Plein Soleil is a striking study of a glamorous and complex psychopath from Oscar-winning French director René Clément (Forbidden Games, Is Paris Burning?), featuring a career-defining turn from a young, beautiful, ultra-cool Alain Delon.

In celebration of the centenary of director René Clément, a beautiful new restoration of Plein Soleil, starring Alain Delon, is released in cinemas on 30 August 2013. The film was the first adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s best-selling novel The Talented Mr. Ripley. Dennis Hopper and Matt Damon have also both appeared as Tom Ripley onscreen (in films by Wim Wenders and Anthony Minghella respectively), but arguably neither match up to the ice-cold portrayal by a then 24 year-old Delon, in the role that made him a star. Highsmith was herself pleased with the film and described it as "very beautiful to the eye and interesting for the intellect."

Henri Decaë (The 400 Blows, Lift to the Scaffold, Bob le Flambeur, Les bonnes femmes) was responsible for the glorious sun-drenched cinematography in Plein Soleil, restored here to all its former glory, alongside a wonderfully unsettling score composed by Nino Rota (The Godfather, The Godfather: Part II, La Dolce Vita, 8½, The Leopard).

René Clément was one of France’s great post-World War II era directors. Studying as an architect originally, it was at the Ecole-des-Beaux-Arts that he developed an interest in filmmaking. In 1936 he directed his first film – a short written by and starring Jacques Tati. Responsible for documentaries in the 1930's following the second world war he made his first feature the critically and commercially successful La Battaile du Rail. He twice won Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film – including Forbidden Games, along with many other awards throughout his career. 

A beautiful new version financed by Studiocanal in association with the Cinémathèque Française, and with the Franco-American Cultural Fund’s support. 
 L’Immagine Ritrovata, a laboratory in Bologna, handled the restoration work. The restoration premiered in Cannes this May. 

Advanced purchase tickets: http://www.wegottickets.com/event/232865