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London 1914. Mining engineer Richard Hannay (a dashing Rupert Penry-Jones) is deathly bored, but his life is about to pick up some when a freelance spy is killed in his apartment and Hannay must elude the police before he is tried for a murder he did not commit. And that's just the first 10 minutes of this briskly paced espionage thriller based on John Buchan's novel that inspired the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock classic. Comparisons are inevitable and unfortunate, because except for a few missteps (the most grievous being heavy-handed narration that hammers home what viewers already know), this is still a ripping yarn and a fine romance between Hannay and Victoria Sinclair (Lydia Leonard), a suffragette who gets over her initial dislike of the chauvinistic Hannay ("Prehistoric bore!") to help him identify a British traitor and foil a German spy ring. Sticklers may balk at some glaring anachronisms, but rather than carp about the biplane that bears down on Hannay with machine guns blazing, it is better to smile at the playful homage to Hitchcock's North by Northwest. --Donald Liebenson
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
39 steps,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: 39 Steps (DVD)
REALLY ENJOYED THIS DVD. i LIKE TRUE STORIES AS WE CAN LEARN A BIT ABOUT HISTORY. WOULD RECOMMEND THIS DVD TO OTHERS
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good fun,
By
This review is from: 39 Steps (DVD)
RPJ is fabulous but the movie leaves many loose ends, and the final scene is not convincing!
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.1 out of 5 stars (30 customer reviews) 55 of 58 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Plot and Counter-Plot..,
By D. S. Thurlow - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: 39 Steps (DVD)
Diplomat, intelligence officer, and adventure writer John Buchan's superb 1915 thriller "The 39 Steps" has been recreated several times on the big and small screens, most famously in Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 movie. The 2008 BBC production is now available on DVD. It stars Rupert Penry-Jones, familiar to PBS fans as Captain Wentworth in 2007's "Persuasion", as Richard Hannay, a resourceful Scottish mining engineer just returned from South Africa to the United Kingdom in 1914, as tensions rise with an aggressive Imperial Germany.At loose ends, Hannay encounters a British Secret Service agent on the run, who imparts a notebook full of coded messages before being murdered in Hannay's London apartment. Sought by the police and the mysterious men who framed him, Hannay flees to Scotland. There, he manages to decode enough of the notebook to realize a deadly foreign conspiracy is afoot against Britain, and sets out to expose the conspirators and clear himself. The story features a complicated espionage plot, some terrific location shooting in Scotland, an exciting action sequence involving a biplane (reminiscent of "North By Northwest"), and an unlikely but charming romance with a fiesty suffragette named Victoria Sinclair (Lydia Leonard). This version of "The 39 Steps" is loosely based on the John Buchan original, as re-imagined by screenwriter Lizzie Mickery. It includes some new story elements, such as a two-part ending and Hannay's relationship with Victoria Sinclair. Viewer opinions may well depend on their attachment to earlier versions. This reviewer suggests enjoying "The 39 Steps" on its own terms for best results. 24 of 26 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Few outdo the British in mystery thrillers,
By Grady Harp - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: 39 Steps (DVD)
THE 39 STEPS is one classy movie! There are few who can pull off this mixture of humor, suspense, intrigue, and subterfuge the way the best of the British films can. Lizzie Mickery's screenplay adaptation of John Buchan's novel tosses in a few unexpected ingredients and makes this early 1900s story blossom with suspense, hilarity, derring-do, and wonderful one-liners. Director James Hawes paces the film so that there is never a dull moment in this chase toward staving off Germany's entry into England in 1914. The acting is first rate and the cinematography (abetted by the beauty of Scotland) is sumptuous.The story is both simple and complex - simple in that it is a case of British gentleman Richard Hannay (Rupert Penry-Jones) falling upon an intruder (a spy who is murdered after passing a secret booklet containing codes regarding German information about meetings and proposed invasions in Richard's hands) who begins his moments of chase and intrigue as he attempts to save Britain from war. Complex as along the way he encounters a suffragette Victoria Sinclair (Lydia Leonard) and her brother Hellory (Patrick Kennedy) and uncle Sir George (David Haig) all of whom play an integral part in the caper of the story. The entire cast of German spies and British counterparts is excellent and the story moves along with sufficient twists and turns (and a touch of romance) until a rather surprise ending. Part of the joy of these British whodunnits is the elegance of the language and the manner in which the story unfolds - with just enough escapes and frightful incidents balanced by smart dialogue. Rupert Penry-Jones is a first class actor whose reputation should be assured with this film. Highly Recommended for those rainy nights at home...Grady Harp, March 10 16 of 18 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Steps up to the plate..,
By tmp "snippy reviewer" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: 39 Steps (DVD)
Having seen and loved (and owning) Hitchcock's masterful 1935 version I wasn't sure that this was going to be all that. Happily I can write that this is all that and more. Covering the plight of one Richard Hannay, a Mining Engineer back in London from Africa on the eve of World War One and voice-overing that his life is just too dull. In one of those "watch what you wish for" deals, he's within minutes on the run from both the police who think he murdered the freelance spy who invaded his apartment asking for help and the German spies determined to get the notebook said spy left on him.The film does have nods to Hitch's original: the milkman (in a delightful twist), the servant girl charmed by our man Hannay, new play on "Mr Memory" and a great nod to both "North by Northwest" and the helicopter scene in the original with an armed bi-plane. If you want to be didactic then there are some inaccuracies: most of the cars used are later than the period. But in this case I say get over it and enjoy the twists on both the book and the Hitchcock version. Heck, get both and have a double feature! |
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