Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
The Thirty-Nine Steps (1978)
Director: Don Sharp
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Though boasting a greater period fidelity to John Buchan's novel than either the Hitchcock entertainment or its dire Ralph Thomas remake, and blessed with the resonant image of Powell hanging from the face of Big Ben in an attempt to make time stand still, this blows its coherence as a thriller by a ramshackle construction of gimmicky set pieces and a nostalgic sheen of BBC costume drama proportions. Strangely enough, archetypal British hero Richard Hannay had been better served, placed and analysed on TV in Mark Shivas' almost contemporaneous adaptation of The Three Hostages: here he merely rushes from pillar to post to avert the inevitable outbreak of World War I (and the 20th century) by a matter of days.Author: PT
Cast & crew
Director: Don Sharp
Producer: Greg Smith
Cast: Robert Powell, David Warner, Eric Porter, Karen Dotrice, John Mills, George Baker, Ronald Pickup, Timothy West full cast
Duration: 102 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Kings of Comedy?
As Russell Crowe prepares a Bill Hicks biopic, we ask which Hollywood bigshots could play comedians
Juliette Binoche: interview
The great French actress Juliette Binoche discusses film and painting with Dave Calhoun
An A-Z of classic movie cameos
As Tom Cruise makes a 'surprise' appearance in 'Tropic Thunder', Time Out presents our rundown of classic cameos
The Coens' 'Burn after Reading': review
Pitt and Clooney star in the Coen brothers' latest, 'Burn After Reading', which opened the 2008 Venice film festival
Guy Ritchie on ‘RocknRolla’
Wally Hammond talks to Guy Ritchie about his latest film, ‘RocknRolla’ which sees him safely back in his old manor among the familiar carnival of villains, scams and high-octane spills and thrills
Saul Dibb on ‘The Duchess’
Dave Calhoun discovers from director Saul Dibb that his latest, 'The Duchess’ is far from your typical aristos-in-love movie








What do you think?
Post your review now