363. Psycho (1960)

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Synopsis

A series of people get disappeared at a roadside motel where a young man lives with his "mother".

Review

Well you really don't need much more than that for a synopsis... of course it's more complicated than that, but if you've seen the film you know what happens and if you haven't more than that would ruin it for you.

This is the Hitchcock film that has been on the list that plays most with his macabre sense of humour. In fact the film, for all its fame as a thriller works mostly as a humorous piece... of course it is a very particular kind of humour, but it is humour nonetheless.

So it is the funniest Hitchcock film we've had up until now. Is it his best? No, not really I'd still put Rear Window and Rope up there above this. It is, however, thoroughly entertaining and a joy to watch, full of misdirection and mischievousness it is a great pleasure to see a master at work.

Final Grade

9/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

Psycho is a prime example of the type of film that appeared in the 1960s after the erosion of the Production Code. It was unprecedented in its depiction of sexuality and violence, right from the opening scene where Sam and Marion are shown as lovers sharing the same bed. In the Production Code standards of that time, unmarried couples shown in the same bed would be taboo. In addition, the censors were upset by the shot of a flushing toilet; at that time, the idea of seeing a toilet onscreen - let alone being flushed - was taboo in American movies and TV shows. According to Entertainment Weekly, "The Production Code censors... had no objection to the bloodletting, the Oedipal murder theme, or even the shower scene—but did ask that Hitchcock remove the word transvestite from the film. He didn't." At one point, Hitchcock actually considered releasing the film without censorial approval. Its box office success helped propel Hollywood toward more graphic displays of previously-censored themes.

Psycho is widely considered to be the first film in the slasher film genre.


Trailer with Hitchcock giving a tour of the set: