Psycho

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source: Psycho

I am a huge fan of Hitchcock, and have really liked all of the movies of his I have seen so far. My top 5 favourites are Vertigo, North By Northwest, Rear Window, Rebecca and this masterpiece. Before I saw this, I considered Vertigo as his masterpiece. After seeing this movie, I think Psycho outshines Vertigo. Psycho is a film that you see once and never forget, and one of the few movies out there that has left me traumatised. The infamous shower scene is without doubt one of the most terrifying murder scenes in any film. When I first saw that scene on the 100 Greatest American Films, I was so terrified and I admit it I have never recovered. I had a similar experience watching the Disney film Sleeping Beauty with Maleficent enticing Aurora to the spinning wheel, and Mrs Gulch turning into the Wicked Witch in the Wizard of Oz. The shower scene isn't the only effective or chilling scene in the film- in the events leading up to that scene I was biting my nails. The scene with the old woman in the chair also made me jump out of my skin. The whole of Psycho is terrifying, suspenseful and shocking. Two elements made this so. One was Hitchock's direction. The great director proves how truly great he is by directing Psycho in a masterful way, and manages to deliver the shocks when needed. The other is Bernard Hermann's music. What a creepy score! I loved his score for Vertigo and Miklos Rozsa's for Spellbound, but the high violin motif in the shower scene is the main reason why that scene in particular is so effective. I admit it, when I hear that motif, I start screaming. There is just something about it that makes your blood run cold. Other pros are a good plot, a well constructed screenplay and beautiful black and white cinematography that is perfect in conveying the creepy mood. And the ending did surprise me. The acting though was exemplary, with Janet Leigh giving one of the deservedly most memorable female performances in a Hitchcock movie, and Vera Miles also giving a stellar performance. Stealing the film is Antony Perkins as Norman Bates, he didn't just play creepy, he WAS creepy, his face, his voice, his mannerisms.. in short it is one of the most chilling performances of all time. All in all, a Hitchcock masterpiece! 10/10 Bethany Cox

Hitchcock was very fortunate to have cast the young Anthony Perkins in the leading role. At the time there were some other young aspiring actors who might have qualified for the part, namely: Michael J. Pollard; Jack Nicholson; Bruce Dern, Dean Stockwell, Victor Buono and Dennis Hopper. However, it's hard for me to imagine anyone other than Perkins playing Norman Bates with complete authenticity, it's seems the role was simply made for him and only him. Could you possibly imagine anyone other than Nicholson in the role of Randall P. McMurphy in "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" or Dennis Hopper as Billy in "Easy Rider"? Keep in mind the introverted, insecure Mama's Boy was not really PSYCHOpathic as Hannibal The Cannibal was in "Silence of the Lambs" - a cold-blooded killer with no conscience - but rather criminally insane, plagued by schizophrenic delusions and seriously in need of multiple reality-checks. Anthony Hopkins did a wonderful job as the vicious Hannibal, and also as Corky, the schizo-killer ventriloquist in "Magic". I think he just might have pulled off a convincing Norman, but don't believe he was available back then. Oh well, so much for speculation...Perkins did a great job.

Alfred Hitchock is the master of suspense and Psycho is probably his most famous film. Because, let's face it, one way or another, you have seen or heard of this film. It's been made fun of, been remade(unfortunately), not to mention that this movie's word will be spred from generation to generation. I came across it very young, my parents used to tell me how scary it was and how I wouldn't want to take a shower after watching this film. I didn't believe them, but when I watched it, I for the first time pulled the blanket over my head, it was that frightening! The thing that is so amazing about Psycho is how much of an impact it made, and understandably why it did. It ranked in over 60 million dollars at the box office, now this was the time where tickets were like 50 cents at the theater, now if you compare that to today, that's Titanic like money! It broke many taboo's, like this was the first film to show a toilet being flushed, isn't that interesting? My high school teacher said that her and her mom saw Psycho when it was first released in theaters and she actually ran out of the theater terrified! Alfred did so well keeping us glued to our seats with all his great twists! This was before The Sixth Sense, I mean, the ending is just such a mind blower! But I won't give spoilers. Janet Leigh plays Marion Crane, a woman who is in love with a divorced man Sam Loomis. He says once he pays his ex wife off with the alimony, they'll get married. When Marion's boss asks her to put their most valued client's money, $40,000 to be exact, and bring it to the bank. She has other plans though, she takes the money for herself and flee's the city, but not before her boss sees her driving off. Shaky enough, huh? But she pulls over to get a nap in, and a police officer asks if she's OK, but she gets shaky and just wants to drive off. The policemen fallows her since she is so shaky and she ends up buying a different car. She gets caught in a giant rainstorm and pulls over to the Bates Motel. She meets there, the owner, a pleasant and polite young man, Norman Bates. He lives in the house next to the motel with his mother. Marion checks in and Norman offers her dinner, they have a conversation mostly about his mom and Marion is concerned when she heard screams from the house that sounded like his mom. Norman gets on the defenses and asks Marion some questions as well, she says she is going to a "private island". Norman is very attracted to her, you can tell immediately, and she leaves knowing that she has to get out of the trap she set for herself back in Phoenix. As she's taking a shower before bed, a mysterious figure comes to the curtain and opens it stabbing Marion violently several times causing her to die. Norman cleans up the mess and gets rid of her body not knowing about her money and throwing that away too. Marion's boyfriend, Sam and her sister, Lola, hire a private detective to find her. The private detective comes across The Bates Motel and doesn't end up coming back after trying to "talk" to the mother. Lola and Sam are concerned and decide to investigate for themselves, but will they end up coming back to the city alive? Psycho is just one of those movies you have to see before you die. It's one of the most important films of our time and will never be forgotten. It's a true treasure with terrific actors and a terrifying plot that will give you nightmares for weeks! Please don't let that scare you, I'm just having fun, but it is a freaky film! Watch it in the dark! It has a better effect, I think. Over 40 years and this film is still horrifying as if it were made today! 10/10

Perfect films are few and far between and the filmmakers usually have no inkling as to the top-notch quality of work they are doing. Alfred Hitchcock thought it was a good idea to make a new kind of suspense picture back in 1959. Something that would give the audience goose bumps was in order, but bigger bumps must have been the goal. Hitch had to use his TV crew (from his network series "Alfred Hitchcock Presents..." because many film executives didn't like the material. Little did they know that the big Brit was about to make a cinematic milestone and change the way films are structured and material is presented. At the time, PSYCHO was a nasty-spirited movie that led some moviegoers to leave early or stop taking showers. It has held up amazingly well and is far superior to its countless rip-offs. PSYCHO is perfect because: 1) It is in black and white, not blazing technicolor which would have stained the film for no purpose and made the shower murder less artistic. (Hitch may have went the route of director Michael Powell who became an outcast once his technicolor murder flick PEEPING TOM was seen.) 2)The featured star disappears a third of the way through igniting a new method of scriptwriting and casting. (Hitch made strict stipulations for theatre owners not to allow people into the movie once the picture started in order for this secret to stay secret.) 3)Lesser known actors are used to provide a more authentic feel for the characters. This is so true in the case of Anthony Perkins, not exactly a Cary Grant, who creates a stunningly chaotic portrayal of an abused son/mental madman. (Hitch shoots him from tilted angles and shadowy atmospheres to project Norman Bates' unquestionably distorted state of mind, not to mention his evil grin.) 4) The shower scene, of course. Never before in any film of any kind known to man had people seen such frightening butchery and frank brutality. (Hitch storyboarded each of the 80+ cuts that take place within the 2 minute segment.) 5) Norman Bates' mother, who sits upstairs in the "old house on the hill" and just watches what transpires when she's not taking part in it. (Hitch makes her a mystery until the very end when she is finally revealed to us and to Vera Miles in a masterfully shot turn of a chair.) 6)The set-up and payoff which consists of 40,000 dollars, a device common in most thrillers but new to this kind of psychological terror. (Hitch makes the viewer think the 40 grand will be the staple of importance and plot when it really disappears amidst the horror and has no significance at all.) 7)Finally, composer Bernard Hermann's famed musical score is a pulsating, vibrant piece of gothic composition that matches the story and character actions perfectly. (Hitch and Hermann worked on several films together, none better than this.) Is there any other question that PSYCHO is one of the top 7 or 8 films of all time? I don't think so. Just look how film history began a slow course towards more independence and honesty after PSYCHO scared everyone into believing this kind of film could be made. RATING: 10+

Getting into Hitchcock's Psycho, 57 years after its original release is like assisting to a masterclass of sorts. We can now identify what made this little lurid tale into a classic. Hitchcock himself, naturally, but now we know the first director's cut was a major disappointment and that Alma Reville - Hitch's wife - took over, re edited and the results have been praised, applauded and studied ever since. Janet Leigh's Marion Crane created a movie landmark with her shower scene. Bernard Herrmann and his strings created an extra character that we recognize as soon as it reappears under any disguise but, what shook me the most now in 2017 is Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates. His performance has evolved with the passing of time and its effect has remain as chilling, as moving, as funny and as real as it was in 1960. It's interesting to watch Gus Van Sant's 1998 version with Vince Vaugh as Norman Bates. If you look at the film, shot by shot with Berrnard Herrmann's strings - it's pretty fantastic. - Play it in black and white if you can. The problem and it is a monumental problem, we wait for Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins, if the casting of Anne Heche was really bad - not a hint of Janet Leigh's humanity, the casting of Vince Vaughn was incomprehensible. Not just not credible for a moment but annoying, very annoying. Anthony Perkins brought something profoundly personal to Norman Bates and as a consequence we connected with his sickness. We felt for him. Okay, sorry, I didn't mean to go there but I felt compelled to because I saw again Psycho (1960) ad Psycho (1998) at 24 hours from each other and realized that the main flaw of the 1998 versions is the absence of Anthony Perkins.

"Psycho" still remains a classic after thirty-eight years. It had been imitated by so many slasher films such as "Halloween," "Friday the 13th," "A Nightmare on Elm Street," and "Scream." Not even the pointless 1998 remake can beat Alfred Hitchcock's original. Anthony Perkins delivers a sincere performance as the mama's boy, Norman Bates who runs a motel. Janet Leigh also turns in a good performance as the embezzler Marion Crane who checks in and gets stabbed repeatedly in the famous shower scene. Even the Bernard Herman score is very suspenseful. The only slasher film that comes close to perfection is "Halloween." Remember: the key is suspense, NOT blood and gore. My evaluation: **** out of ****.

...from the first time I saw it at age 14 until today whenever I run across it. This is the rare example of a much-ballyhooed film that is truly deserving of all the hype surrounding it. It would have been nice to have experienced the film without any knowledge of the plot twists. Unfortunately, for most viewers, the big surprises are not possible since so many of the scenes are part of our popular culture.There were, however, so many unexpected surprises. The opening scene with Janet Leigh and John Gavin in the hotel room was amazing and (pardon the cliché) so real. Hitchcock and Janet Leigh did a brilliant job of pulling us into Marion Crane's story, that of a woman in love with a divorced man who might as well be married considering his heavy financial obligations that leave him unable to marry in a practical sense even though he can in a legal sense. He doesn't even have a proper home - just a room in the back of the store he owns. Marion is then seemingly set up as the center of the movie as she thinks she has found a solution to her problems - a felonious one. Then the focus is skillfully shifted to the Norman Bates character as the "protagonist" victimized by his insane mother (or so it seemed) and then the focus is shifted once again to Marion's sister's search. The movie was adapted from a novel so some of the original audience would have been familiar with the plot of the book. In the novel, Norman Bates was a middle-aged man. I think it was a brilliant stroke to have the Norman of the film as a man in his twenties, a boy who never grew up in a man's body. Anthony Perkins is so identified today with his role of Norman Bates that it was surprising to see how endearingly he played him in the early scenes. And he did one of the best stammers I've ever seen in a movie when he was being questioned by the private detective (Martin Balsam) who is also searching for Marion. I also wasn't expecting to see how protective the local sheriff and his wife were of Norman when they were being questioned about him and his mother. You could tell they didn't want somebody (Norman) whom they thought had been dealt a bad hand to have anymore publicity and scrutiny than he already had. This film is mentioned in the documentary "Moguls and Movie Stars" as an example of how films were becoming more like TV as the 60s began - spartan art design and a script that was bold in the amount of sex and violence it had, even if the vast majority is implied. You have to be impressed by the versatility that is Hitchcock. Making movies in England? No problem. Making movies in the American studio system? No problem. Modernizing to deal with the evaporation of the production code? Again, no problem. Weird factoid - for you TCM fans out there Robert Osborne is credited as "man" in Psycho, although I don't remember him ever mentioning it. The only person it could possibly be unless he never comes close to having his face on camera is the parson as the sheriff and his wife are exiting church. See what you think.