Psycho (1960)
8.419 /10
10765 Reviews
Rate This Movie:
When larcenous real estate clerk Marion Crane goes on the lam with a wad of cash and hopes of starting a new life, she ends up at the notorious Bates Motel, where manager Norman Bates cares for his housebound mother.
Videos & Photos
cast
... Norman Bates
... Marion Crane
... Lila Crane
... Sam Loomis
... Milton Arbogast
User reviews
Required viewing.
_Final rating:★★★½ - I really liked it. Would strongly recommend you give it your time._
Director:
Release Date:
1960-06-22
Run Time:
109 min
MMPA Rating:
R
Reviews of
Psycho
Required viewing.
_Final rating:★★★½ - I really liked it. Would strongly recommend you give it your time._
“We all go a little mad sometimes. Haven't you?”
A Phoenix secretary, Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), embezzles $40,000 and rashly flees town, ending up at a remote motel in Fairvale, California, where she encounters the eccentric Mama’s boy Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins). Mixed into this web is a private investigator (Martin Balsam), Marion’s sister (Vera Miles) and Marion’s secret beau (John Gavin).
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock based on Robert Bloch’s book, “Psycho” made a huge impact when it was released in 1960. It contains a plot development that was groundbreaking at the time shared by England’s “City of the Dead” (aka “Horror Hotel”), which went into production six weeks earlier than “Psycho” and was released in the UK at the same time, but not in America until 2 years later. While they’re both good, “Psycho” is way superior. It was followed by three sequels (1983, 1986 and 1990), the last being a semi-prequel, all starring Anthony Perkins as Norman with Vera Miles returning for the first one.
One thing I don’t like is that it was shot in B&W. Check out the sequels and the 1998 remake to observe the same settings in living color.
The film runs 1 hour, 49 minutes and was shot primarily at the backlot of Universal Studios, Universal City, California, with other parts in Los Angeles & Gorman, California, and Phoenix, Arizona.
GRADE: A
My most favourite film from the master of suspense.
This psychological horror is widely considered to be the first ever slasher film. Powered by great performances from Anthony Perkins & Janet Leigh, and the outstanding score by Bernard Herrmann which adds such great tension throughout the film, it is unarguably the greatest thriller ever made. Only Alfred Hitchcock could make a film so entertaining and so horrifying at the same time.
The climax continues to haunt me forever.
Amazingly, this is my first ever viewing, not sure why I waited so long, but finally got around to it. Great movie in every way from the performance by Anthony Perkins to the atmosphere, enjoyed every bit of this even though I basically knew the entire plot at this point since all iconic scenes and lines have been repeated over the years. Not sure this is my *favorite* Hitchcock movie as I still prefer Rear Window, but obvious why it has held up 60 years later. **4.5/5**
There is so much more to this film than just that famous scene in the shower - and so much of it belongs to the marvellous scoring of Bernard Herrmann. His ability to use those screeching strings, and the pace of his music does so much of the heavy lifting that gives this film a sense of accumulating menace that makes it still, after over 60 years, a masterful piece of cinema. Janet Leigh wants to make a go of things with her cash-strapped hunky boyfriend "Sam" (John Gavin) so when an unexpected opportunity arises at work that puts $40,000 in her lap, she skips town and takes refuge during a thunderstorm at the "Bates" motel where she encounters "Norman" (a very handsome looking Anthony Perkins). The rest you will just have to watch for yourself, but the story has just about everything you could want from a thriller: a fella with a bit of a "mummy" syndrome; some good old fashioned larceny; lust and though I didn't quite love the ending, it is a superbly dramatic piece of well considered and constructed cinema that cleverly builds on what is quite a simple story with a strong and convincing cast. Big screen if you can; that house on the hill looks more eery that way. Great stuff!
Any fan of slasher/ horror films should consider this required viewing. Marion(Janet Leigh) and her "secret" boyfriend Sam(John Gavin) want to be together. Sam, who is divorced and cash poor feels he cannot provide a happy life for the two of them. Desperate, Marion has an opportunity to steel 40,000.00. She flees Arizona and heads to California where she ends up at the Bates Motel and meeting Norman Bates(Anthony Perkins).
Stellar cast, with Perkins giving a eerie Oscar worthy performance. Cinematography and the soundtrack are amazing. The iconic shower scene is just as effective today as it was 65 years ago. If I was going to make a criticism it would be the scene at the end where the audience sees everything for what it is. Hitchcock had many requirements for this scene and I felt that it made the scene a little awkward. I am just nit-picking though. The movie is a masterpiece. 10/10
Cast & Crew of
Psycho
Cast
... Norman Bates
... Marion Crane
... Lila Crane
... Sam Loomis
... Milton Arbogast
... Al Chambers
... Fred Richman
... Tom Cassidy
... Caroline
... George Lowery
... Mrs. Chambers
... California Charlie
... Highway Patrol Officer
... Policeman on Steps (uncredited)
... Church Member (uncredited)
... (uncredited)
... Alan Deats (uncredited)
... (uncredited)
... James Mitchell (uncredited)
... (uncredited)
... County Sheriff (uncredited)
... Norma Bates (voice) (uncredited)
... Man Outside Office (uncredited)
... Norma Bates (voice) (uncredited)
... (uncredited)
... Bob Summerfield (uncredited)
... Policeman in Hallway Opening Door (uncredited)
... Police Guard (uncredited)
... Passerby on Sidewalk (uncredited)
... Norma Bates (voice) (uncredited)
... (uncredited)
... Man (uncredited)
... (uncredited)
... Hardware Store Customer (uncredited)
Crew
... Set Decoration
... Editor
... Original Music Composer
... Screenplay
... Special Effects
... Director of Photography
... Art Direction
... Producer
... Art Direction
... Director
... Title Designer
... Costume Supervisor
... Unit Manager
... Assistant Director
... Sound Recordist
... Sound Recordist
... Novel
... Makeup Supervisor
... Makeup Supervisor
... Hairstylist
![PSYCHO Original Theatrical Trailer - Alfred Hitchcock Movie [1960]](https://img.youtube.com/vi/HGG4fApmEaE/mqdefault.jpg)
Similar Movies To
Psycho
They Returned (2015)
5.788/10
They Returned is a beautifully touching and unnerving story about the unexplained disappearance of three children, two boys and one girl, and their reappearance three days later in a semi-autistic state. Not even the children themselves are able to help anyone understand what happened.
Release: 2015-04-04
Vash (2023)
6.75/10
Atharva, a family man, takes his family for a vacation and unfortunately gets trapped in black magic by a stranger named Pratap.
Release: 2023-02-10
Chain of Evidence (1957)
4.6/10
A police lieutenant fights to prove a boy's innocence after he's accused of murder. The fourth of five Ben Schwab productions that starred Bill Elliott as a detective lieutenant in the L.A. Sheriff's department.
Release: 1957-01-06
The Manster (1959)
4.484/10
An American journalist stationed in Japan is given a mysterious injection by a mad scientist, turning him into a murderous, two-headed monster.
Release: 1959-07-01
Meat Grinder (2009)
5.4/10
A poverty stricken woman starts a restaurant where she slaughters people and serves up human flesh, cut from her victims.
Release: 2009-03-19
Underfist: Halloween Bash (2008)
7.4/10
Irwin, Hoss Delgado, Jeff the Spider, Fred Fredburger, and General Skarr from the "Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy" team up to fight an evil candy army from the Underworld on Halloween.
Release: 2008-10-12
Last Embrace (1979)
5.3/10
Secret agent Harry Hannan suffers a mental breakdown when a botched mission in Mexico results in the death of his wife. He is sent to a mental asylum, after which he eventually returns to work. But, once again, he begins to doubt his sanity when he receives a bizarre death threat written in Hebrew. Not knowing which of his colleagues wants to kill him, Hannan teams up with pretty young college student Ellie Fabian to attempt to unravel the mystery.
Release: 1979-05-04
Happy Birthday to Me (1981)
6.02/10
Virginia is proud that she belongs to a clique. The best students at a private school. But before her 18th birthday, a gruesome set of murders take place and her friends are the ones who are falling prey. Could it be her? She suffers from blackouts due to a freak accident one year earlier. We soon learn the truth behind her accident and what is going on.
Release: 1981-05-15
Phobia 2 (2009)
6.217/10
An anthology of five macabre short stories about hungry ghosts, comatose brain dead, a group of bright-eyed actors, an unscrupulous car salesman, and careless backpack tourists.
Release: 2009-09-09
The Black Cat (1989)
4.704/10
When a horror film based on the same source material as Suspiria and Inferno goes into production, the evil witch the story is based upon manifests herself and not only begins to terrorise the actress set to portray her on screen, but reveals plans to wreck havoc and bloodshed throughout the world.
Release: 1989-04-09
Trick (2016)
0/10
A mysterious masked man wanders through a neighborhood on Halloween, filming enigmatic footage scoping out the sites of his unknown past crimes, in the lead-up to committing and recording a new one to add to his horrid collection.
Release: 2016-10-31
The Abominable Snowman (1957)
6.2/10
A kindly English botanist and a gruff American promoter lead an expedition to the Himalayas in search of the legendary Yeti.
Release: 1957-08-26
The Adjustment Bureau (2011)
6.773/10
A man glimpses the future Fate has planned for him – and chooses to fight for his own destiny. Battling the powerful Adjustment Bureau across, under and through the streets of New York, he risks his destined greatness to be with the only woman he's ever loved.
Release: 2011-03-03
Mystery Team (2009)
6.152/10
A group of former Encyclopedia Brown-style child-detectives struggle to solve an adult mystery.
Release: 2009-08-28
Nobody Knows Anybody (1999)
5.383/10
Simón is an aspiring novelist who makes a living designing crossword puzzles for a newspaper. One day he receives a threatening message instructing him to include the word "adversary" in a puzzle as Seville gets hit by a series of violent attacks.
Release: 1999-11-26
Hey Look Ma, I Made It (2023)
0/10
The police found a woman named Ferlina (38) dead in her own home. Rio (18) who is her only child, became a witness to the incident to uncover who is the perpetrator of the murder.
Release: 2023-02-24
Silent Fall (1994)
5.3/10
Having seen the double murder of his parents, autistic youth Tim Warden is sent to therapy with controversial therapist Dr. Jake Rainer. Jake tries to probe the silent child about what he saw, but he gets more details about the Wardens' household dynamics from Tim's teenage sister, Sylvie. As he spends more time with the siblings, Jake learns that the Wardens' marriage was not as perfect as it seemed, and he uncovers other new details that might help solve the crime.
Release: 1994-10-28
Stripped Naked (2009)
4.15/10
When exotic dancer Cassie happens upon a drug deal gone bad, she steals the money and the drugs thinking she now has the funds to make her dream of moving to Paris come true. But waiting three days to get her passport proves tougher than she thought when everyone she knows from her ex-boyfriend, to her drug addict boss, to her lesbian lover, to the rightful owner of the money decides to get in on the action.
Release: 2009-09-21
Goth (2008)
6.188/10
Itsuki and Yoru share a passion for the dark and death, making them the perfect choice to track down a serial killer who is roaming the streets.
Release: 2008-12-20
Dark Moon Rising (2009)
4.557/10
Small-town girl meets mysterious drifter boy, they fall in love. Only in this case, the boy brings with him a family curse and unimaginable horror that rains hell upon the small town
Release: 2009-10-10