[The Queen Vic]

I have just re-watched Psycho after studying it indepth during my Media Studies course, and it really is a true work of genius.

Anthony Hopkins gives such a chilling and memorable performance in this film, and the image of the mother at the end haunts me still.

Anyone else a fan?

[rybev]

My all time favourite film, though I prefer the version with Anthony Perkins

I never tire of watching it, to me its perfect in every way.
The Psycho Mansion is my favourite iconic image - stunning!

[MrKingfisher]

A true masterclass in the art of cinematography...absolute classic of a fim

[MiSSSmith]

It's one of my fave films along with "The Birds"

*Big Hitch fan reporting in*

[gmc93]

I had to do the same last year. Brilliant film, can't believe I hadn't watched it before then.

[rybev]

*another massive Hitchcock fan here*

I'm intrigued what you learned studying the film.
I mentioned in another thread once about a book I've got which studies 5 classic Hitch films and the author claims Psycho is about the consumption of food and then the waste product at te other end (pooh). It's bizarre but a great read.
I'll try and find the book and post the exact title and author.

[MindBodySoul]

Amazing Film. Mind blowing shit right there. The man was ON FIYAH!

[Andy Birkenhead]

Originally Posted by rybev

*another massive Hitchcock fan here*

I'm intrigued what you learned studying the film.
I mentioned in another thread once about a book I've got which studies 5 classic Hitch films and the author claims Psycho is about the consumption of food and then the waste product at te other end (pooh). It's bizarre but a great read.
I'll try and find the book and post the exact title and author.

WHAT ??

[richard cranium]

Originally Posted by The Queen Vic

I have just re-watched Psycho after studying it indepth during my Media Studies course, and it really is a true work of genius.

So what did you study then ?

Show off a bit of your expertise.

What was the reason he shot it in B/W ?

Why did Hitch not get on with John Gavin ?

Why were the censors unhappy with the shower scene ?

[halloweenbabe]

I studied Hitch as part of my Film Studied O Level some *mumble mumble* years ago under the section The Director as Author.

Had to watch Psycho several times. Each time I would discover some other delight previously overlooked. Other Hitch wonders included: The Birds, Marnie, Strangers on a Train, Rear Window, Vertigo, Rope, Suspicion, The Wrong Man, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Shadow of a Doubt.

Others I have enjoyed: The Lady Vanishes, The 39 Steps, Rebecca, Lifeboat.

Originally Posted by richard cranium

So what did you study then ?

Show off a bit of your expertise.

What was the reason he shot it in B/W ? I know...

Hitch didn't think the audience could cope with all the blood splatter if in colour... and did you know that the 'blood' was actually chocolate sauce LOL !

Why did Hitch not get on with John Gavin ?

Why were the censors unhappy with the shower scene ?

Dunno the other answers though

[richard cranium]

Gavin was a wooden and unemotional as a wardrobe, he failed to impress Hitch that his character had just had sex with the lovely Janet Leigh.

The censors said they saw a definite breast and nipple in the shower scene ( which is true ) and told hitch to recut the scene and present it for re-examination.
Hitch waited a week and presented the exactly the same scene as the censors had seen the first time, and the censors nodded sagely and were satisfied that no nipple was present..

[The Queen Vic]

Originally Posted by richard cranium

So what did you study then ?

Show off a bit of your expertise.

What was the reason he shot it in B/W ?

Why did Hitch not get on with John Gavin ?

Why were the censors unhappy with the shower scene ?

Well, you obviously know the answers so I can't think of why you're testing me... it was an A-Level course and we looked at horror through the ages, as part of a Media Studies course. We looked at Psycho, the subsequent remake, the US version of The Ring, the Japanese version of The Ring and also slasher movies such as Halloween. I studied the content of the film, and the performance/direction. I didn't study why the cast members didn't get on.

You obviously think you know it all, so why not enlighten us with your knowledge and wisdom? I'm just a fan of the film, therefore started an appreciation thread about it. Don't see why I have to justify everything I say because you seem to think you're a 'superior' film fan.

[hurrikane313]

Sorry but since when as Sir Anthony Hopkins been in Psycho? I could srear for the life of me it was Anthony Perkins.

[richard cranium]

Originally Posted by The Queen Vic

Well, you obviously know the answers so I can't think of why you're testing me... it was an A-Level course and we looked at horror through the ages, as part of a Media Studies course. We looked at Psycho, the subsequent remake, the US version of The Ring, the Japanese version of The Ring and also slasher movies such as Halloween. I studied the content of the film, and the performance/direction. I didn't study why the cast members didn't get on.

You obviously think you know it all, so why not enlighten us with your knowledge and wisdom? I'm just a fan of the film, therefore started an appreciation thread about it. Don't see why I have to justify everything I say because you seem to think you're a 'superior' film fan.

Calm down dear, I was just sharing Psycho anecdotes with fellow afficionados.

[Scubamonkey]

Brilliant film - Have always loved it.

[The Queen Vic]

Originally Posted by richard cranium

Calm down dear, I was just sharing Psycho anecdotes with fellow afficionados.

We all know what you were doing, dear.

Typo at the top, of course it was Anthony Perkins!

[Adeel_8_6]

Brilliant film, watched it a long with a few other Hitchcock films as part of a film course i did many years ago.

[spiney2]

Yeah. Iconic. Because it's full of ..... icons.

He made it on the cheap with the crew from his tv series, not a standard film crew. Or was that the clever marketing ploy ?


The policeman with the shades - Mort Mills - later guest starred in Bewitched.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mort_Mills

[richard cranium]

It's said it's the first film to feature a flushing toilet and a Transvestite.

Good old Hitch, what a guy.

[Chris James]

Richard asks why was it made in black and white and not colour?

Did you not see the colour version re-made with Vince Vaughan directed by Gus Van Saint, copying Hitchcock's version frame for frame?

B & W can be more atmospheric (Schindler's List) for certain films, and Hitchcock showed that.


But the real reason was cost.

[TardisSteve]

I think is a masterpiece by the master of suspence, suburb acting by Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh, a true classic

[stripedcat]

Hitch's finest film. A tour-de-force. I named it as my favourite Hitchcock film a while back and put it on my Top 10 films of all-time on here as well(it was No. 3 by the way).

It is not just a slasher film, it is much deeper. There are the subject of taboos covered in there and issues of guilt.

People think that it is all about the 'shower scene', but there are many more scenes :-

Spoiler

the voiceover when Marion steals the money, the second murder on the stairway, the revelation of the killer and that chilling ending

[PANNAL1]

Anthony Perkins performance is one of the finest to grace cinema. Shamefully overlooked by Oscar. Martin Balsam and Janet Leigh are also wonderful. The climatic scene in the cellar still scares me even today...and it took me a while to have a shower after seeing the film.

[tracystapes]

I've never seen 'Psycho' before so have ordered the DVD as I really want to see it.

I also want to see 'Hitchcock' too.

[Paul Wilson]

I know a lot of the experts tend to name Vertigo as Hitchcocks masterpiece, but for me its always been Psycho. Its the attack on the stairs that does it for me not the shower scene. That shot of Arbogast in the hallway and - ahem - cut to the small sliver of light as Mother opens the bedroom door. To this day, that's pants-wetting stuff.