Psycho

Film delicacy, which belongs to the golden treasury of world cinematography and if Hitchcock hadn't filmed anything else, he still deserved to have a marble monument carved for him. The shower scene or the fall down the stairs are for me a symbol of perfect direction, and the slowly rotating chair in the basement is a symbol of horror as a distinct genre. Excellent performance by Perkins, who was never able to surpass his performance and actually never got out of the role of the deranged Norman. The ingredients in this film are balanced in such a way that a delicacy was created... The incredibly impactful music is also worth mentioning. Overall impression 100%. (05/06/2007)

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. (04/27/2005)

Hitchcock was a peculiar and unique personality, the likes of which will probably never be born again. His Psycho is an example of perfect symbiosis between direction, cinematography and music, which leaves such a strong and deep impression that the viewer is forced to replay the story over and over again long after its end. And what comes to mind is perhaps not even necessary to repeat. Firstly, the chilling and disturbing atmosphere that stretches across the frame like a morning mist over a calm pond. Secondly, Bernard Herrmann's legendary score, which perhaps couldn't have been better and is the main reason why the famous bathroom scene is still considered a symbol of flawless horror. And finally, the truly insane Anthony Perkins and the aforementioned cinematography, thanks to which even the sight of a lonely dark house causes unpleasant chills. Yet, I hesitate to give a full rating. The ravages of time have taken their toll and Hitchcock's signature, however admirable and refined, will never represent my ideal, not only in film, but in horror as well. (10/05/2012)

Somehow I'm getting lost here in the flood of "immortal", "classic", and "timeless". I mean, Psycho has undeniable value considering when it was made, but for all intents and purposes it's now just an outdated entertainment artifact. The script scrapes its dialogue from the bottom, the acting and general direction of the actors is severely laughable (apart from Anthony Perkins, who is quite out of step with the production of the time in both his performance and appearance), the early identification of the killer takes the edge off the scare, and the editing is downright prehistoric. The interesting reveal and cinematography were enjoyable, plus I believe that to experience Psycho in its time would be pretty psycho, but nowadays the film operates on significantly different algorithms. (04/16/2012)

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. (02/19/2013)