For me this is still far and away the best production of The Hound of The Baskervilles, possibly because I still to this day see Jeremy Brett as the great detective, but that apart this adaptation has so much going for it. It has a fine mix of drama, suspense and even humour. Sir Henry Baskerville is perfectly portrayed by Kristoffer Tabori, there is a likability to the character, he's the sympathetic character you take to and fear for. The production values are spot on, the usual costumes and sets of course, but the location work is perfect, you see that Grimpen Mire is a place of natural beauty, but it has an eerie feel which is beautifully captured.Holmes's absence means a greater role for Watson, and Hardwicke does a fantastic job, such an underrated performance throughout the series. Brett is brilliant, he brings the character of Holmes to life. James Faulkner, Ronald Pickup etc support brilliantly, it's such a well acted drama.As for the hound itself, they were wise not to have it in shot for long periods of time, not sure it worked awfully well, and the sound seemed odd. The final attack scene though does work, the build up and tension are well created.Overall, it's a fantastic version. Love it, 9/10

We are drowning in adaptations of the Hound of the Baskervilles, some are better then others, but only one I would class as outstanding, and that is this one. It's all about Jeremy Brett, he was to Sherlock Holmes what David Suchet was to Poirot, he was the defining characterization, he made Holmes real and relevant, and during this particular production I would say he was at the height of his mastery. Supported wonderfully by Edward Hardwicke, who seems to get more screen time then Holmes, he is wonderfully solid. Neil Duncan is great too, good strong scenes between him and Brett when they discuss his skull. In many of the adaptations the hound is the problem, in some it looks like a model, and in others it looks like Scooby Doo, they got it right this time round in this excellent TV movie.

Hound of the Baskervilles, The (1988)*** (out of 4) The number of adaptations Arthur Conan Doyle's novel The Hound of the Baskervilles has received over the years must make it one of the most popular. Some might say it's because the novel is so easy to put on screen while I've read a few who said it's because the story is more horror-like. Whatever the reason this one here features Jeremy Brett as Holmes and Edward Hardwicke as Watson and they try to protect Sir Charles Baskerville (Raymond Adamson) from the deadly curse of the hound. Many Holmes fans claim this is the best version of Hound but I personally wouldn't go that far. While there's a lot to enjoy here I still think the Rathbone and Cushing versions are better. I think the biggest problem I had with this one was its rather slow pacing that really made the 100-minute running time feel longer. The strange thing about this version is that they actually expand all the early stuff without Holmes so this keeps everyone's favorite mystery solver on the back burner until around thirty-minutes left in the movie. Hardwicke does a nice job in the role of Watson but I think he was a tad bit too dry at times so a lively performance might have helped the film move a little better. I really didn't care too much for Adamson in his role and I felt Alastair Duncan was a little weak as Mortimer. As for Brett, he's a favorite to many people and I'll admit that I found him to be a very intelligent Holmes. That's always the most important part to whoever plays the character so Brett had no trouble at making you believe he could be as wise of a person needed for Holmes. The atmosphere is rather thick throughout and this includes the nice ending. The production design is quite nice throughout, which is another plus.

"The Hound of the Baskervilles" is not my favorite Sherlock Holmes film: There are problems with the hound no matter how it is portrayed, and the violence in the film is disturbing. "The Hound" has perhaps suffered from overexposure; it is by all odds the most famous of the Sherlock Holmes tales. It lacks the substance of other full-length Holmes films, such as "The Sign of Four" and "The Master Blackmailer." And it lacks the horror of "The Last Vampire," which Conan Doyle wrote as a tribute to his friend Bram Stoker, the celebrated author of "Dracula."The acting in the Sherlock Holmes films is consistently good. For me as for many other people, Jeremy Brett was the quintessential Holmes. It is a pity he is no longer around to play the part, and an even greater pity that the Holmes films are being remade in what promises to be a greatly inferior version.