Rent Psycho (1960)

Horror Classic. - Psycho review by Steve

Did anyone see this coming? Forty-five minutes into Psycho, film noir died with Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) in the shower at the Bates Motel, and a new visceral, violent horror emerged into the mainstream; the slasher film. This was a huge departure for Alfred Hitchcock.

Robert Bloch's bestseller based on serial killer Ed Gein was shot by Hitch's tv crew on a B film budget. Anthony Perkins- as Norman Bates- isn't one of the Master's usual jeopardised innocents. Janet Leigh plays an earthy, sexy victim, a long way from the iciness of the classic Hitchcock blonde. Joe Stefano's dialogue is pure pulp poetry.

The pacing is spare and swift. Of course the centrepiece is the most famous montage in cinema history, the shower scene. It still has the power to shock. And Bernard Herrmann's legendary, groundbreaking score must have been heart-stopping in 1960.

That Hitchcock-or anyone- should produce a film like this at that time evades logic. The first hour, until Marion's car sinks into the marsh behind the Bates motel, is a symphony of sustained suspense. Maybe it doesn't maintain that level of virtuosity- but that's subjective. Psycho changed everything.

Superb suspense film, never bettered - Psycho review by RP

Made in 1960, I first saw this at the cinema in 1966 – and if I remember correctly, it had been running at that particular London cinema continuously since its release. I found it disturbing then and watching it again I still felt the same suspense and unease – not exactly horror – that I felt then. Yes, there has since been a (somewhat pointless) remake, but the Hitchcock original is superb. Filmed in black and white, you can't see the blood running red – but you know it's there! Superb – and cleverly misleading – beginning, great middle, excellent ending. Am I using too many superlatives? Probably – but this really is one of my favourite films from one of the 20th century's best directors. Highly recommended. 5/5 stars.

Still A tense Groundbreaking Horror/Thriller - Psycho review by GI

Probably Alfred Hitchcock's most famous film but compared to most of his films made during the 1950s and 60s it's actually a quite sparse film and shot in black and white due to Hitchcock wanting to make a more inexpensive and simple looking film. Despite this it is a really well constructed film, sharply edited (a master class in film editing really) and a very tight story. If by some chance you've never actually seen this classic then it is a masterpiece of cinema and a film you should immediately seek out. Despite it's age it is a tense, unsettling thriller and for it's time it's bloody and quite daring, not least due to the nudity. Janet Leigh plays Marion who is desperate for happiness with her boyfriend Sam (John Gavin) but he won't marry her until he clears his debts from an earlier marriage. One afternoon Marion takes a desperate chance and steals a large sum of money from her boss and heads off to meet up with Sam who knows nothing of her crime. Fearful of getting caught and in the middle of a storm Marion stops off at a remote motel run by Norman (Anthony Perkins) where she disappears. Later Sam and Marion's sister Lila (Vera Miles) go in search of her, a search that leads them to the same motel. There are several very famous scenes in the film that are well known not least the infamous shower scene. The film boasts an interesting twist that even after you've seen the film several times fails to lessen the impact of the film as a whole. It's arguable which of Hitchcock's films is his best but this is certainly up there with the best of them and it is definitely a most intriguing and arguably groundbreaking one. A must see film.