: Unrated
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 120
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: 1792
ISBN: 0788604619
UPC: 030306179292
EAN: 9780788604614
ASIN: B00007G1WK
Theatrical Release Date: December 8, 1988
Release Date: January 28, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW, Factory Sealed items direct from the Studios. 30 Day Satisfaction Guarantee. Quick International Airmail!
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| Customer Reviews:
Sherlock Takes a Bite Out of Crime!! July 6, 2005
7 out of 10 found this review helpful
+++++
(Note that this review is based on the DVD version of this movie released in Jan. 2003.)
This movie is based on the novel "The Hound of the Baskervilles" (1902) written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859 to 1930).
The setting of this movie is a vast expanse of dangerous wasteland: the moors of Dartmouth in Devonshire, England.
This movie begins by showing us a frightened but distinguished-looking man who appears to be running from something. Later, this man ends up dead. The deceased turns out to be Sir Charles Baskerville of the estate called "Baskerville Hall." Was his death of natural causes or was it murder?
Because of his death, the estate now falls to presumably "the last of the Baskervilles:" Sir Henry Baskerville (Kristoffer Tabori). He soon receives an anonymous note that reads:
"If you value your life or your reason, keep away from the moor."
At this point, Sherlock (Jeremy Brett) is called in to investigate. He learns of the Baskervilles and "the curse of the hound" that has been bestowed on the family for the last two centuries. Holmes dismisses the idea of a killer hound as a myth but decides to investigate further so as to get to the real truth.
Dr. Watson (Edward Hardwicke) aids Sherlock in the investigation. In fact, he has a much expanded role in this movie.
Brett catches the essence of the famous gumshoe in his performance. All supporting actors do a good job in their roles.
The attention-to-detail, costumes, background music, and cinematography are quite well done. I also thought the effect of the appearance of the hound was interesting.
The only problems I had with this movie is that it seems to lack energy and lack suspense (until the last half hour or so). As well, I missed Sherlock's deer hunter hat (his trademark) in this movie. (He only wears a fedora.)
Finally, the audio and picture quality of this DVD, I feel, are acceptable. There are no real interesting extras.
In conclusion, this is a good movie to watch even if you have read the novel on which it is based!!
(1988; 1 hr 45 min; British drama; made for TV; closed-captioned; full screen)
+++++
By the way March 26, 2005
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
First of all, Jeremy Brett is the perfect Sherlock Holmes. Forget those other actors. Even if he does look sickly, it makes you pity him all the more if you know what I mean. Secondly, to one of the other kids, Holmes DID fight the Nazis. Read "His Last Bow."
 Haunted Holmes. October 27, 2004
18 out of 21 found this review helpful
In his foreword to Bantam's "Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories," Loren Estleman called the relationship between Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson literature's warmest, most symbiotic and most timeless ever: rightfully so. Not surprisingly, film history is littered with adaptations of Conan Doyle's tales and Holmes pastiches (stories using the protagonists but otherwise based on independent screenplays); and I don't think any of Conan Doyle's four original novels has been adapted more frequently than "The Hound of the Baskervilles." Yet - and I'm saying this with particular apologies to the fans of the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce canon - none of the prior versions of any Holmes story can hold a candle to the ITV/Granada TV series produced over the decade spanning the years 1984 through 1994, starring Jeremy Brett as Holmes and first David Burke, then in near-seamless transition Edward Hardwicke as a refreshingly sturdy, pragmatic and unbumbling Dr. Watson; and this certainly includes any and all adaptations of "The Hound of the Baskervilles."
Thus, this version of Conan Doyle's spookiest tale stands out positively not only when compared to some of the other movie adaptations starring Jeremy Brett, which tend to over-emphasize a gothic atmosphere not present in the stories *those* movies are based on (particularly so, "The Last Vampyre" and "The Eligible Bachelor"), but also when compared to earlier versions of "The Hound of the Baskervilles." Indeed, stripped of those other productions' antics and occasionally not much better than B-movie-level special effects, the Jeremy Brett/Edward Hardwicke adaptation relies primarily on the superb acting skills of its stars and supporting cast and tells the story of the Baskerville family's apparent curse in a relatively straightforward manner, which truly manages to terrify where earlier versions were merely unintentionally funny. Largely true to Conan Doyle's original, this is also the only one of the movie-length adaptations that sees Dr. Watson performing an investigation of his own. (He embarks on similar, albeit generally less elaborate missions, in some of the series's shorter episodes, such as "The Solitary Cyclist.")
The tale's storyline itself is well known: Sir Charles Baskerville has been found dead, apparently killed by a mysterious, larger-than-life dog living in the moors surrounding his estate and occasionally heard howling at night; allegedly a hound from hell haunting the family since the days of their evil ancestor Sir Hugo Baskerville. When Sir Henry (Kristoffer Tabori), latest heir to the Baskerville title and fortune, arrives from the U.S., Holmes is hired to investigate the mystery surrounding the beast. And "[y]es, the setting is a worthy one. If the devil did desire to have a hand in the affairs of men ...," Holmes soon comments on the setting of the Baskerville estate. But asked by Dr. Watson whether he is inclined to place any belief into the supernatural explanation of the phenomenon, he proceeds to point out that the devil's agents may well be of flesh and blood, and that the only questions to be resolved in the matter are whether any crime has been committed at all, and if so, what that crime is and how it was committed. As (nearly) always, Holmes is of course proven right in the end.
Jeremy Brett was the only actor who ever managed to perfectly portray Sherlock Holmes's imperiousness, bitingly ironic sense of humor and apparently indestructible self-control without at the same time neglecting his genuine friendship towards Dr. Watson and the weaknesses hidden below a surface seemingly dominated by his overarching intellectual powers. And that dichotomy is clearly in evidence in this movie, where Brett, himself already afflicted by the illness which would eventually kill him, reaches new, intense and particularly great depths in Holmes's soul. If you want to see the best of Holmes, therefore get this production, the equally well-done Jeremy Brett adaptation of "The Sign of the Four" and the collections of the series's shorter episodes (particularly the first two cycles - "Adventures" and "Return" - are a "must"), enjoy and ... have a good hunt, because - come on Watson: the game's afoot!
Also recommended:
The Complete Sherlock Holmes: All 4 Novels and 56 Short Stories
Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Granada Television Series (12 DVD)
Sherlock Holmes: A Baker Street Dozen
Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street
Bending the Willow: Jeremy Brett As Sherlock Holmes
Dr. Bell and Mr. Doyle - The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes
Murder Rooms - The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes
The Life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Conan Doyle, Detective: The True Crimes Investigated by the Creator of Sherlock Holmes
Arthur and George
 Decent viewing, but with some caveats October 19, 2004
3 out of 7 found this review helpful
Plus points: Excellent English gothic atmosphere with Baskerville hall, the Grimpen moor et al. Hardwicke puts up a sober and warm performance as Watson, making very good use of his long screen time here. The other characters like Henry Baskerville, Mortimer, the Stapletons and the Barrymore couple are played quite well by a solid cast.
Minus Points: The main caveat unfortunately is Jeremy Brett. Suffering physial illnesses and manic depression, he looks like a wreck in this latter day production. Baggy watery eyes, hanging cheeks and a thoroughly dishevelled appearance make him a sad sight and he even seems to have breathing problems given how prominent his breath is on the soundtrack. He performs gamely enough, though.
A minor issue would be that the film chickens out on the Holmes-out-of-the-scene bit by showing spoiler glimpses of him in the country before he makes his major appearance at Devonshire in the original tale. Sure, we've read the story millions of times before, but we still want it to be told exactly the way Sir Doyle told it.
And yeah, the hound sucks...it looks a bit too amiable and the animal sounds are obviously faked.
On the whole a good comfy viewing experience.
Great Acting, But, oh, the poor sound and bad subtitles September 8, 2004
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is probably my favorite of the Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes
adaptations. Some have said Brett looks bloated and sick (and he probably was at this point in his life). That may be, yet I find (and this may be cold and callous on my part) that illness added a unique quality to his voice which in turn added to the mystery. The rest of the cast is excellent in their roles. I wouldn't call this a faithful adaptation of the original text: I don't believe there was an implied romance between Ms. Stapleton and Lord Baskerville. I also have to admit that the scenes which feature empty rooms and the sounds of sobbing are less atmospheric than they are annoying.
Having watched the film on VHS, I was anxious to get the DVD so I could bring up the subtitles and find out WHAT WAS BEING SAID in a few of the scenes. (That's right, I love this version inspite of the fact that I can only understand three quarters of the dialogue.) Imagine my surprise (and disappointment) when I got the subtitle option working--only to discover that whoever did the subtitles couldn't understand the lines either and, in some cases, messed up the ones that WERE easily understood. (For example: "He started the task methodically" becomes "he studied the task methodically", "Huddleston Quayle" becomes "HudsonWhales", "tin mine" is translated as "ten mile" and "awkwardly" is translated as "all quickly".) I fear for the hearing-impaired person who watches this; they will be even more up a creek without a paddle than the hearing person.
Over all, I give it four out of five stars for the cast, the writing and the scenery. But the muddied sound keeps it from being a five.
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