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.
Did anyone see this coming? Film noir died with Marion Crane 45 minutes in, and a new kind of visceral horror emerged into the mainstream.
Hitchcock got his tv crew to make a B film about serial killer Ed Gein starring one of the new generation of actors, Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates. His blonde was a sexy, earthy woman played by Janet Leigh, a long way from the rather icy Grace Kelly. The script by Joe Stefano is B picture poetry, and it moves so fast.
Everything is tight, culminating in the most famous montage in cinema history, the shower scene. Bernard Herrmann's groundbreaking score must have been heartstopping in 1960.
That Hitchcock (or anyone) should produce a film like this at that time evades logic. The first hour, until Ms. Crane's car sinks into the marsh behind the Bates motel, is a symphony of sustained virtuosity. That I feel it doesn't subsequently maintain that quality is probably a matter of personal taste. Psycho changed everything.
Anthony Perkins plays a man with two personalities so brilliantly it seems to have been his downfall. Why was such a talented actor never seen again? Life is not fair. For me the acting beats the direction easily although without the Hitchcock badge it would not be as well known. The stabbing scenes are totally unimpressive and the amazingly famous shower scene not at all horrific. Norman Bates however is just so believably mad he deserves the fame credited to the the film.