Alfred Hitchcock’s lively, imaginative 1929 pioneering thriller is remarkable as Britain’s first talking picture. It’s a treasured relic of a bygone era. A highly impressive piece of work considering its age and filming difficulties, Blackmail is a slightly rickety but still gripping experience for today’s audiences. It is a striking piece of work visually and of course the quintessential Hitchcock story is still involving because it is very adult, ‘modern’ and full of the director’s disturbing preoccupations. — Derek Winnert