Movies
Psycho
The barrenness of the television-play production and black-and-white image works rather nicely in the early scenes of bleak urban existence -- the comfortless hotel room, Janet Leigh's comfortless bra -- but Hitchcock seems to be pushing and pleading, later on, to extract thrills from a nosy highway patrolman, a slimy used car salesman, a lonely wayside motel, a collection of stuffed birds, and a Disneyland haunted house. Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, John Gavin, and Martin Balsam. 1960.
— Duncan Shepherd
Reader Rating:
- MPAA Rating: R
- Length: 109
Back on the big screen at two San Diego theaters for Halloween! Well, one theater and one outdoor temp - what a treat (no trick)! Note how pivotal the soundtrack by Bernard Herrmann is to its overall creepy feel, especially during the "action" moments - its importance is even more notable in the moments where there is NO music, as in the big "reveal" at the end --- instead of repeating the famed violin screech, the camera lets the actors (and the action) do all the work. And what wonderful work it is!
By jayallen 9:29 p.m., Oct 24, 2010 > Report it
geesus i saw it in San Francisco when it first came out and a couple of people had to be carried out on stretchers after the shower scene...i still don't like showers
it seems so tame now...how young and naive we all were in 1960
By nan 7:18 p.m., Oct 25, 2010 > Report it
Exciting to have it on the bigscreen again for Halloween -- it loses much of its suspenseful impact on a TV screen. I doubt many people ever had locks on their bathroom doors before it came out -- the flick must have done for locksmiths what Friday the 13th did for hockey mask manufacturers!
By jayallen 11:36 p.m., Oct 25, 2010 > Report it
hahahahahahaha..i agree JayA
By nan 1:54 p.m., Oct 27, 2010 > Report it
Saw this a couple of years ago at the Arclight in Hollywood. Great film, although I got the impression that the studio attached the psychological babble to the end to make sure no questions were left unanswered.
By user12 5:22 a.m., Nov 2, 2010 > Report it