On a lighter note, Russian television has been showing episodes of the Sherlock Holmes series that was made back in the early 80s. Vasily Livanov and Vitaly Solomin starred as the intrepid duo. The program was one of the most successful in Soviet television. It pretty much covered all the short stories, which have been handsomely bound into a new annotative 2-volume set. Here's a clip from the series, with subtitles.
Ward No. 6 is a short story written by Chekhov in 1892. It has appeared in various collections of Chekhov short stories, including The Horse-Stealers and Other Stories translated by Constance Garnett in 1921. In this story, Chekhov explores the inner working of a run-down lunatic asylum in a provincial town. He introduces the readers to a coarse porter who speaks mostly with his fists, various patients, a doctor who presides over this ward, and expresses his thoughts with a local postmaster. It was recently made into a movie , featuring Vladimir Ilyin. Here's a clip . There's also this very recent short film (30 min.) by Suzana Purkovic, with English subtitles.
Sherlock Holmes and subtitles! What a terrific opening I'm going to watch the entire show tonight if it's there.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason, I've become a Sherlock Holmes junky lately. I purchased the entire Granada series with Jeremy Brett, and all the Basil Rathbone shows as well. There must be something about solving the world's problems through logic that appeals these days.
Have you seen the recent movie?
ReplyDeleteNo, I am passing on the new one. I love Robert Downey Jr. -- think he's one of the best actors out there -- but I saw the previews and it looks too much like a super hero/action film. Sort of defeats the whole idea if you have to attack the enemy with brute force and a little kung fu.
ReplyDeleteLoved the Russian version of "the beginning" though. Great scenes.
Vasily Livanov is my all time favorite Holmes!
ReplyDeleteThe series is probably the best adaptation ever :)
Thanks for dropping a line, Buddy. Love the old series.
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