When I first heard about this Russian Sherlock Holmes stories, I was curious. Thanks to an up loader on Youtube, I think he is also the same person who writes the number one review here, I was able to watch it.Perhaps due to issues not related to this film, issues of my life, I cannot say that I have been enthralled with this film. HOund of the Baskervilles of course is the most famous of all Sherlock Holmes stories. You have the 1939 film with the most famous of Holmes, Basil Rathbone, and then you have the 1959 version, color courtesy of Hammer, with Peter Cushing.Having seen the Hammer version first, before the Rathbone version, The Hammer version has always been my favorite, even above the more critically acclaimed 1939 version. Also for me, Peter Cushing will always be Sherlock Holmes, Andre Morrell Dr. Watson, and Christopher Lee the young Baskerville from Canada. Even the actor in that version playing Doctor Mortimer was great as well. I would suspect that anyone having watched the 39 and 59 versions first, will have a tough time with any other Hound of the Baskerville movies.Watching the Hound of The Baskervilles in the Russin version, while the acting by most is good, I have problems with the gentlemen playing Mortimer and the young Baskerville. Sorry that I cannot give names of the actors, I saw the actors film Slave of Love, which I did enjoy. I just can't stand both of their characters, though I kind of like it when this Dr. Mortimer holds his dog. Another big problem that others I think will have if they have seen the two more famous Baskerville movies, is that their is no suspense, if one has seen those movies, one already knows what is going on, and their is no mystery. Also what is with this Wild West style music, did Russians think that the Wild West extended to England in the 1880's as well? I have to admit, one scene of the carriage ride going to Baskerville Hall, reminded me of Sergio Corbucci's The Great Silence.Perhaps a mistake is to watch this Russian Holmes version first, perhaps at the time, the producers of these shows realized that the Hound story is the most famous, and decided it would be better to show first what might not be as familiar, as this I believe was the 6th story. I might be better off to see those other stories first also, as they might be more interesting to me to do so as I may not know what is going to happen. Also being English Speaking, and having heard Holmes always speaking English with an English accent, something that other viewers from other non-English speaking countries who may have heard Rathbone and Cushing dubbed by other actors, might also be a difference.

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.

When you visit museum of Sherlock Holmes in London, Baker St., first thing that you see on the second floor is a number of pictures of all actors who ever played Holmes in the movies, and in the middle of that compilation you can see the biggest photo - the photo of Vasiliy Livanov.All world cinematographers (including British ones) have admitted that Vasiliy Livanov is the best Sherlock Holmes that ever appeared on screen. And it is true. There were made several movies about the adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr.Watson for Russian TV in the late 70-ies and early 80-ies, including such films as The Meeting, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Bloody Script and many more (about 10 total number). Livanov as Sherlock, Vitaliy Solomin as Watson, Rina Zelenaya as Mrs.Hudson, Borislav Brondukov as Inspector Lestrade all make these series directed by Igor Maslennikov an all-time masterpiece. Almost all of actors started their careers in theaters (Livanov, Solomin and Zelenaya continued giving performances even after their success on the big screen) which gave films amazing atmosphere of reality. The images of old London were carefully reconstructed in Baltic cities almost untouched by time which gave movies a lot of similarities with real XIX century London. All movies (it wouldn't be right to call them episodes) are set on very high level, and from the opening unforgettable music score they charm every viewer. It's very hard to distinguish the best film of the series, every of them has something unique. The Hound of the Baskervilles for example has the greatest number of participating celebrities, including Nikita Mikhalkov (internationally known for directing and playing in such movies like An Unfinished Piece for Mechanical Piano, The Barber of Siberia, Oscar-winning Burnt by the Sun etc.), Oleg Yankovskiy (Nostalgia by Tarkovskiy), Evgeniy Steblov and many more. This set of movies is a must-see for everyone whether you've read the book or not. It's rather difficult to find these movies with English subtitles but they exist and trust me, they worth searching for them. 10 out of 10 for all films.

Once, a poll was conducted in England, and Vassily Livanov and Vitaliy Solomin were found the best ever impersonation of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in the movies all over the world. Here, the brilliant couple delivers again. In addition, the winning plot and the magnificent guest performances of Nikita Michalkov as Sir Henry and of Oleg Yankovsky as Stapleton make this movie exceptional even amongst the Russian Sherlock Holmes series. A must!