The Hound of the Baskervilles
by Terence Fisher
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: André Morell, Christopher Lee, David Oxley, Marla Landi, Peter CushingDirector: Terence Fisher
Brand: Sony
Cinematographer: Jack Asher
Producer: Anthony Hinds
Producer: Anthony Nelson Keys
Producer: Kenneth Hyman
Producer: Michael Carreras
Writer: Arthur Conan Doyle
Writer: Peter Bryan
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Letterboxed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 87 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-05-07
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Movie Reviews of The Hound of the Baskervilles
Movie Review: 2nd best "Hound" -- STILL 5 stars
Summary: 5 Stars
The story: Sir Hugo Baskerville conducts an impromtu blood ritual on a pretty young lass out on the Grimpen Mire (moor), an event which is promptly concluded by a huge and horrific hound which rips Sir Hugo's aristocratic body to pieces, and thus the family curse is launched on the Baskervilles for generations to come. (This scene, by the way, is not all that graphic -- one doesn't actually see either the stabbing of the girl or the mauling), Eventually, Sir Charles Baskerville, a few generations down the line from Sir Hugo, seems to have fallen prey to the Hound and Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are called in to assist in protecting the new heir and Laird of the Manor, Sir Henry Baskerville, lately of North America. Sir Henry is ingeniously warned in London to beware of the moor but, with Dr. Watson along as his protector, he picks up the challenge and heads for his ancestral estate -- Holmes appears to be tied up on another important case for a time. All manner of ominous characters emerge and Sir Henry has some very close calls. Clearly the Hound is about and lusting for more Baskerville blood!
Up front, this is one of the best Hammer films ever produced. The winning team of Peter Cushing (who plays Holmes) and Christopher Lee (who plays Sir Hugo here but, who HAS played Holmes in other films!) are right at the center of the action. This 1959 film is additionally BULGING with other brilliantly-cast characters, all of whom pull off a nice acting job in their respective roles. This version of "The Hound" probably offers up the best Dr. Watson to date, very true to the Doyle stories and not at all depicted as "the pseudo-buffoon" which most other Holmes films convey in varying degrees.
The sets are superb (a typical Hammer Film caveat, really), and the cinemetography of the rural moor locations are similarly outstanding. Three of the best include the moor scenery, as Sir Hugo and Dr. Watson first arrive, the "ruins", and the old mine... all great stuff! The color saturation is wonderful. The action is tight -- the film never drags. Baby Boomers will appreciate what I say when I tell you that this movie has that great "late 50s/early 60s film ambiance" -- a nostalgic facet of the movie.
Perhaps one of the very best features of this film is that it's shot in a sort off heightened matted letterbox format which really enhances this fine movie. I have a 32" LCD flatscreen/widescreen TV and watching this version of "The Hound" is like being at the movies.
Now, this film does have a slightly "flawed" storyline where the director, Terence Fisher, initiated some notable liberties and effected some poetic license with Doyle's Opus magnus. I'll just say that he was accustomed to doing this in other Hammer Films, particularly where the Frankenstein/Dracula/Mummy series of horror flicks (Cushing and Lee again, mostly) were concerned and they were all just super. BUT, Sherlock Holmes fans are a little more discriminating in that they like their movies, especially THIS particular one, to stick to the original Doyle story. So, if you are a Sherlock Holmes movie or book purist, be aware of this actuality.
I think that this one is slightly better than the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce B&W masterpiece of 20 years earlier (1939), which I also rate 5 stars. Some would argue that point, I'm certain, by holding out that the Rathbone film is the best of them all... I cannot assert that they are wrong -- I can only express my own subjective opinion.
I DO believe that it's slightly LESS brilliant than this version, another masterpiece of Holmesian film art: Sherlock Holmes - The Hound of the Baskervilles
But again, you only have my word on this and tastes in these matters are quite subjective.
To summarize, if you enjoy a well-done mystery flick, you love quality cinematography, (and especially if you're either a Sherlock Holmes or a Hammer Films fan, or both!), then you won't get hurt on this one.
Summary of The Hound of the Baskervilles
HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES - DVD MovieSherlock Holmes gets the Gothic treatment in this mix of mystery and supernatural horror from Britain?s Hammer Films. Peter Cushing is perfectly cast as the great detective, the very embodiment of science and reason (which also made him a great Van Helsing in the Dracula series) in a case wound around a legacy of aristocratic cruelty and a devilish dog wandering the swampy moors. Christopher Lee is a less satisfying fit as the last of the Baskervilles, as he waffles between fear and apathetic disregard, but Andre Morell is a fine Dr. Watson and a far cry from Nigel Bruce?s sweet bumbler from the Hollywood incarnation of the 1940s. Director Terence Fisher was Hammer?s top stylist and the film drips with the mood of the moors, mist hanging in the air, the dying vegetation itself threatening to come to life and trap the next unwary traveler. --Sean Axmaker
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