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Summary: Psycho is a Masterpeice!
Review: Nobody does it like Alfred Hitchcock! Even to this very day, more than 20 years later, Psycho still delivers the thrills, chills and over all style we have all come to love with any Hitchcock film! No suspence film that has attempted to use the same formula has suceeded so well. END
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Summary: The original and best
Review: Note: This review gives away much of the plot. Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho," perhaps tame by contemporary standards for screen violence, is still a masterpiece of horror. The 1960 film owes much of its power to the director, who was always innovative and broke a great deal of new ground with this film, both cinematically and thematically. Perkins's Norman Bates is loosely based on Ed Gein, a Wisconsin man who committed a number of horrible crimes. (See "Silence of the Lambs," "Deranged" (1973), "Three on a Meat Hook," and "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" for other films based on Gein.) But Hitchcock does not concern himself with repeating a true story (nor did Bloch, who wrote the novel of the same name). Rather, Hitchcock worked to challenge the limitations of film. Casting the matinee idol Perkins as Bates and killing off the name attraction (Janet Leigh) early in the film added much to the attraction. In addition, the editing (in more than just the famous shower scene) and Bernard Herrmann's great score make this film one of the greats of horror. END
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Summary: Thirty-seven years later -- Still a Shocker!
Review: Psycho is probably the most "cinematic" and arguably the best of Alfred Hitchcock's American films. Even today, thirty-seven years after its initial release, the film is still powerful, unsettling stuff. It's distinctly different from Hitchcock's other works, dealing as it does with unpleasant, graphic murders among ordinary, even bland, characters. The acting, especially from the often under-rated Janet Leigh and the subtle, incisive Anthony Perkins, is uniformly above grade. And that shower scene -- even after repeated viewings, it retains its ability to unsettle and disturb the viewer! Refreshingly free of the complicated visual "tricks" and plot twists of many of Hitchcock's other films, the rather straight-forward narrative draws us in until we're hooked, then pulls the rug out from under us in the best thriller fashion. The carefully fleshed-out characters are perhaps equalled, in Hitchcock's ouevre, only by those in "Shadow of a Doubt", another film set uncharacteristically among realistic middle-class people rather than the high-society and spy types that populate so many of Hitchcock's films. Hitchcock himself was reportedly suprised by the overwhelming success of a movie he viewed, originally, as an experiment -- an attempt to bring TV production techniques and talent to a low-budget (for Hitchcock) film. Clearly, like many artists, he underestimated his own masterpiece. See it! And shiver! END
Rating: 
Summary: Great, but dated
Review: Psycho is an over-rated film which has won critical acclaim because of its shower scene. That scene was particularly daring back in the 1960's when the film was made. A nearly nude janet leigh was the reason! Interesting trivia is that this scene comprised over 100 different camera angles.Like many of Hitchcock's films, Psycho suffers from having a very 'dated' feel about it. The characters seems stiff too. Anthony Perkins is creepy however, and his performance is worth seeing for the film alone.
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Summary: Not his BEST, but FULL of exciting scenes
Review: I`ve seen this film numerous times and I have always found it a bit cold, made without passion. Sure the shower-scene in particular is a mind-blower, but Hitchcock was much better off in the suspense-genre... This story simply isn`t interesting enough. It reason may be that it always had a GREAT reputation and everyone who ever saw it knew if by heart and thus destroyed the first viewing of others... Another factor is that Janet Leigh is much 2 pretty and ladylike for her role. When I saw Anne Heche in the 1998 movie I realised that H E R Marion was indeed a low-life, tramp - sort of - who jumped at the chance of doing something stupid 2 her employer. Janet Leigh`s Marion is never at any moment stupid... Alas, Anne was much more satisfying, as were Viggo Mortensen and Julianne Moore. John Gavin and Vera Miles are lifeless - cardboard stereotypes and that leaves us only with Martin Balsam and the great Anthony Perkins. THEY breath life into their characters and are the main reason I like this version. William Macy and Vince Vaughn repeated their roles, but eh..... hehehehe???????? Let there be silence. In 1983, Perkins reprised his role as Norman Bates to even better effect in the splendid PSYCHO II.
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Summary: "Psycho" Gets Thumbs Up
Review: Psycho Gets Thumbs Up
Alfred Hitchcock's low budget movie, Psycho, was only made on an $800,000 budget yet it became one of the most influential slasher films of all time. I would say it is the father of all slasher films because without it there would be no Halloween, Friday The 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Scream. In Halloween even star Jamie Lee Curtis as the main character, the daughter of Psycho's Janet Leigh, and "Sam Loomis" the character name in Psycho was re-used. It is one of the most frightening films of all time.
The film starts out with Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), desperate to try to find a way to be with her lover, Sam Loomis (John Gavin). She steals money from her boss and runs to California. She ends up at the Bates Motel on a rainy and meetswith the shy manager, Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins). He offers her a room and meal in the parlor. He speaks to her of the traps that people go through in life. Marion changed her mind and resolves to go back and return the money. But too soon, Marion is killed by "Mother". Others arrive at the Bates Motel looking for her, including Loomis, detective Arbogast (Martin Balsam), and Lila (Vera Miles. They make horrible discoveries by end of the film.
The actors and actresses in Psycho were awesome in the way they played their characters. Janet Leigh was exceptional during the conversation in the parlor. I watched her as she shifted back and forth in unease; I felt sympathy for her. I wanted to scream for her to run out of go back into her room. Anthony Perkins did a wonderful job as well. If it weren't a movie, I'd think he actually was mentally ill. He exudes nervousness through the movie screen as he walks about eating candy. No one can recapture this film, not even Gus Van Sant. Vince Vaughn who played Norman Bates in the remake of Psycho can not and will never achieve what Perkins did. There was always something lacking in the modern remake even though it was redone frame by frame. The modern actors just didn't cut it.
I remember watching Psycho when I was younger. I couldn't take a shower for days. The famous shower scene was frightening with the weird "screech screech" music. It really made me think of knives. Now I associate the soundtrack with knives. It has influenced much of society today because probably it's not just me who associates the soundtrack with knives but many others.
Overall, I loved the film. It was a great and surprising movie that kept me on edge till the very end. There could have been more added to the ending but if it were changed it would not be Psycho anymore. This influential movie will be one of the great slasher films of all time even centuries from now. I recommend this movie to those who have not seen it. A beautiful, wonderful, frightening classic.
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Summary: Hitchcock tries to out-Castle Castle!
Review: What many fans don't know about "Psycho" is that it was Hitchcock's attempt to emulate and improve on a formula that another director of the day, William Castle, was enjoying with much success.
Castle was raking in the profits with low-budget suspense and horror flicks that he presold with exploitative promotional gimmicks. Castle gave us the theater-blackout in "The Tingler", the "ghost viewer" glasses in "13 Ghosts", the in-theater dangling skeleton in "House on Haunted Hill", life insurance policies for audience members that died of fright, and countless other schtick. In most cases, it was the hype that filled the seats, not the quality of the films they were associated with.
Hitchcock observed this and decided to try his hand. First, he insisted on a low-budget and used a TV crew. Then came the gimmicks: A much publicized talent search to cast the "mother" character (who of course never really existed); theater management enforcing a rule that no one is seated after the film begins; and perhaps the most daring maneuver...killing off the leading lady and abandoning her plot 40 minutes into the film. This breach of contract between director and audience was a total surprise when the film was first released. Unfortunately the iconic notoriety of the shower scene in today's popular culture has spoiled the surprise for any modern viewer.
Hitchcock also appeared in the humorous trailer, engaging the audience directly, just as Castle did in many of his trailers.
"Psycho" has not aged well. Modern audiences will find it slow and long-winded, and some of the plot elements that merely stretched credibility in its day will seem downright illogical today (e.g. Marion stealing $40,000 to entice her boyfriend to marry her?) The dual personality of Norman Bates was such a high concept in 1960 that a psychiatrist character is trotted out to explain it to the audience in a lame epilogue, while today's viewer will most likely guess the identity of Bates' mother early on, without any further exposition needed to justify it.
Still, if you can suspend your modern biases and try to view it in the spirit of the time when it was made, you should be able to appreciate "Psycho" for what it is---a classy experiment that laid the groundwork for a new genre of horror movie.
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Summary: A Taut Suspense Thriller with a Great Cast
Review: When Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), feeling powerless in an affair with a married man, Sam Loomis (John Gavin), impulsively steals forty thousand dollars from her boss and leaves town, she is pursued by guilt and ends up at a motel run by shy Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) - who is apparently under the thumb of his invalid mother - and then dead in the shower. This is the premise of Alfred Hitchcock's most famous movie, PSYCHO. When PSYCHO was first released in 1960, it was loved by audiences but scorned by critics as a shabby shocker. Since then, PSYCHO has won the respect of critics while remaining wildly popular with the general public. There is good reason for this. The movie's scenes are concisely written. It was made on a low budget, yet the gritty look of the film fits the sordid nature of the subject matter, and the gifted cast dominates. Bernard Herrmann's electrifying, all-strings score is one of the greatest in all film, conveying most of the movie's emotional subtext. PSYCHO's famous set piece, the "shower scene," shocks even today (and all the more for its restraint - that is, what it DOESN'T show), from Marion's delight at stepping under the spray (symbolically washing away her error), to the entrance of the knife, to the blood running down the drain, to the final shot of her lifeless body and staring eye. Janet Leigh's performance as Marion is one of those perfect film portrayals, from post-tryst beginning to tragic end. (Marion's life was brutally ended before she could repair her mistake, as she had resolved to; this is why her death is a tragedy.) Because Anthony Perkins became typecast as "Norman Bates," it would be easy to overlook the intensity of his acting in this first version of PSYCHO (there were three sequels). Watch his smoldering eyes when Marion suggests that he put his mother in "a madhouse," or his disgusted reaction on finding Marion's body - one would think that he had nothing to do with her murder. Martin Balsam makes the absolute most of his sixteen minutes of screen time as Milton Arbogast, the private detective called in to investigate Marion's disappearance. His questioning of Norman is one of the most remarkable things I have ever seen in a movie, sounding almost completely improvised. Vera Miles plays Marion's sensible but brave sister who, together with Sam, investigates the mystery following Arbogast's (literal) downfall.
It has been said that PSYCHO is unusual because its (sympathetic) female lead is killed off forty-five minutes into the action. I would add that PSYCHO is unique because it starts off as a psychological study of theft and guilt, then becomes a murder mystery and finally, in its last scenes, a Freudian examination of a psychopath.
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Summary: PERKINS DESERVED AN OSCAR FOR HIS PERFORMANCE!
Review: This film is a great masterpiece of filmmaking! Perfect in every sense. It is Anthony Perkin's masterpiece as well....no other character in film history makes you cringe yet feel sorry for at the same time. It takes a special talent to do that and why he didn't get nominated for the Oscar much less win will never be understood!! Just as Vivien Leigh will always be Scarlett O'Hara, Judy Garland will always be Dorothy, Anthony Perkins will always be Norman Bates.
The rest of the cast is outstanding as well...notably Janet Leigh as the doomed Marion Crane. She deserved her Oscar nomination for her performance.
The DVD is loaded with a dandy of an extra "The Making of Psycho" plus additional trailers and bonus materials that make this edition well worth owning. Even without the extras though, this film would still be a masterpiece thanks to Hitchock, Stefano's screenplay, and Perkins' unparalleled acting!
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Summary: The Best Movie of All Time
Review: Hitchcock's masterpeice is by far the best mystery film ever made and one of the best movies of all time period. It is superb in every aspect. The score is haunting and suspenseful, one of the best ever recorded. The acting hits dead on. Anthony Perkins is brilliant as Norman Bates; he makes you care about the character and be terrified by him at the same time. His performance brings acting to a whole new level. Janet Leigh is also terrific, as are John Gavin, Vera Miles and the rest of the cast. Joseph Stefano's script is very smart and occasionally witty, and John Russell's cinematography is extraordinary. This film also contains the best story twist ever in a movie, (Marion's death),which is also one of the best deaths on screen ever. All of the great acting, dialogue, and direction lead up to an ending that is still amazing, shocking, and scary 40 years after the film's initial release. The special features are interesting and very insightful. This DVD is an essential addition to any serious movie fan's collection.
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