a masterwork by a master.

Rating: 10/10 (15 October 2016)

Alfred Hitchcock has referred to this as a comedy. People seeing it for the first time may raise a quizzical eyebrow. If you have seen it before, then some of the dialogue such as "Mother, uh, what is the phrase? She isn't quite herself today." does have a morguish humour about it.But it is definitely not a film at which you will do much laughing, if any. Here is a near perfect example of the cinema of terror. it starts off a gripping suspenser about a young woman on the run with some money she has stolen. But then the totally unexpected happens, and we are plunged into a world of nightmare. on the technical side, direction, photography, and music are superb. in the acting side, the performances are varied. But Anthony Perkins is excellent. How he failed to be even nominated for his performance is a total mystery. The same goes for Bernard Hermann's chilling score. Now for the bad news. What stops the film from being perfect is a rather lengthy explanation of the reasons behind what happened, as told by a psychiatrist, played none too convincingly by Simon Oakland. There is also the revelation scene, which if i recall correctly looks to be as if Perkins is giving a helping hand there. But ignore those small gripes, and prepare to be held on edge of your seat by one of the best chillers ever made.