Countdown to Cannes 2010: The Films: PSYCHO

So here it is, the final choice for this year's ten most important films showing at Cannes. And for me, it's a bit of a self-indulgence.

As announced at our friends' HeyUGuys, this year's Cannes Classics programme will include a new Universal/Audionamix restoration of Alfred Hitchcock€™s classic 'Psycho' (1960). Added nerdy excitement will no doubt come with the news that this newly restored version will also feature a restored and reconstructed soundtrack, and we have already had one debate here at OWF questionning whether the original score can really be bettered. I can only hope that the changes are minimal, and that "reconstructed" in this context means really recomposed in places, and not recut entirely, as

The screening has been set up to celebrate the forthcoming Universal blu-ray release of 'Psycho' which is set to hit shelves this Autumn, and will undoubtedly become an instant must-buy for fans of the high-def format. Hopefully, the Cannes Classic screening will offer some early indication of the quality of the transfer, though the full effect will only be achieved when the blu-ray comesout.

As if you needed it, here's the synopsis (the best fan-written version from IMDB in fact):

Marion Crane is a Phoenix, Arizona working girl fed up with having to sneak away during lunch breaks to meet her lover, Sam Loomis, who cannot get married because most of his money goes towards alimony. One Friday, Marion's employer asks her to take $40,000 in cash to a local bank for deposit. Desperate to make a change in her life, she impulsively leaves town with the money, determined to start a new life with Sam in California. As night falls and a torrential rain obscures the road ahead of her, Marion turns off the main highway. Exhausted from the long drive and the stress of her criminal act, she decides to spend the night at the desolate Bates Motel. The motel is run by Norman Bates, a peculiar young man dominated by his invalid mother. After Norman fixes her a light dinner, Marion goes back to her room for a shower....

How could we ignore one of Hitchcock's best, and probably the most famous scene (and score) in film history?

Reasons to be Excited

- The potential of an experience like seeing 'Psycho' respendant on a big screen with a captive, and utterly passionate audience cannot be bettered as far as Im concerned.

-That wonderful offer of a newly reconstructed and restored score. If only for the intrigue of how well it has been handled.

- It's 'Psycho' for God's sake! That says it all.