The Hound of the Baskervilles (2002 film)

Plot

Sherlock Holmes and his companion Dr Watson investigate the case of the legend of a fearsome, diabolical hound of supernatural origin on Dartmoor in Devon in England's West Country.

Cast

• Richard Roxburgh as Sherlock Holmes
• Ian Hart as Doctor Watson
• Richard E. Grant as Jack Stapleton
• Matt Day as Sir Henry Baskerville
• John Nettles as Dr. James Mortimer
• Geraldine James as Mrs. Mortimer
• Neve McIntosh as Beryl Stapleton
• Ron Cook as Mr. Barrymore
• Liza Tarbuck as Mrs. Barrymore
• Danny Webb as Inspector Lestrade

Production

Produced by Tiger Aspect Productions, this was the third adaptation of the tale for the BBC, it was shown on BBC One on Boxing Day 2002. It was directed by David Attwood,{{cite web|title=A major new version of The Hound Of The Baskervilles for BBC ONE

This version diverges from the novel in a few instances, such as Sir Henry not being involved in the final attempt to entrap Stapleton, Stapleton murdering his wife and Stapleton being shot dead by Watson just before the former can shoot a mire-trapped Holmes. The film is set in the time period the original tale was published as opposed to when it was originally set. It portrays a séance performed by Dr. Mortimer's wife, a scene which did not appear in the original novel, though a similar scene did appear in the 1939 Basil Rathbone version of the film. The characters of Frankland and his daughter Laura Lyons are completely omitted from the film.

Critical reaction

Richard Scheib of The Science-Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film Review called the film "one of the best Sherlock Holmes screen adaptations to date, and arguably the best of all screen versions of The Hound of the Baskervilles that we have." Pamela Troy of CultureVulture.net wrote, "There's a lot that may outrage fans of the original novel, but this is, nonetheless, a respectful, interesting, and worthwhile adaptation." Charles Prepolec of the Sherlock Holmes fansite BakerStreetDozen.com wrote, "In the end, it is a compelling, if somewhat infuriating, film to watch. Not a great Holmes film, and certainly not the greatest version of this story, but it is fascinating television drama." The A.V. Club called the film "A very interesting, if not completely successful, adaptation."

References

References

1. Barnes, Alan. (2011). "Sherlock Holmes on Screen". [[Titan Books]].
2. McFarland, Melanie. (21 October 2005). "BBC shows get away with murder in the U.S.". [[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]].
3. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/houndofthebaskervilles/ The Hound of the Baskervilles] at [[BBC]]
4. Crompton, Sarah. (18 December 2002). "The arts column: howls of delight". [[The Daily Telegraph.
5. [http://www.moria.co.nz/horror/houndofthebaskervilles2002.htm The Hound of the Baskervilles (2002). Moria – The Science-Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film Review.]
6. [http://www.culturevulture.net/Movies/Hound.htm The Hound of the Baskervilles review – CultureVulture.net]
7. [http://www.bakerstreetdozen.com/roxhoun.html Sherlock Holmes: The Hound of the Baskervilles (2002)] – BakerStreetDozen.com
8. Valentine, Genevieve. (11 March 2016). "Elementary aims high and falls short on adaptation". [[The A.V. Club]].