The 39 Steps [1978] [DVD]

It digresses wildly from the book but I still love it. It's fast paced, exciting and crammed with brilliant performances from first-rate actors; Robert Powell, John Mills, Eric Porter, David Warner and a brief appearance by Timothy West. Hannay's escape over the moors, pursued by both spies and the police, infuses wide-open spaces with tense claustrphobia. The final scene at Big Ben is totally implausible but still exciting. Powell captures the essence of Richard Hannay so well, courageous and chivalrous with an impeccable sense of right and wrong. As a lifelong fan of Buchan's original I often wonder if a true adaptation will ever be made, with the hold-your-breath ending and the real thirty-nine steps but, despite its many deviations, this is a cracking adventure which I can watch again and again.

I once thought that this was the best version of the excellent thriller, though recall my dad saying that the original did not have its finale on Big Ben. While this is set in 1914 as per the novel and unlike the previous films, and that has to be a plus, most of the rest of it is hard to recognise from Buchan's novel - there's no literary innkeeper, roadman, bald archaeologist et al. There's even a female character here!! Still, it captures the spirit of the story and is pretty well paced with lots more murders thrown in, decentish music and a satisfying conclusion.

Rented this for my husband to watch because he wanted to decide which version is his favourite (not this one as it turns out). It was good I thought, interesting to see all the actors in it who were famous then but not so much any more. I haven't read the book so do not know how closely it stuck to the original tale.

The Scottish Highland scenes and quirky Ben Ben film climax made an impact on me when I was much younger but now I see not all is so positive. The plot is unrealistic and the continual totally ruthless brutal theme I found rather disturbing. I could not fault the standard of the acting though.

I love John Buchan This screen version is set in the right time on the eve of the first World War and Robert Powell is a fine actor who captures the essence of John Buchan's late Edwardian hero.The film gives us a rattling great yarn.Thrills and spills aplenty without taking itself too seriously.A family treat.Wonderful costumes, old vehicles and fantastic scenery. What more could you want?Well okay 4 stars only because the ending is a little too fanciful.The novel's ending is better. But what the heck.Lopping a star may be churlish!

There are a couple of versions - this is definitely the best - lots of suspense without making it too complicated to try and remember who the baddies are

Wanted to watch this again as not seen it since the eighties. It's only SD and the encoding is bad for first 5 minutes of the film due to the scenes being shot in low light in the fog. After that the quality is OK.

Great DVD transfer to the widescreen and Robert Powell is a delight and at his best appearance wise. However, it appears to me that he is unsure at times how to play this role, whether straight or for laughs. The best part? The extra feature "On Location" in which a more recent, and relaxed, Powell takes us on a tour of filming locations, and compares the three different film versions of this story. Lots of fun. If you are a Robert Powell fan, don't miss this.