Igor Maslennikov merges Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s novel The Sign of the Four and his story “A Scandal in Bohemia” to create the fourth film in his Sherlock Holmes cycle, The Treasures of Agra. Here, Holmes ruminates on having matched wits with Irene Adler, an American opera singer at the center of a potential scandal involving the hereditary King of Bohemia. With Adler still occupying his mind, Holmes investigates the case of Mary Morstan, who searches for her missing father, an unknown benefactor who sends her a single pearl annually, and a missing family treasure. Holmes traces the mystery back to grudges originating in colonial India, while Watson tries to keep his growing emotions for their client in check. Culminating with a steam launch chase, The Treasures of Agra deftly blends locked-room murders and exotic detail with romantic longing, requited and unrequited.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: The Treasures of Agra
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson
Eclipse is a selection of lost, forgotten, or overshadowed classics in simple, affordable editions. Each series is a brief cinematheque retrospective for the adventurous home viewer.
Produced by Soviet Central Television between 1979 and 1986 at Lenfilm studios, Igor Maslennikov’s adaptations of the tales of Sherlock Holmes are considered national treasures still watched regularly in Russia. These 5 films, made up of 11 episodes, are generally hailed as the most faithful versions of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s original stories and count among the best portrayals of his iconic characters. Weaving multiple works into each film, Maslennikov emphasizes the friendship, humor, and camaraderie shared between Holmes and assistant Dr. John Watson, played respectively by Vasily Livanov and Vitaly Solomin. Expertly crafted, lovingly reverential, darkly suspenseful, and endearingly playful, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson is anything but elementary.
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson
After some initial discomfort as joint tenants of 221B Baker Street, Holmes and Watson work together to save a young heiress from a murder plot and are invited to assist in tracking down a mysterious killer.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson
In the only three episode film of the series, Holmes and Watson find themselves acting as criminals to defeat a blackmailer, Holmes risks mortal danger resisting the machinations of master criminal Professor James Moriarty, and Watson is identified as a suspect when a young gambler is shot dead within a locked room.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: The Hound of the Baskervilles
When a spectral hound returns to terrorize the Dartmoor countryside and threatens the safety of Sir Henry Baskerville, the sleuths take up the case and search for a rational explanation for the otherworldly creature.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: The Treasures of Agra
A young woman seeks Holmes’s assistance in finding her long missing father and embroils the detectives in a case of murder, lost treasure, and old grudges, all while stirring up memories and emotions for the fairer sex.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: The Twentieth Century Approaches
Holmes and Watson are brought out of retirement to investigate a series of minor cases that reveal a plot that threatens the tenuous peace of the entire continent.
With notes on the films by Louise McReynolds and a 1981 interview with Igor Maslennikov for Avrora magazine.
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