Alfred Hitchcock’s Only R-Rated Film ‘Frenzy’ Gets 4K Restoration

The master of suspense is finally getting a 4K restoration for his final film.

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Alfred Hitchcock’s “Frenzy,” which was also his sole R-rated feature , is being released at the Film Forum to celebrate its restoration. “Frenzy” stars Jon Finch, Barbara Leigh-Hunt, and Barry Foster; the feature is an adaptation of novel “Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Square,” released by Arthur La Bern in 1966. “Sleuth” playwright Anthony Shaffer adapted the book for Hitchcock’s 1972 film, which was Hitchcock’s second to last feature.

“Frenzy” follows a down-on-his-luck ex-Royal Air Force officer (Finch) who is on the run amid accusations of being The Necktie Strangler after his ex-wife is found dead. “Frenzy” is billed as Hitchcock’s penultimate film, and his first feature made in London after thirty years .

The official logline teases that “Frenzy” is Hitchcock’s “return to fiendish form and his most salacious, sordid picture.”

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Hitchcock worked with Stanley Kubrick collaborators Gilbert Taylor and Anthony Harvey, who both worked on Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove.” Taylor is the cinematographer of “Frenzy,” with Harvey editing. The feature also includes an original score by Ron Goodwin. Henry Mancini was infamously originally hired by Hitchcock to score the film, but Hitchcock did not approve of his score and instead hired Goodwin. “Frenzy” is a Universal Pictures release.

Hitchcock’s full filmography was at the center of 2022 documentary “My Name Is Alfred Hitchcock,” which the IndieWire review compared to Rodney Ascher’s “Room 237” about Kubrick’s “The Shining.” As IndieWire announced , a new documentary based on creating the Overlook Hotel for “The Shining” is being released by the Stanley Kubrick Film Archive and family estate. “Shine On – The Forgotten ‘Shining’ Location” will premiere on the official Stanley Kubrick YouTube channel on Friday, July 26 to commemorate the late filmmaker’s birthday. The feature captures the location scouting and making of the art direction for the Overlook Hotel at Elstree Studios.

“Frenzy” will premiere in a new 4K restoration at Film Forum in New York City, screening from Friday, August 23 through Thursday, August 29.