Christie encourages the premiere of the restored version of 'The Enemy of Blondes'' de Hitchcock

A Christie CP Series 2K DLP Cinema projector, supplied and operated by Motion Picture Solutions, has been used in the world premiere of the new restoration of The Lodger ('The enemy of blondes') screened at the Barbican Center as part of the retrospective 'The Genius of Hitchcock'’ programmed by the British Film Library (BFI).

After three years of work, the British Film Archive (BFI) has restored nine silent films by director Alfred Hitchcock, rounds between 1925 y 1929, that are being screened in London as part of the cultural program parallel to the Olympic Games. These nine restored pieces, little known by viewers, are screened as part of the retrospective 'The Genius of Hitchcock', the most complete dedicated to the artist, which includes films like 'The Blackmail',- ‘The Pleasure Garden’, ‘The Ring’ o ‘The Lodge’ (The enemy of blondes), whose world premiere has been projected at the Barbican Center using a projector Christie 2K DLP Cinema from the CP Series, with a new score by British composer of Asian origin Nitin Sawhney, performed live by the London Symphony Orchestra and Nitin Sawhney's band.

‘The Lodger’ is a thriller filmed against the backdrop of a foggy London, and with the performance of the matinee idol of the time Ivor Novello. This is the longest screening in the project about the British director developed by the BFI.

Following the success of last year's collaboration with Motion Picture Solutions, when the BFI's Christie 2K cinema projector was used to project a special digital copy of 2001: Stanley Kubrick's Space Odyssey at the Royal Festival Hall (accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic), This same projector has been used again for the Hitchcock season, while two Christie 2K projectors have been purchased for this purpose.

Restoration of Hitchcock's silent films

In collaboration with Deluxe 142, The BFI has spent three years working on restoring Hitchcock's nine surviving silent films.. This work has been duly carried out by the BFI Archive and Deluxe. Color hue and tint were precisely recreated to match the film originals. The conformal scans were digitally restored to remove defects such as scratches, deformations, fluctuations, mold and damaged frames.

After a final review exam with the BFI, a color digital negative or black and white polyester 35 Fully restored mm was recorded to film frame by frame using the latest laser film recorders. Display copies of the new restoration were made along with a 2K data file of all scans and restored files, as well as a digital cinema package and TV masters.

Retrospective ‘The Genius of Hitchcock’

Newly restored copies of 'Downhill', ‘Easy Virtue’, ‘Champagne’, ‘The Farmer’s Wife’ y ‘The Manxman’ (including screenings of 'The Pleasure Garden', ‘Blackmail’, ‘The Ring’) and an expanded copy of 'The Lodger’ have been presented as part of the major Hitchcock retrospective at the BFI Southbank, all projected using the exhibitor's Christie CP2000/CP2000-XB projectors. The BFI Southbank has enjoyed a fruitful relationship with Christie over the last decade, starting with the first generation of the X4 Roadster. Since then, has adopted every generation of new Christie DCI-compatible cinema projectors.

The person in charge of technical services at the BFI, Richard Boyd, confirms that BFI Southbank will soon install Christie's 2K and 4K platforms in its four cinemas.