Sherlok Kholms i doktor Vatson: Znakomstvo (1979) (TV)

User Rating:

9.0/10   

Director:

Igor Maslennikov

Writers:

Arthur Conan Doyle (stories)
Yuli Dunsky (writer)

Genre:

Crime

Plot Keywords:

Foreign Language Adaptation | Detective | Based On Novel | Based On Book

Cast

Vasili Livanov	...	Sherlock Holmes
Vitali Solomin	...	Dr. Watson
Rina Zelyonaya	...	Mrs. Hudson
Mariya Solomina	...	Helen Stoner / Julia Stoner (as Marina Solomina)
Gennadi Bogachyov
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Fyodor Odinokov
Catherine Schell

Also Known As:

Шерлок Холмс и доктор Ватсон: Знакомство (Soviet Union: Russian title)
Acquaintance
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson (literal English title)

Runtime:

Soviet Union:142 min (2 parts)

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Russian

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Lenfilm Studio

Movie Connections:

Followed by Priklyucheniya Sherloka Kholmsa i doktora Vatsona: Dvadtsatyy vek nachinaetsya (1986) (TV)

The best Sherlock Holmes movie ever made

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.