Vertigo doesn't need Lowry Digital Images' work.

It's been properly restored... in fact, a scene or two which looked awful in the '96 restoration have since been digitally repaired by Cinesite and re-inserted into the restoration negative.

Besides, only a few of LDI's projects were even initiated with the purpose of being film restorations. The rest are for home presentation or digital projection. This is why I'm glad they didn't take too long to switch to 2K and 4K restoration... they can actually create new digital intermediate negatives for the really battered films. Imagine what they could do for Hitchcock's British films which are often presented in less than optimal conditions.


Also, Psycho is a 1.85:1 film. Hitchcock switched to 1.85:1 starting with The Trouble With Harry and stuck to that filming ratio for the rest of his career. (Rear Window was shot for 1.66:1 and I'm pretty sure The Wrong Man is 1.85:1 as well, though).

Regarding Psycho, looking into it some more I'll concede that the movie was probably meant for some form of theatrical matting. However, I do believe the existing DVD is simply matted incorrectly. The famous wide shot of the house at the top of the hill is missing the top of the house! There are also numerous shots inside Norman's room where important parts of the picture (like his stuffed birds) are awkwardly cropped.

As I recall from previous video editions, some of the shots in the shower scene are hard-matted to 1.66:1. I would propose that as a better ratio to present the movie in.

More importantly, however...Does anyone know if the topless scene of Janet Leigh in the shower (with the black bar on the bottom part of the screen) exists in its original form?

The shot was hard-matted in camera. That part of the frame was never exposed to light.

She was wearing a flesh-colored body stocking, anyway.