Stars: Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, John Gavin, Janet Leigh, Martin Balsam, John Anderson, Ted Knight, John McIntire, Simon Oakland, Frank Albertson, Vaughn Taylor, George Eldredge, Sam Flint, Virginia Gregg, Mort Mills, Lurene Tuttle, Helen Wallace, Alfred Hitchcock

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Summary: Tense film about a series of murders at a lonely motel. The deaths are attributed to the mother of the young owner.

Credited with inventing the genre of the modern horror film, PSYCHO has had its share of sequels and imitators, none of which diminishes the achievement of this shocking and complex horror thriller. Alfred Hitchcock's choreography of elements in PSYCHO is considered so perfect it inspired a shot-by-shot remake by Gus Van Sant in 1998. However, Hitchcock's black-and-white original, featuring Anthony Perkins's haunting characterization of lonely motel keeper Norman Bates, has never been equaled. Bates presides over an out-of-the-way motel under the domineering specter of his mother. The young, well-intentioned Bates is introduced to the audience when Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), a blonde on the run with stolen money, checks in for the night. But Momma doesn't like loose women, so the stage is set for this classic tale of horror--and one of the most famous scenes in film history. PSYCHO was initially received by audiences with shock and amazement, and it still terrifies today. Though it is now considered prototypical Hitchcock, its setting, pace, and emphasis on terror were major departures for the director at the time, coming after the more classically grand NORTH BY NORTHWEST.

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For all the slasher pictures that have ripped off Psycho (and particularly its classic set piece, the "shower scene"), nothing has ever matched the impact of the real thing. More than just a first-rate shocker full of thrills and suspense, Psycho is also an engrossing character study in which director Alfred Hitchcock skillfully seduces you into identifying with the main characters--then pulls the rug (or the bathmat) out from under you. Anthony Perkins is unforgettable as Norman Bates, the mama's boy proprietor of the Bates Motel; and so is Janet Leigh as Marion Crane, who makes an impulsive decision and becomes a fugitive from the law, hiding out at Norman's roadside inn for one fateful night. Psycho gets the masterpiece treatment it deserves on DVD. --Jim Emerson

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Year:	1960
Release Date:	February 20, 2006
Runtime:	109 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	8241473
Keywords:	English, General, Psycho, Horror, Occult
Genre:	Horror/Occult