Rating: 
Summary: Not A Great Movie At All!
Review: Choose "The Birds" over this any day. This movie was not a five-star movie! The ending was too abrupt, and the secret was hard to hear because he was talking too fast. Classic, indeed!
Rating: 
Summary: The best copy I've ever seen!
Review: I first saw 39 Steps a few years back on AMC with my son, who was 7 at the time. We missed the ending, and ever since we've both been wanting a chance to see the rest. Since then I've bought two copies on VHS that were so bad they were unwatchable. Finally, thanks to Criterion, we were able to watch it all the way through. This print is nearly pristine, which makes watching this great movie that much more enjoyable. Like each of the Criterion discs I've bought so far, this is a must-have for your collection.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: Recently I viewed the video of the AFI banquet in which Hitchcock was given the Lifetime Achievement award (and what I saw was much at odds with Donald Spoto's gloomy description of that event). What struck me most about it was the film clip included of The 39 Steps--this print appeared to be better than any video version I had seen! I own the best video copy--the remastered Home Vision edition, and what I saw presented at the banquet looked better--even though the banquet was video taped in 1979! I decided to invest in the Criterion DVD to see if I could experience what I saw in the film clip, and what I saw amazed me: it was like seeing this film for the very first time. At the risk of overstatement, for all you Hitchcock lovers out there who have not seen this edition, there really is a Hitchcock film you have not seen yet. And the Criterion extras are wonderful. This edition has made me re-evaluate this film within the Hitchcock canon. Is it Hitchcock's finest? Just maybe. There is an old dictum in the arts that often "less is more," and my impression after seeing The 39 Steps afresh is that Hitchcock did not necessarily gain all that much from more expensive budgets and higher production values. If fact he may have been suffering in the later years from what Harold Bloom calls the "anxiety of influence," only it was Hitch's own earlier films to which he was responding. Case in point: North by Northwest looks increasingly like a cynical, self-reflexive parody compared with the freshness, the brilliance, the simple honesty of The 39 Steps as presented in this edition.
Rating:
Summary: Early Hitchcock at His Best
Review: This is one of my favorite early Hitchcock movies (the other early favorite being The Lady Vanishes). Robert Donat seems to be a natural predecessor to Cary Grant in Hitchcock's movies. He's handsome and charming as he stumbles into one difficulty after another and scrapes out of each one. Hannay must elude the police on a train which happens to be stopped on a bridge, he escapes from the cluthes of a farmer who nearly turns him in to collect a reward, he runs off with his accuser (and love interest) handcuffed to his wrist, and he burst into a crowded meeting hall where he spontaneously delivers a speech of introduction for a political candidate whom he's never met. I've seen this movie on VHS and on this Criterion Collection DVD. There is no comparison. As with most of the Criterion DVD's I've seen, it is worth the price to see such a clean restoration, not to mention the extras that Criterion packs into each disc.
Rating: 
Summary: A STEP ABOVE THE REST
Review: It's no wonder that this movie is looked upon as one of Hitchcock's finest British films. With enough tons of technical acheivements (although one must remember the time that it was made) Hitch takes his audience for the ride of there life!When Donat's character is told information about spys takeing information out of the country by a mysterious woman he doesn't expect her to be killed in his flat. Of course now he police think he is the murderer and noone will beleive his story of spies. Not even the lead woman. To make matters worse, he is eventually tied to Carrol's character who has betrayed him by turning him over to what she thought was the police. One must check this out! It really is exellent British Hitchcock!
Rating: 
Summary: Ruining a good story
Review: Hitchcock's warping of Buchan's classic just can't be excused.
Rating:
Summary: Best Of His British Period
Review: This sophisticated and amusing spy melodrama is full of wit and charged with suspense under the cool, calm and assured direction from Alfred Hitchcock. It is probably his best film made during his British period prior to his coming to the United States. The hero Robert Donat was the consummate professional of his time projecting screen magnetism and genuine warmth. The innocent Donat gets pulled into espionage activities where Madeleine Carroll has him mistaken for a criminal. Mistaken identities, narrow escapes and cross-country pursuits highlight this film. This reoccurring theme and the film's dialogue set the stage for Hitchcock's future spy melodramas.
Rating:
Summary: Pure Hitchcock
Review: The 39 Steps is a prelude to North by NorthWest, Notorious, Spellbound and any other romatnic-thriller of Hitchcock's invention. It is a brilliatn film and criterions transfer of it shines. Alot of people say that Gone With The Wind set the bench mark for snappy dialogue but it is truly this film. The banter between the two leads is pure genius and the exterior shots are breathtaking. This film is even better than North by Northwesr for the pure fact that the acting seem to flow more easily. In North by Northwest the film is pure fantasy all popping colors and Grant looking at ease in every situation of danger. but in The 39 Steps Donat seems more believeable and the fact that the film seem to have the film-noir touch only helps in the drama of it all. This film is poerfect in my opnion and I own more than my share of cinema.
Rating:
Summary: Vintage Espionage Thriller -- A Timeless Classic!
Review: This is one of Hitchcock's early films, although time has been kind to this classic, it is not at all dated. There is a sense of mystery lasting throughout this movie; only at the very end is the final clue to a logical explanation provided. Later Hitchcock classics focus not on "who dunnit", but rather on "how's he gonna get caught?". Still the signature of the master is all over this beautiful piece of film-making. In 1935 this was the biggest grossing US cinema release ever, breaking all previous box office records, a remarkable feat for a British production. This is a must-see for Hitchcock fans. The DVD version has many extra perks which add to the enjoyment of this gem.
Rating:
Summary: They don't make them like this anymore
Review: I don't consider myself the biggest Hitchcock fan, though i did enjoy vertigo, this has to be favourate. Beuatifully filmed (look out for that helicopter) with some great twists and turns, this is probably one of the best chase films in quite some tome. Despite its age its very fast paced and also very funny, something of a rariety in most of Hitchcock's flicks. Extremely brittish, and extremely well written and acted, it has to be one of the best brittish films ever made (definitely topping the third man in my list) along side an ending to die for, what more needs to be said. Buy, watch and enjoy.
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