page_title: Psycho (1960 film)
section_title: Reception
hierarchical_section_title: Psycho (1960 film) / Reception
caption_attribution_description: English: Janet Leigh in 1955 Photoplay story
context_page_description: Psycho is a 1960 American psychological horror thriller film produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The screenplay, written by Joseph Stefano, was based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch. The film stars Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin and Martin Balsam, and centers on the encounter between a female embezzler on the run, Marion Crane, and Norman Bates, the shy proprietor of a secluded old motel, and its aftermath.
  Psycho was seen as a departure from Hitchcock's previous film North by Northwest, having been filmed on a lower budget, in black-and-white, and by a television crew. The film was initially considered controversial and received mixed reviews, but audience fascination and outstanding box-office returns prompted a major critical reevaluation. Psycho was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actress for Leigh and Best Director for Hitchcock.
  Psycho is now considered one of Hitchcock's best films and praised as a major work of cinematic art by international film critics and scholars due to its slick direction, tense atmosphere, effective camerawork, a memorable score and iconic performances.
context_section_description: Initial reviews of the film were thoroughly mixed. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote, "There is not an abundance of subtlety or the lately familiar Hitchcock bent toward significant and colorful scenery in this obviously low-budget job." Crowther called the "slow buildups to sudden shocks" reliably melodramatic but contested Hitchcock's psychological points, reminiscent of Krafft-Ebing's studies, as less effective. While the film did not conclude satisfactorily for the critic, he commended the cast's performances as "fair". British critic C. A. Lejeune was so offended that she not only walked out before the end but permanently resigned her post as film critic for The Observer. Other negative reviews stated, "a blot on an honorable career", "plainly a gimmick movie", and "merely one of those television shows padded out to two hours."
  Positive reviews stated, "Anthony Perkins' performance is the best of his career ... Janet Leigh has never been better", "played out beautifully", and "first American movie since Touch of Evil to stand in the same creative rank as the great European films." A good example of the mix is the New York Herald Tribune's review, which stated, "... rather difficult to be amused at the forms insanity may take ... keeps your attention like a snake-charmer."
  The public loved the film, with lines stretching outside of theaters as people had to wait for the next showing. This, along with box office numbers, led to a reconsideration of the film by critics, and it eventually received a large amount of praise. It broke box-office records in Japan and the rest of Asia, France, Britain, South America, the United States, and Canada, and was a moderate success in Australia for a brief period. It was the most profitable black-and-white sound film ever made, and Hitchcock personally realized well in excess of $15 million. He then swapped his rights to Psycho and his TV anthology for 150,000 shares of MCA, making him the third largest shareholder in MCA Inc., and his own boss at Universal, in theory; however, this did not stop them from interfering with his later films. Psycho was, by a large margin, the most profitable film of Hitchcock's career, earning over $32 million for the studio on release, and $18 million by the end of the year. Around the time of the run's end, the film had grossed $50 million in domestic theaters.
  In the United Kingdom, the film shattered attendance records at the London Plaza Cinema, but nearly all British critics gave it poor reviews, questioning Hitchcock's taste and judgment. Reasons cited for this were the critics' late screenings, forcing them to rush their reviews, their dislike of the gimmicky promotion, and Hitchcock's expatriate status. Perhaps thanks to the public's response and Hitchcock's efforts at promoting it, the critics did a re-review, and the film was praised. TIME switched its opinion from "Hitchcock bears down too heavily in this one" to "superlative" and "masterly", and Bosley Crowther put it on his Top Ten list of 1960.
  The Catholic Legion of Decency gave the film a B rating, meaning "morally objectionable in part".
  Psycho was criticized for making other filmmakers more willing to show gore; three years later, Blood Feast, considered to be the first "splatter film", was released. Psycho's success financially and critically had others trying to ride its coattails. Inspired by Psycho, Hammer Film Productions launched a series of mystery thrillers including The Nanny (1965) starring Bette Davis and William Castle's Homicidal (1961) was followed by a slew of more than thirteen other splatter films.
  On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Psycho holds a "Certified: Fresh" approval rating of 96% based on 100 reviews, with an average score of 9.21/10. The site's critical consensus states, "Infamous for its shower scene, but immortal for its contribution to the horror genre. Because Psycho was filmed with tact, grace, and art, Hitchcock didn't just create modern horror, he validated it." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 97 out o
caption: Janet Leigh received an Oscar nomination and won a Golden Globe for her performance in the film.
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