Alfred Hitchcock is up to his clavicle in whimsicality and apparently had the time of his life in putting together Psycho He's gotten in gore, in the form of a couple of graphically depicted knife murders, a story that's far out in Freudian motivations, and now and then injects little amusing plot items that suggest the whole thing is not to be taken seriously.
Anthony Perkins is the young man who doesn't get enough exorcise (repeat exorcise) of that other inner being. Among the victims are Janet Leigh, who walks away from an illicit love affair with John Gavin, taking with her a stolen $40,000, and Martin Balsam, as a private eye who winds up in the same swamp in which Leigh's body also is deposited.
John McIntire is the local sheriff with an unusual case on his hands, and Simon Oakland is the psychiatrist. Perkins gives a remarkably effective in-a-dream kind of performance as the possessed young man. Others play it straight, with equal competence.
Joseph Stefano's screenplay, from a novel by Robert Bloch, provides a strong foundation for Hitchcock's field day. And if the camera, under Hitchcock's direction, tends to overemphasize a story point here and there, well it's forgivable.
OSCARS
- 1960 Nominations: Best Director, Supp. Actress (Janet Leigh), B&W Cinematography, B&W Art Direction
Credited with inventing the genre of the modern horror film, PSYCHO has had its share of sequels and imitators, none of which diminishes the achievement of this shocking and complex horror thriller. Alfred Hitchcock's choreography of elements in PSYCHO is considered so perfect it inspired a shot-by-shot remake by Gus Van Zant in 1998. However, Hitchcock's black-and-white original, featuring
Anthony Perkins's haunting characterisation of lonely motel keeper Norman Bates, has never been equalled.
Bates presides over an out-of-the-way motel under the domineering spectre of his mother. The young, well-intentioned
Bates is introduced to the audience when Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), a blonde on the run with stolen money, checks in for the night. But Momma doesn't like loose women, so the stage is set for this classic tale of horror and one of the most famous scenes in film history. PSYCHO was initially received by audiences with shock and amazement and it still terrifies today. Though it is now considered
prototypical Hitchcock, its setting, pace, and emphasis on terror was a major departure for the director at the time, coming after the more classically grand NORTH BY NORTHWEST.
The screen's master of suspense moves his camera into the icy blackness of the unexplained!
This Dvd release marks the 45th anniversary of Psycho's original cinematic release; a film that sent shockwaves throughout the film-going public.
Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece of the macabre stars Anthony perkins as the troubled Norman Bates, whose "old dark house" and adjoining motel are not the place to spend a quiet evening. No-one knows that better than Janet Leigh, the film's ill-fated heroine who is brutally victimised in the, now-notorious, "shower scene". Vera Miles, Martin Balslam, John Gavin and John McIntire
co-star in Hitchcock's most compelling and terrifying film.
With a scintillating screenplay from Joseph Stefano and with 'that' score by Bernard Herrmann, Psycho was nominated for a multitude of Oscars, but failed to pick up a single gong... How wrong the academy were proven to be.
Actors: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh,
Vera Miles,
John Gavin,
Martin Balsam,
John McIntire
Dir/Prod:
Scr:
Ph:
Ed:
Mus:
Art Dir: Joseph Hurley, Robert Clatworthy
Dvd Features
Masters Of Cinema: Alfred Hitchcock
American Film Institute Salute To Alfred Hitchcock
Production Notes
Cast And Filmmakers
Theatrical Trailer
Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic
Languages In Dolby Digital 2.0 - English
Languages In Dolby Digital Mono - English, German, Polish
Subtitles - English SDH, French, German, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Czech, Hungarian, Dutch, Polish, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
Region 2 / PAL / Black & white
Running Time 104 Minutes
Technical Details
Screen Widescreen: 1.85:1 Anamorphic / Fullscreen
Languages: English - Dolby Digital (2.0) Stereo
Additional Languages: Dolby Digital (1.0) Mono: English ; German ; Polish
Subtitles: Czech ; Danish ; Dutch ; English for the hearing impaired ; Finnish ; French ; German ; Hungarian ; Italian ; Norwegian ; Polish ; Portuguese ; Spanish
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