Barnes & Noble

Psycho, Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 masterpiece, not only encouraged thousands to shun showers in favor of baths, it completely changed the face of horror and suspense films to come. From naughty Janet Leigh's heist of $10,000 in the opening scenes to her risqué display of personal hygiene at the Bates Motel, Hitchcock's classic simultaneously pushed Hollywood's buttons and created some of the most memorable and horrific images in cinematic history. Inspired by the psychology and handiwork of real-life psychopath Edward Gein (also the inspiration behind The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), the story introduces Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), a reclusive motel manager and amateur taxidermist who has a strange relationship with his mother. Although certain scenes -- particularly Bates's psychiatric evaluation -- come off as stilted and dated today, both Perkins and Leigh deliver eternally creepy performances, and Bernard Hermann's soundtrack is arguably the most chilling ever recorded. The stabbing violins complement the film's atmosphere the way that a good Merlot complements a bloody filet mignon. Hitchcock's notorious attention to detail emerges in endless bird references, from the opening camera work reminiscent of a feathered friend's flight, to the Phoenix locale, to Bates's taxidermy and middle name, "Francis," the patron saint of birds. Hitchcock felt that Psycho was too gory to be shot in color, and he probably never imagined that anyone would try. Still, director Gus Van Sant remade the classic in 1998, in color, but otherwise matching Hitch shot-by-shot. Like Norman's birds, it didn't quite fly. Simon Goetz

All Movie Guide

In 1960, Alfred Hitchcock was already famous as the screen's master of suspense (and perhaps the best-known film director in the world) when he released Psycho and forever changed the shape and tone of the screen thriller. From its first scene, in which an unmarried couple balances pleasure and guilt in a lunchtime liaison in a cheap hotel (hardly a common moment in a major studio film in 1960), Psycho announced that it was taking the audience to places it had never been before, and on that score what followed would hardly disappoint. Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) is unhappy in her job at a Phoenix, Arizona real estate office and frustrated in her romance with hardware store manager Sam Loomis (John Gavin). One afternoon, Marion is given $40,000 in cash to be deposited in the bank. Minutes later, impulse has taken over and Marion takes off with the cash, hoping to leave Phoenix for good and start a new life with her purloined nest egg. 36 hours later, paranoia and exhaustion have started to set in, and Marion decides to stop for the night at the Bates Motel, where nervous but personable innkeeper Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) cheerfully mentions that she's the first guest in weeks, before he regales her with curious stories about his mother. There's hardly a film fan alive who doesn't know what happens next, but while the shower scene is justifiably the film's most famous sequence, there are dozens of memorable bits throughout this film. The first of a handful of sequels followed in 1983, while Gus Van Sant's controversial remake, starring Vince Vaughn and Anne Heche, appeared in 1998. Mark Deming

Product Details

• UPC: 025192038907
• Source: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby AC-3 Surround Sound
• Editions: Special Edition, Subtitled, Dubbed
• Sales Rank: 8,215

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• Alfred Hitchcock - The Masterpiece Collection