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As human beings, we're all subject to countless of struggles; whether it is simple temptations or savage impulses that we feel we need to surrender to, or that we simply just can't control. From stealing some much needed money to plain murder, "we all go a little mad sometimes", as Norman Bates says. Those struggles are the basis of Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece.
Psycho follows Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), a real estate secretary that decides to steal $40,000 from her boss perhaps to escape her own private trap, or is she stepping into a new one? While on the run, she stops at the remote Bates Motel, where she encounters owner Norman (Anthony Perkins), who happens to be in his own private trap himself.
I assume there's no need to tiptoe around the plot, but I guess it goes without saying that neither Marion's nor Norman's budged an inch. Instead, their traps end up clamping down on them harder. In the surface, Psycho might seem like a simple film, but in reality, it is an interesting mixture of character study and plot-driven thrills.
This is all thanks to the excellent work of everybody involved. From the richly textured script of Joseph Stefano and the meticulous direction of Hitchcock to the flawless performances of Perkins and Leigh, and everything in between. Psycho is a masterclass in groundbreaking and technically perfect filmmaking.
I've seen Psycho a bunch of times ever since I started getting into films back in the 90s, and I still find myself surprised, impressed, and captivated by everything it offers. Like I'm clamped by it, not able to get out. But then again, I don't wanna.
Grade:
PSYCHO
(1960, Hitchcock)
(1960, Hitchcock)
"I think that we're all in our private traps, clamped in them, and none of us can ever get out. We scratch and we claw, but only at the air, only at each other, and for all of it, we never budge an inch."
As human beings, we're all subject to countless of struggles; whether it is simple temptations or savage impulses that we feel we need to surrender to, or that we simply just can't control. From stealing some much needed money to plain murder, "we all go a little mad sometimes", as Norman Bates says. Those struggles are the basis of Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece.
Psycho follows Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), a real estate secretary that decides to steal $40,000 from her boss perhaps to escape her own private trap, or is she stepping into a new one? While on the run, she stops at the remote Bates Motel, where she encounters owner Norman (Anthony Perkins), who happens to be in his own private trap himself.
I assume there's no need to tiptoe around the plot, but I guess it goes without saying that neither Marion's nor Norman's budged an inch. Instead, their traps end up clamping down on them harder. In the surface, Psycho might seem like a simple film, but in reality, it is an interesting mixture of character study and plot-driven thrills.
This is all thanks to the excellent work of everybody involved. From the richly textured script of Joseph Stefano and the meticulous direction of Hitchcock to the flawless performances of Perkins and Leigh, and everything in between. Psycho is a masterclass in groundbreaking and technically perfect filmmaking.
I've seen Psycho a bunch of times ever since I started getting into films back in the 90s, and I still find myself surprised, impressed, and captivated by everything it offers. Like I'm clamped by it, not able to get out. But then again, I don't wanna.
Grade: