The Hound of the Baskervilles

This is debatably one of the finest adaptations of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic novels! It boasts fine central performances from Peter Cushing, André Morell and Christopher Lee, an eerie ‘Dartmoor’ setting, and last but not least the hound from hell!

Since nearly all will be familiar with the plot and the legend of the hound, there is little reason to go into the details. In brief, the legend goes back to the time of Sir Hugo Baskerville (David Oxley), the wicked and profane member of the family who abducted, raped and killed his servant’s daughter. Immediately after the foul deed, Sir Hugo was himself ripped to shreds by a gigantic hound – and the legend was born. Moving forward a century, the current owner of Baskerville Hall, Sir Charles, is found dead at the very sight were his ancestor met his grisly end. Enter the new heir Sir Henry (Christopher Lee) who arrived from America. Friend of the family Dr. Mortimer (Francis de Wolf) has decided to pay Sherlock Holmes (Peter Cushing) a visit in London, as he is concerned about Sir Henry’s safety. He recounts to Holmes the legend of the hound and the game’s afoot!
Soon after, Holmes pays a visit to Sir Henry’s London hotel room to discuss the situation in hand. The kindly Sir Henry doesn’t seem overtly worried until a GHASTLY, horrible tarantula crawls out from his missing boot (arachnophobes watch out!) and gave this reviewer nearly a heart attack. According to an interview, Sir Christopher wasn’t too happy about filming this scene either, having felt utterly repulsed by the spider. Quite why Hammer Films added this scene, which is not in the original novel at all, is beyond me.

Having survived this hideous ordeal, Sir Henry is soon off – accompanied by Dr. Watson (André Morell) to Dartmoor. For reasons best known to himself, Holmes informs Watson that he has to stay behind for a bit. This of course is an obvious ploy but gives Watson, who is no fool, a bit more work to do than usual. As the events unfold, leading to the bloodcurdling climax, you, along with the great detective, can unravel the clues for yourself.

Scriptwriter Peter Bryan gives us a nice little twist in changing the central villain by making the daughter of Baskerville’s neighbour Stapleton infinitely stronger. Hammer in-house composer James Bernard gives us one of his best scores here, invoking the eerie Dartmoor landscape (though the film was shot in Surrey). Terence Fisher’s direction, which was always incredibly precise, is if anything even more precise here – Fisher at his best! One can’t help but to admire the lighting on this film, so indicative of cinematographer Jack Asher who has worked on several Hammer titles including The Curse Of Frankenstein (1957), Dracula (1958), and The Mummy (1959).

The SPECIAL FEATURES of this terrific Blu-ray edition include:

* High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) feature presentation
* Original uncompressed Mono 1.0 Audio
* Isolated Music and Effects Soundtrack
* Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
* New audio commentary with Hammer experts Marcus Hearn and Jonathan Rigby
* Release the Hound! – a brand new documentary looking at the genesis and making of the Hammer classic, featuring interviews with hound mask creator Margaret Robinson, actor/documentarian and co-creator of BBC’s Sherlock Mark Gatiss, and writer/editor David Miller.
* André Morell: Best of British – a featurette looking at the late great actor André Morell and his work with Hammer
* The Many Faces of Sherlock Holmes – a 1986 documentary looking at the many incarnations of Conan Doyle’s celebrated character, narrated and presented by Christopher Lee
* Actor’s Notebook: Christopher Lee – an archive interview in which the actor looks back on his role as Sir Henry Baskerville
* The Hounds of the Baskervilles excerpts read by Christopher Lee
* Original Theatrical Trailer
* Extensive Image Gallery
* Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Paul Shipper.
* Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by former Hammer archivist Robert J.E. Simpson, illustrated with original archive stills and posters.