Intriguing

Rating: 7/10 (13 August 2010)

'Psycho' is nowadays highly praised as one of Alfred Hitchcock's finest films but back when it first came out it got mixed reviews. I'm not that familiar with the cinema of The Master of Suspense, though.
In 1960 colored films were already quite common (even Hitchcock's own films) but 'Psycho' was filmed in black and white. One can only wonder why, but I don't care about that. I'm not saying this just because I consider black and white a form of art but also because 'Psycho' is the kind of film that works better in black and white. It probably would be bad if it was in colors. The same way I wouldn't want black and white films such as 'The Window' (by Ted Tetzlaff) in colors, among others.
'Psycho', while I don't see it as the masterpiece many made it seem to be, is an okay movie. The old-fashioned feeling it gives is nice: the opening scene showing a lovely panorama of Phoenix, Arizona (where it takes place); the huge American cars of that time; the fact that it is in black and white; etc.
The famous shower scene doesn't look minimally realistic. I'm not gonna spoil my reasons, but it's so phony that it's obvious how it was made. Nevertheless, I think it is well made (if that makes sense) and it certainly is effective when it comes to quickness, although not really scary... well, at least not for our standards. But it must have been so surprising in 1960. For me, the part when the same assassin kills detective Arbogast is scarier, as that scene is so sudden and when you less expect... not to mention that it is very quick!
The violin sound makes a great piece of music and works well for the suspense of this film, which has many well made scenes of solid suspense. Scenes which give the feeling that you don't know what's gonna happen, but give the idea that something bad might happen. That's the case, for example, of a sequence when Marion is driving her car on a dark rainy night and the wipers of her car barely clean any rain. We barely see anything, just like her.
This is a movie that, watching for a 1st time, it's almost impossible to guess that Norman's "mother" is actually Norman himself disguised and imitating her. But it's easy to suspect that he's not the innocent guy he seems to be at first, as he smiles of satisfaction when he sinks Marion's car on a swamp (with her body in the car's trunk).
Although interesting, it's a weird movie. I hear that weird movies was one of Hitchcock's specialties. Janet Leigh does a fine job as Marion Crane. Other actors do well either. Bernard Herrmann's soundtrack is fantastic.
The final shot, which shows Marion's car being recovered from the swamp, could have been longer. It's far too quick and ends too sudden. Practically the moment they show it the movie suddenly ends.