Psycho

It’s misguided to rate Psycho as a representative of any genre or as a film that scared the viewer on the scale of a few stars. Psycho deserves to be judged as a demonstration of the possibilities of the art of filmmaking and as a showcase of Alfred Hitchcock’s brilliant creativity. And by taking this path, it’s possible to come to only one conclusion – Psycho is not a film; it is a super-film. First there’s that, and then there are films that can rated with some stars according to how well made they are. ___ Let’s imagine that a painter’s brush has X possibilities of movement, angle of approach to the canvas and intensity of contact with the canvas. Now let’s apply that principle of possibilities to film directing and working with film techniques and with the viewer. Hitchcock harnessed these X possibilities that other filmmakers had been working with, juggled them and created a new palette of XYZ possibilities. Filmmaking is a science. When will there ever be a greater filmmaking innovator that Hitchcock was? (2003-04-07)

A cinematic delicacy that belongs to the golden treasury of world cinema. Even if Alfred Hitchcock had made nothing else, he would still deserve a monument carved in marble. The shower scene or the fall down the stairs are, for me, symbols of perfect direction, while the slowly turning chair in the basement symbolizes horror as a distinct genre. Anthony Perkins is excellent, and he never managed to surpass his performance and essentially remained trapped in the role of the deranged Norman. The ingredients in this film are balanced so well that it became a delicacy... The extraordinarily impressive music is also worth mentioning. Overall impression: 100%. (2007-05-06)

So I’ve finally really gotten to know Psycho! This is because the film is so well known that from all the previews and photos I've seen, all the TV documentaries, all the paragraphs in books and magazines, and the song titles on Herrmann's extra-fierce soundtrack, I felt like I'd actually known it for a long time. And since one of those notorious things is the point, despite all my admiration for the greatest master of suspense, I wasn't that keen on watching Psycho. Come on, stop looking at me like that, we all do stupid things. I did enjoy Psycho last night, though. In a movie theatre, in fact. I didn't notice the giggling of the rest of the audience, who had apparently seen the film for the tenth time, and I sat there like a chained man. I was very pleasantly surprised by a lot of moments I didn't know and which I quite possibly liked the most - especially the (non)sinking of the car into the peat bog and the private detective walking up the stairs (that was truly worthy of a heart attack). Needless to say, Psycho is one of those films that deserves a sixth star. (2013-02-19)

I'll preface this with the fact that it's a better 3 stars. Where this movie wins is the music. I watched it in the cinema, with my classmates around me, and quite a few of them flinched in horror at the murder of the private eye. But that's mostly because of the music. Unfortunately, it didn’t fire me up, which is definitely a shame. And the other problem was that it was clear to me almost from the beginning what the ending was going to be. But I think this film belongs in the "must-see" column, so I don't regret going to see it at all as part of Project 100. But the last scene (before the credits jump in), that was really awesome. (2009-12-18)

Alfred Hitchcock is a master at creating a dark atmosphere, the constant rain, black and white composition, the old house, and a few shots of a heavily clouded sky literally predicts evil, accompanied by brilliant music. Overall, this film was revolutionary for its time and something unseen. Today? The power and shock have somewhat diminished, times are changing after all, but even after all these years, this film still has something special. (2005-04-27)