Did you know there is a Russian Sherlock Holmes?
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Would the Best Sherlock Holmes Please Standup
The English speaking world is made up of two types of people, those who think Jeremy Brett was the best Sherlock Holmes and those whose vote goes to Basil Rathbone (my vote here goes to Jeremy!).
However there is another superb Sherlock Holmes from a place you probably would not expect, Russia! Yes back in the late 70's and early 80's the then Soviets put together a series of 11 episodes which would cover 12 Holmes stories, sometimes spanning two episodes and others a single episode would cover two original stories.
However there is another superb Sherlock Holmes from a place you probably would not expect, Russia! Yes back in the late 70's and early 80's the then Soviets put together a series of 11 episodes which would cover 12 Holmes stories, sometimes spanning two episodes and others a single episode would cover two original stories.
The Production
Filmed in Riga, in those days of course Latvia was part of the Soviet Union, the production team did a great job recreating Victorian England. While the obersvant amongst you might note the odd TV aerial in the background of some of the roof shots (those Victorians were very advanced) the over all impression is that of a stereotypical 'gloomy' Victorian Britain.
Sherlock Holmes
Played by Vasily Livanov
Vasily Livanov, who though perhaps short in stature is big in character, paints a warmer picture of Holmes than we are often used to, though perhaps not so true to the ideology of whom Holmes is. The darkness associated with other interpretations of Holmes is mostly missing; you will see no 'chasing the dragon' here. This is perhaps partly because of the family appeal the series was aiming for.Born July 19th 1935 his most famous works before Sherlock Holmes were to be had in the animated world, lending his voice to the classic Soviet cartoon Karlson on the Roof (adapted from the original Swedish version). It is said he was chosen for the role as he looked similar to the illustrations by Sidney Paget in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
Vasily is still living in Moscow today.
Dr Watson
Played by Vitaly Solomin
Dr Watson is portrayed by Vitaly Solomin, somewhat younger looking that the Dr Watson's we are used too! Born on the 12th December 1941 to a family of professional musicians in Chita, Vitaly debuted his film career in 1963 but like Vasily he was best known for his work in the Sherlock Holmes series.Again the role of Watson was thought fitting for Vitaly as he resembled the illustrations of Sidney Paget.
Vitaly died of a stroke on the 27th May 2002
See the first episode
The translation here is not the orignal DVD one and credit should be given to rudolphreindeer86 for his work on this.
curated content from YouTube
Buy Russian Sherlock Holmes Stuff
I can source all of the Russian Sherlock Holmes DVDs, direct from Russia. Just leave me a comment below and I will get back to you. Or if there is something on Ebay it will be shown below.
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KimGiancaterino Jul 14, 2009 @ 7:53 pm | delete
- This sounds really interesting. I agree with you about Jeremy Brett. He is a fantastic Sherlock Holmes.
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by PBman4U
PBman4U
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