Anyone who’s seen North by Northwest is aware that Alfred Hitchcock knew when to keep schtum. Some of the director’s most iconic scenes unfolded without music or dialogue. But a score can add so many things to an image; it’s no coincidence that Hitch produced his best work with Bernard Herrmann.

What happens, then, to Hitch’s early silents? Well, thanks to the BFI, they’re all getting restored with spiffing new soundtracks from the likes of Neil Brand and Soweto Kinch. And The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog possibly has the best of the lot.

DJ, composer, musician, producer and general all-round musical genius Nitin Sawhney is behind the score for this 1929 thriller – and he’s come up with a sound that blends classic Hitch with modern tricks. (Head this way to read my interview with Nitin Sawhney for Little White Lies.)

The opening numbers are full of Herrmann, from the inquisitive oboe and oom-pah brass to the driving arpeggios in the lower sections of the orchestra. But halfway through the introduction, a swathe of strings sweeps in, carrying the momentum forward with an almost Indian vibe – a splash of Sawhney’s personality to spice up the old-school style.

Photo: Benedict Johnson (via BFI) 

The other week I sat in a cold field on some grass staring at bright lights and live music into the wee small hours. No, I wasn't at T in the Park. I was watching Alfred Hitchcock's Blackmail as part of the BFI's Genius of Hitchcock season, newly restored and given a spanking new score by Neil Brand. It was a fantastic chance to watch some early, silent-era Hitchcock, something that taught me a few new things about a director I thought I knew very well.

Here are seven things I learned from watching Blackmail at the British Museum:

One of the most annoying things in the universe (immediately behind Adam Sandler) is discovering there’s a cool event happening… the day after it happened. Equally annoying is being aware that something cool is about to happen… and you’re unable to get there.

So, brace yourselves for the most frustrating blog post you'll ever read. Here are some cool film things going on in London this week/tonight/very soon/yesterday. You should try and get to all of them – unless a. you don’t live in London, or b. your self-cloning/time travel experiment went wrong and now you have no legs.

Cool Thing #1: Designing 007 @ Barbican

HE’S GOT A POWERFUL WEA-PON. HE CHARGES A MILLION A SHOT!

Let’s face it, you don’t need to hear my crap Lulu impression (again) to know what that it. And it’s at the Barbican Centre from tomorrow night – TOMORROW, THERE’S STILL TIME – complete with a load of concept art and technical drawings from Ken Adam, a first edition of The Man with the Golden Gun (a better novel than the film), some sexy automobiles (hello, Aston Martin) and, erm, that ice dragster from Die Another Day. Which presumably is there for comic relief.

The star of the show is arguably the ton of costumes on display (including Sean Connery’s Sinclair tux from Dr. No). But it goes without saying that the success of the event hinges entirely on whether they have this waiter’s suit from Tomorrow Never Dies...

Images of both Toby Jones and Anthony Hopkins have turned up on the internet recently as Hitchcock gets the Capote treatment. The question is: can you spot the difference?

Alfred Hitchcock	Alfred Hitchcock

No? Good, because neither of them have a full retrospective at the BFI this year, including the premiere of 9 restored silent films. Now stop looking at Anthony Hopkins' fake wrinkles and go book tickets.