Sick of slasher films? Bored with Freddy Krueger and his endless Nightmares? What better time to revisit “Psycho,” the Alfred Hitchcock classic lovingly restored for its Blu-ray close-up.
The film, available Oct. 18 in a 50th anniversary edition, offers what may be the ultimate “kill scene” in modern horror movie parlance. But the chilling tale is more than just the sight of Janet Leigh shrieking in the shower. The new release offers crisp black and white imagery, a beefed up 5.1 audio track and enough extras to satiate even the most finicky horror fan.
Plus, it’s a delight to experience Anthony Perkins’ Norman Bates all over again. The actor’s psychologically tortured soul remains iconic for all the right reasons – and the same can be said of the film itself.
Leigh stars as Marion Crane, a single gal who decides to steal money from her boss to support her new lover. It’s a moral misstep that seals her fate, leading her into the not so quaint Bates Motel – and the shower of destiny.
“Psycho’s” beats are so well known it’s superfluous to say much more. Perkins’ boyish face belies a monster, his casting a masterstroke that defines the film. Then again, Hitchcock’s missteps in his directorial prime are tough to spot. Watch how his camera maneuvers around co-star Martin Balsam as he climbs the stairs to Mrs. Bates’ bedroom. An overhead shot sets the stage … and heightens the shock without adding any blood or needless sound effects.
The film’s pace may throw off modern audiences used to being goosed by a cheap scare or sound effect every 10 minutes. What can be gained by watching Norman painstakingly dispatch with a dead body? But consider the exchanges between Norman and Marion early in the film … or Norman’s interrogation by Balsam’s private investigator. Tense. Smart. Beautifully acted. You simply don’t find those qualities in today’s shock films.
And Bernard Herrmann’s score could be the best to ever grace a horror film – with apologies to John Carpenter’s “Halloween” signature riff.
The copious extras include newsreel footage that reminds us Hitchcock was a showman off and on screen. The gimmick behind the film had theater owners forbidding patrons from entering the theater after the film began. Hitchcock was auteur, a larger than life personality and an innovator all in one. He wore each hat well, making him the kind of director we simply don’t have in modern Hollywood.
Other goodies include a featurette dubbed “In the Master’s Shadow: Hitchcock’s Legacy” with some of the biggest names in film, like Martin Scorsese, singing Hitchcock’s praises, as well as artist Saul Bass’ storyboard behind the shower scene and commentary by Hitchcock biographer Stephen Rebello.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
You’re definitely right that we don’t have directors like Hitchcock in Hollywood any more. For a time, I thought that Shyamalan might take up that mantle with “The Sixth Sense”, “Signs” and “Unbreakable”, but while Hitchcock had plenty of single gimmick films, he knew how to make the surrounding stories interesting. Does anybody really remember anything about Wahlberg’s character in “The Happening” other than he was a teacher? And even that was not a defining characteristic or something that helped propel the story.
One of my favorite Hitchcock films, which makes it one of my favorite films overall. This was the first film I can remember seeing where the director deliberately toyed with the viewer vis-a-vis identifying who was the protagonist. Indeed, is there really a protagonist in “Psycho”?
Waiting to board a plane, queued up on my iPad? “Strangers on a Train”. Another creepy, albeit less horror-esque, Hitch masterpiece!