First look at Anthony Hopkins as Alfred Hitchcock

Hitchcock , Sacha Gervasi's forthcoming biopic of the legendary filmmaker, has released a first official image giving us a first look at Anthony Hopkins as the Master of Suspense.

Straight off the bat you'd have to say that Hopkins looks utterly unrecognisable under all that makeup. It's also a pretty decent likeness of the man himself, with the contours of his profile mapped out perfectly.

The film describes itself as a love story, homing in on the relationship between Hitch and his wife Alma Reville (Helen Mirren). The action takes place during the making of Psycho , and sounds as though it will paint the notoriously difficult filmmaker in a fairly generous light.

It's a different approach from the one Julian Jarrold is going for on the BBC's The Girl , which will chart Hitchcock's obsession with The Birds star, Tippi Hedren. Toby Jones will play the director in that one, with Sienna Miller co-starring as Hedren.

Also starring Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Biel, Toni Collette and Danny Huston, Hitchcock is expected to open in cinemas at some point in 2013. A specific release date has yet to be confirmed.