Showing Exclusively at the IFI

Ever the restless innovator, Hitchcock tried his hand at 3D, 1954’s latest technological sensation, by putting on screen Frederic Knott’s fiendishly constructed one-room play, wherein scheming hubby Ray Milland plans to bump off beautiful yet tantalisingly wealthy wife Grace Kelly.

Avoiding the pointy-stick excesses which often vulgarised the new format, Hitch’s approach was to use the furnishings (lamps are a favourite) and expert blocking of the actors to create an artfully calibrated sensation of stage depth, thus drawing us right into the action. Indeed, if you’ve only ever seen this vintage suspenser ‘flat’ on TV, for instance, you really haven’t seen it at all, since the designed-in dimensionality is absolutely key to our enjoyment as the twists and turns keep coming. Hitchcock afficionados – and who isn’t? – will rejoice at this restored reissue, while even 3D sceptics will have occasion to reconsider. A treat. (Notes by Trevor Johnston.)

Please note there is a €1 supplementary charge for all 3D screenings.

Programmer’s Pick: The IFI’s complete retrospective of Alfred Hitchcock’s body of work finally comes to an end with this month’s opening of Dial M For Murder in 3D. Shot and released on the format in one of its earlier incarnations, the film was unavailable for screening as Hitchcock originally intended earlier in the year, and we’re delighted to have the opportunity to do so now.