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Psycho - Collector's Edition

Psycho - Collector's Edition

List Price: $19.98
Your Price: $14.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: really widescreen?
Review: Hitchcock's deliciously black comedy would be brilliant in any aspect ratio, but let the buyer beware. As it was not filmed in a true widesreen format (VistaVision, Cimascope etc) this is in fact just a clipped version for the 16.9 market. More is, in this case, less.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Really Widescreen?
Review: Hitchcock's deliciously black comedy would be brilliant in any aspect ratio but let the buyer beware. It was not filmed in a widescreen format (VistaVision, Cinemascope etc.), therefore, this is just another clipped version for those 16.9 freaks. More is, in this case, less.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Be Nice to Your Mother.
Review: That's what Anthony Perkins would say in this most famous murder/mystery movie ever filmed by Hitchcock, where Perkins runs a hotel, lives with his mother, and people check in but they don't check out. First rate horror movie with an errie musical score by Bernard Hermann.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "A boy's best friend is his mother."- Norman Bates
Review: "Psycho" isn't a horror film, or rather it isn't a horror film in the modern sense of the word. Rather than being a simple, thoughtless predecessor of such mindless slasher films like "Scream", "Psycho" is a shocking, deeply disturbing, and very thought-provoking character study of a seemingly benign madman. The film is based on a novel by Robert Bloch, which in turn was based on a true series of murders. Bloch finished the book before the investigation reached completion and anything was known about the murderer (thus Norman - "neither woman nor man"), the accuracy of Bloch's prediction is truly stunning, and Alfred Hitchcock's ability to portray the events so artfully is more disturbing still.

Marion Crane, a secretary at a realty agency sees the chance of a lifetime when a rich customer buys a house for his daughter and pays the full sum in cash. Our heroine takes off with the money, but since she has no clue what to do she begins to panic. Racing out of town, switching cars, she is forced to slow down after two days of driving by an awful rainstorm. Marion misses an intersection and stops at Bates Motel ("twelve cabins - twelve vacancies"), which is owned by a shy, but very enthusiastic young man - Norman Bates. There is no one else for miles away, except his reclusive and apparently senile mother who lives in a brooding, dark house nearby. Then Marion disappears...

"Psycho" lulls the viewer into a sense of safety by making its central antagonist the most affable character in the film, and perhaps in the existance of films. Anthony Perkins is unbelievable in the role of Norman Bates. Hitchcock's genius is timeless; in fact, the movie has even more of an impact now, years after it was made, since many things in it seem hopelessly outdated, but the shocking message remains as powerful as always.

The film starts out very slowly, perhaps even tempting you to stop watching, since several scenes look like amateurish atempts to establish tension (the policeman scene, for example). I knew the outcome before watching, but I still came away totally devastated. For the fans of trivia, Seymore Skinner from "The Simpsons" is almost entirely based on Norman Bates, and there were a few scenes on the show that are parodies of scenes from the movie.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Absolutely Perfect
Review: The original Psycho is absolutely perfect. To take anything away or add anything to it would ruin this movie. Psycho was filmed at a time when special effects didn't exist - and in this movie, they were not necessary. The superb acting takes away the need for all the blood and guts and special effects that are the very core of movies today. You remove all that from most of today's horror movies, and you are left with a bunch of teens running around a movie set screaming and cursing every other word.

Psycho is one of the greatest horror movies of its kind. You will want to watch this movie over and over again. Seeing it once just isn't enough.

This DVD Collector's Edition is a must for every horror movie fan. If you have only seen the 1998 re-make, then you haven't seen Psycho.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the best and ripped off horror films....
Review: This fine film is proof that the horror genere can make an intelligent and thought provoking film.This film is a MUST see for anyone who considers themselves a horror fan and to see a film that relies on plot and a good sense of its audience rather than cop-out CGI effects and a lame story.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Love the extras
Review: This is another fine Universal Home Video Hitchcock release. There is a load of extras which are nearly as fascinating as the film itself. I can't wait to see the entire Hitchcock library cleaned up and released on DVD, and I hope Universal continues to achieve this high level of quality in their product.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Incredible!
Review: The film has been made and remade, but it's the Hitchcock version that is superb and legendary. The story is, by now, world famous: A woman steals $40,000 from her boss, runs away from the police and enters Bates Hotel, where she befriends Norman Bates. You all know what happens to her next: the infamous shower scene. The finale is chilling and beautifully acted.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A total scareama!
Review: Often parodied but never equalled, "Psycho" is one of the greatest films of all time. In terms of mystery, suspense, nailbiting finishes, and terror beyond your wildest dreams, this film has the lot. It stood alone as the best horror/suspense film ever made until 1991, when "The Silence Of The Lambs" was released. It is a certainty that "Psycho" will leave you breathless with horror, spellbound with terror, and agog with suspense! There is also another certainty - you'll think twice before taking your next shower!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: It would almost be funny if it weren't so dull.
Review: The only admittance I can muster for this video is that it was probably influential in its day. However, all the praise heaped on Psycho is basically garnered from that and has very little to go on, in reality. Nowadays, this movie looks incredibly homemade and, at times boring, especially during the parts where it is obvious Hitchcock is trying to build "tension." Plus, it's in black-and-white, which makes a movie look old right away. When Hitchcock tries to bring in the "psychological" element to the movie, it looks even worse, because it is dreadfully apparent that he has no idea what he's talking about. Thankfully, someone decided to remake this movie, but that wasn't very astonishing either, since everyone already knows from this movie what the story will be. Save your money and go to the theater to see any horror movie you want--it's guaranteed to be more believable than this one.


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