The 39 Steps (2008)

Just what I expected

good back-story, and good acting

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The film was very entertaining (loved the homage to Hitchcock) and great to watch. I not going to write a synopsis but it was enjoyable. I've purchased a DVD and have watched it 5 times. Each time I've watched it, there is something new I saw: for instance, the heroine, who was driving, left the car running when they ran up the stairs to go back to the castle to search for the 39 Steps :)Masterpiece Theatre has great stories to offer. Each time the Masterpiece comes on, I have to watch in case it's something really interesting that catches my "fancy". This one did! The setting is in England first, but moves to Scotland - home of my great grandparents. The scenery is beautiful and looks VERY cold since some of the exterior shots show their breath as the actors talk. I loved the train scenes - especially the ventriloquist and "dummy" who helped the Hero escape the police. All in all, it's a great trip of story line to whisk a person away from daily trials and mean people.

Absolute drivel. The only resemblance between this rubbish and the book or the early movie is the name. Rubbish.They have lost all the mystery of the "39 steps".Right from the beginning it is leaves the John Buchan story. There is no interplay between Scudder and Hannay over a number of days. Just murder within minutes.Where did the girl come from. Holllywoid claptrap.Where is all the drama of the different chases???It wasn't the Archduke Ferdinand hat was assassinated in the story. It was someone from Turkey who was murdered in London.!I cannot believe that they tried to call this 39 Steps!,,

After reading some of these reviews, I feel quite lucky that I had neither the Hitchcock film (which I couldn't remember) nor the original book (which I never read) by Buchan against which to compare it. Because taken on its own merit, without these other versions looming in the mind, I found this to be completely enjoyable, stylish and fun. The lead guy, (Robert Penry-Jones) is GORGEOUS and I think all the reviews in which his performance and charm were attacked had to have been written by (straight) men! I found him to perfectly embody that slightly stiff repressed sexuality of the old-fashioned English gentleman, who has a simmering core beneath his mastery of social niceties. The gal (Lydia Leonard) was great too and as a woman, I really appreciated that her personality and intelligence were highlighted over her looks, so the film also had a clever and delightful reversal of typical gender roles that gave me a big chuckle. There were many humorous touches to the film such as a nice nod to Hitchcock by paying homage to a famous scene from a different film, "North by Northwest", by including a chase scene featuring a bi-plane bearing down on our hero as he dashes about trying to dodge bullets from above. This was a really cute addition to "The 39 Steps" because of course "North by Northwest" has a similar plot; it is also a tale of a man being mixed up with/mistaken for a government agent and has numerous exciting pursuit sequences with incredible scenery. In fact, I would argue that "North by Northwest" was probably more of the inspiration for the style of this remake, although the plot details were adapted from "The 39 Steps". I find that the filmmakers therefore made a very interesting choice that is surprisingly post-modern. It exemplifies "inter-textuality" or the shaping of texts meanings by other texts, done in film. The only mainstream filmmaker I can think of who is really doing this is Charlie Kaufman ("Adaptation" "Synechdoche") and his films aren't necessarily always that enjoyable (though I loved "Being John Malkovich"). So I think this was a great success because it was highly enjoyable and didn't push such intellectual ideas; rather it playfully evoked key moments in film history, challenged male/female stereotypes, had a believable and sparky love story with attractive leads, beautiful production values, outdoor scenery, period clothes/cars etcetera (like only the BBC can do), all plugged in to well-known historical events (the Suffragette movement, the murder of Ferdinand), that gave the story authenticity. Real shame about the end therefore. Although the critical comments on this site about the plausibility are mere quibble (for example: "the dead German who couldn't shoot straight when he was conscious" who "kills" Victoria was obviously a double-double agent who was only pretending to be dead and was shooting blanks in a carefully choreographed routine in order to send Victoria back deep under cover and not get distracted by romance.Duh!), such critiques being taken care of I still thought it was just a shitty choice to make because emotional betrayal on that level - I mean letting your exciting new lover (did I mention he is GORGEOUS?) with whom you've just survived a life or death challenge, in no small part thanks to him, swim around in a freezing cold lake in tears for hours looking for your dead body when you are actually safely in the secure underwater secret service pod (or whatever; this was never explained which I also found sloppy) drinking cocoa and brandy - is NOT something easily forgiven, I would think. No matter how patriotic someone is! It would have been way better if, when the cold-hearted bitch turns up to smile enigmatically at him from the doorway of the train station FOUR MONTHS LATER, he had simply flipped her the bird and then walked off in another direction where we see him being joined by some sex-on-legs redhead with a figure like Jessica Rabbit, one of which lower appendages she curls around Hannay's calf, her stiletto dangling off her heel as they lip-lock in a crushing embrace during which he winks at Victoria. Pan to Victoria's crumpled face in the doorway seconds before it's obscured by a passing train. THE END. But apart from the absence of my fantasy ending, it was still a jolly good show! Just did a bit of research and found out the filmmaker was a woman which perhaps explains why she turned some conventions regarding "the hero" on their head. I say well done to Lizzie Mickery.

Shades of Robert Donat, Kenneth More and Robert Powell hover over this festive production from the BBC of John Buchan's classic novel, heck I can't even get Michael Palin's brilliant "Ripping Yarns" spoof out of my head, but it entertained pretty much all the way by taking itself just seriously enough without reverting to knowing post-modern sarcasm or worse yet campness. This is a "Boy's Own Adventure" and can only ever work by playing it straight. Don't mess with the Buchan in other words! Rupert Penry-Jones makes a fine Hannay, good looking, muscular if oddly blonde (the perfect Aryan specimen, ironically enough!) and interacts well with Lydia Leonard as the resourceful suffragette-cum-spy Victoria. I really liked Eddie Marson as the rent collector in the BBC's recent "Little Dorrit" dramatisation and so felt a little short-changed with his early demise. Of course the story is one long chase stopping only long enough for the various action or suspense-punctuating set-pieces and I rather liked the fact that these were accomplished without SFX or CGEN tricks.I last read the book years and years ago so can't state for certain how faithful to source this was, (I only recall the political meeting episode from the novel if truth be told) but otherwise was perfectly happy to sit back, admire the glorious Scottish scenery, ancient cars period costumes and see True-Brit spunk and ingenuity triumph over the evil Bosche. The plot is of course wholly unbelievable and barely hangs together (including to top things off, a literally death-defying recovery by Victoria at the end to complete the happy ending), but just swallow an improbability pill beforehand and enjoy.There are a couple of respectful references to Hitchcock scattered about (there must be people out there who think the original Hannay was a Hitch original, so ingrained in the memory is the Robert Donat/Madeleine Carroll film prototype) although quite how "North By North-West's" crop-duster scene found its way in here I'm not sure and perhaps more could have been made of the handcuff-scene, treated much more cheekily by the Master 70 odd years ago.Nevertheless, I'll take this standard "Tally-Ho!" British fare over Indiana Jones any old day and hope there's a follow-up of sorts as I for one would welcome a revolt into style away from big-budget effects-fests in favour of more homespun dramas like this, tongue-in-cheek or not...