The Hound of the Baskervilles (1978) {Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review}

Reviewed By Jason Lockard

The most iconic crime solver of all time is no doubt Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock and his faithful companion Dr. Watson have solved many mysteries over the years. they have also been portrayed in animation, TV and movies.

Well, in 1978 comedians Peter Cook and Dudley Moore joined forces to bring the world a comedic version of these characters in a spoof of one of the most iconic adventures. Kino Lorber joined forces with Code Red to bring us this spoof comedy on Blu-ray

It appears to be that a vicious hound is killing people in the moors. Who can possibly find out the truth behind these deaths it has to be the legendary Sherlock Holmes (Peter Cook) and Dr. Watson (Dudley Moore). The only problem is that Sherlock has been working overtime and is exhausted so he decides to switch places with Dr. Watson and lets Dr. Watson play detective as Sherlock with hilarious results.

Peter Cook, Dudley Moore & director Paul Morrissey wrote this screenplay together and there filled it with a lot of fun gags and sheer goofiness. Joining Cook and Moore is an amazing cast including, Denholm Elliott (Percy), Joan Greenwood (The Man in the White Suit), Hugh Griffith (Kind Hearts and Coronets), Irene Handl (The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes), Terry-Thomas (The Green Man), Max Wall (Jabberwocky), Kenneth Williams (the Carry On films), Roy Kinnear (How I Won the War) and Spike Milligan (The Last Remake of Beau Geste).

The Hound of the Baskervilles runs a mere 85 minutes and that is for this film's betterment. The jokes are one right after the other and they finish one and start with another. Now I must be honest that the humor in this film is more "potty humor", so this is not going to be for everyone.

I have been enjoying watching Dudley Moore films here lately. But to put this film on a par with say 'Arthur' is just completely unfair. This is not that kind of comedy. It is a comedy all it's own and should be judged on it's own merit. For fans of off color humor, they are going to love this film. But movie fans looking for just a comedy film, this may not be for you.

Now Kino Lorber and Code Red joined forces to bring this spoof comedy to Blu-ray. The film has been transferred in 1080p and is in widescreen format and in 2:35.1 aspect ratio. The audio is a DTS-HD audio 2.0.There is no signs of damage to the print that I could see. It really is an impressive looking transfer. For fans of this film, this is a tremendous print.

Now for bonus features there is English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing, always a nice bonus. And the film's trailer. I am such a sucker for those old film trailers. They were made so well back in the day. So to me this is a great bonus feature.

So if your a fan of spoof comedies or Dudley Moore you are going to want to have this in your collection. You can head over to Amazon.com and order your copy today.


Out of 4 Film Reels (4 Being the Best) Kino Lorber's Blu-ray The Hound of the Baskervilles receives...

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