Simply the Best

Rating: 10/10 (19 July 2003)

It is not really necessary for "Psycho" to frighten viewers anymore. In 1960, it was the most terrifying film ever made, and had full houses screaming their lungs out at theaters all over the world. It was the first "slasher movie" and so much more. Everything in American movies changed after "Psycho": sex, violence, the star system. It was revolutionary. And "Psycho" ruled the 60's as the shocker of the decade. CBS had to cancel the TV debut in 1966 because it was too controversial. When local channels started showing it in 1967, it terrified millions more in the privacy of their own homes.
40 years-plus later, maybe "Psycho" will scare you, maybe it won't. But what it WILL still do is prove itself a masterpiece of filmmaking. Hitchcock and his collaborators were at top form.
Look at the editing, the composition of shots, the camera movements. Look at the unforgettable performance of Anthony Perkins as nervous young motel manager Norman Bates. Look at the unforgettable performance of Janet Leigh as motel guest Marion Crane. Look at all the great performances in support, from the millionaire at the beginning to the psychiatrist at the end. (The great overlooked performance is that of Martin Balsam as Arbogast, one smart, funny, and tenacious private detective.)
And LISTEN to Bernard Herrmann's classic score -- the greatest score ever written for a thriller. The "screeching violins" are the most famous motif in shocker history (only the "Jaws" shark theme comes close),and the "three notes of madness" at the very end of the film were so great that Martin Scorcese put them into "Taxi Driver" and George Lucas put them into "Star Wars."
"Psycho" scared millions in 1960. It made history, and it really doesn't matter if it scares you the same way today. But try watching it alone one night, after midnight, with the sound turned up high to catch Herrmann's music. It's still pretty scary if you let it be.