cimorene

the hound of the baskervilles is a very gothic tale and a really enjoyable read, imo. i liked the novel for itself but i also adored the slashiness which manifests a couple of times. now, this movie version uses not david burke but his replacement edward hardwicke as doctor watson, which was an affront i couldn't get over through the whole thing. hardwicke simply doesn't have burke's chemistry with brett. my mother scoffs that i'm saying i don't like it because it's not as slashy, but that's not true. i mean, holmes and watson's chemistry is undeniable, though it's widely considered to be merely the chemistry of close friends. 'intimate friends,' as holmes would say. well, this watson does not seem to be particularly intimate with holmes.

that said, it's an excellent movie. it follows watson's point of view, but it's not at all boring; the scenery is beautiful, the mysteriousness very well done, all the casting brilliant except hardwicke's, and i found myself, by the end, liking him despite my prejudice (and i still don't think he looks like watson).

my favorite scene in the novel has nearly all the onscreen tension i could wish, but not quite. like many f/s scenes in rotk, it made me happy, but not happy enough.

high points: the glimpses of holmes in hiding, which tend to show only black leather gloves (RAR) and his boots. also the cuteness of sir henry baskerville and of dr. mortimer. many plot points which belong to the story itself--the entymologist, the wacky baskerville butler, the pathologically litigious neighbor, the fallen woman in the next town over. the scene on the moor where holmes and watson are reunited.
low points: the scene on the moor where holmes and watson are reunited.
other: dr. mortimer's dog! AW. SOCUTE.