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List Price: $39.95Amazon.com's Price: $29.99 You Save: $9.96 (25%)Prices subject to change.
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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: Unrated
Binding: DVD
Brand: Image Entertainment
EAN: 9780780021969
Format: Black & White, DVD-Video, Special Edition, NTSC
ISBN: 0780021967
Label: Criterion
Manufacturer: Criterion
Number Of Items: 1
Picture Format: Academy Ratio
Publisher: Criterion
Region Code: 1
Release Date: November 02, 1999
Running Time: 86 minutes
Sales Rank: 9387
Studio: Criterion
Theatrical Release Date: August 01, 1935
Editorial Review:
Description:
The best known of Hitchcock’s British films, this civilized spy yarn follows the escapades of Richard Hannay (Robert Donat), who stumbles into a conspiracy that involves him in a hectic chase across the Scottish moors—a chase in which he is both the pursuer and the pursued. Adapted from John Buchan’s novel, this classic Hitchcock 'wrong man' thriller encapsulates themes that anticipate the director’s biggest American films (especially North by Northwest), and is a standout among his early works.
Amazon.com essential video:
Hitchcock's first great romantic thriller is a prime example of the MacGuffin principle in action. Robert Donat is Richard Hannay, an affable Canadian tourist in London who becomes embroiled in a deadly conspiracy when a mysterious spy winds up murdered in Hannay's rented flat--and both the police and a secret organization wind up hot on his trail. With only a seemingly meaningless phrase ('the 39 steps'), a small Scottish town circled on a map, and a criminal mastermind identified by a missing finger as clues, quick-witted Hannay eludes police and spies alike as he works his way across the countryside to reveal the mystery and clear his name. At one point he finds himself making his escape manacled to blonde beauty Pamela (Madeleine Carroll), whose initial antagonism is smoothed by Hannay's charm and the sheer rush of her thrilling chase. It's classic Hitchcock all the way, a seemingly effortless balance of romance and adventure set against a picturesque landscape populated by eccentrics and social-register smoothies, none of whom is what he or she appears to be. Hitchcock would play similar games of innocents plunged into deadly conspiracies, most delightfully in North by Northwest, but in this breezy 1935 classic, Hitch proves that, as in any quest, the object of the search isn't nearly as satisfying as the journey. --Sean Axmaker
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Spies and a Dash of Romance
This tremendously entertaining spy film from director Alfred Hitchcock's British period set the standard for all man-on-the-run films. Based on John Buchan's novel of an innocent Canadian tourist in Britain thrust unexpectedly into the world of spies, it's hard to find a better one than this.
Robert Donat is the Canadian, Richard Hanney, who gets more than he's bargained for when a woman named Annabella Smith (Lucie Mannheim) in fear for her life is killed in his flat after revealing ... Read More
Rating:  - The 86 Minutes
I was really looking forward to this movie since this Criterion dvd is rather costly and a rerelease with a flawless screening seemed like the perfect way to be introduced to this so-called Hitchcock classic. It's a real shame the film ends up being so damn twee.
The main problem is that the film is just too quaint. None of the bad guys feel like a real threat and are frequently fooled by Hanney's simple tricks, the stakes aren't exactly high and the MacGuffin is surely Hitchcock's lamest. ... Read More
Rating: - Hitchcock Genius, Criterion Perfection
A glittering restoration of a classic masterpiece, it belongs on the shelf of any Hitchcock enthusiast, beside the equally pristine Criterion "The Lady Vanishes." One can only hope for future titles, such as "The Lodger" and "Blackmail," to make it into these capable technicians' hands. The Master would have been pleased.
Rating:  - Hitchcock at his finest
This is one of my favorite old films. The story is still relevant, absent cell phones, computers and GPS electronics. I also think the acting is good, especially that of Madeleine Carrol. I have read reviews critical of Robert Donat in this part, but I think he's great. The real star is Alfred Hitchcock. His directing and angles of shots is superb. The DVD copy is good and I'll watch it often.
Rating: - Hitchcock's Version - No Slavish Adaptation by the Master
Alfred Hitchcock's movie version of John Buchan's "39 Steps" is a good example of how a movie director can take as his source material a novel and radically alter it to make it into a completely different kettle of fish. He added two important female characters, love interest, comic touches, a good musical score, and a denouement that is better than his source material. What do you do if you are Richard Hannay, and you bring a woman home to your apartment, and she turns out to be spy who ends up with a ... Read More
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