The Hound of the Baskervilles is a 1981 Soviet film adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's novel The Hound of the Baskervilles. It was the third installment in the TV series about adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson. A potent streak of humour ran through the film as concerns references to traditional British customs and stereotypes, ensuring the film's popularity with several generations of Russophone viewers. Other features of this best entry in the series include excellent exterior shots which closely match the novel's setting in the Dartmoor marshland, as well as an all-star cast: in addition to the famous Livanov -Solomin duo as Holmes and Watson, the film stars the internationally acclaimed actor/director Nikita Mikhalkov as Sir Henry Baskerville and the Russian movie legend Oleg Yankovsky as the villain Stapleton.
Acting
Livanov's Holmes: chilly, catlike, devastatingly precise.
Cinematography
Dartmoor shot so moody you'll check for fog in your living room.
Direction
Maslennikov balances genuine tension with sly Soviet satire.

Director
Igor Maslennikov
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This adaptation became so beloved in Russia that Livanov's Holmes was honored with a statue near the British Embassy in Moscow — the only fictional character so commemorated in the city.
Nikita Mikhalkov, playing Sir Henry, would later win the Foreign Language Oscar and become deeply controversial; here he's just a very handsome baronet being menaced by dogs.
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