DVDs in Review

Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)

Title: Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)

Release date: August 9 2010

Certificate: 15

Format: Blu-ray

RRP: £19.99

Rating: 5/5

Reviewed by Dave Lancaster

If you haven’t seen ‘Psycho’ yet, you’ve waited too long.

Luckily, this flawless Blu-ray presents the best opportunity outside of the cinema to catch Hitchcock’s undisputed masterpiece. With staggeringly crisp picture and expansive sound quality for a film its age, every slash of the knife in the shower and every rainwashed set has never looked better. For a film that was beginning to feel rather dated, ‘Psycho’ has suddenly become relevant again.

Watching this Blu-ray makes you wonder how you put up with your DVD for so many years.

The quality of the film really goes without saying, but for the uninitiated this is Hitchcock’s greatest work alongside ‘North By Northwest’, ‘Rear Window’ and ‘Vertigo’.

It lacks the suave humour and epic feel of his chase thrillers like ‘North By Northwest’, but retains the claustrophobia of ‘Rear Window’ but this time it’s infected with that black psychological torment of ‘Vertigo’. Still, there’s no Cary Grant or James Stewart to offer warm familiarity. ‘Psycho’ leaves you cold.

Anthony Perkins is eerie and complex in the role of Norman Bates, tormented motel owner obsessed with his overbearing mother. Janet Leigh is the secretary on the run with her company’s latest haul, only to check in for the night and regret the decision as soon as she takes a shower. Vera Miles, John Gavin and Martin Balsam round out the cast as the missing girl’s sister, lover and private detective.

Each character is given almost equal screentime – you don’t have a leading character driving you through, so you never know quite where you stand or who is safe.

Hitchcock shot the film on the cheap, but with a 50mm lens on his 35mm camera as he claims it was the closest thing to what the human eye can see.

In harsh black and white with none of his trademark epic setpieces, ‘Psycho’ feels gritty, realistic and unnerving but still drenched with typical Hitchcock style and Bernard Herrmann’s iconic sharp all-string music. It’s this mixture of professional, industry leading style and economical, voyeuristic substance helps give the film its jarring quality.

Some pivitol scenes haven’t aged well, it has to be said. With fresh eyes today, there could be an unintentional laugh or two, but the vast majority of ‘Psycho’ is both absorbing and disturbing, gripping you throughout. In all, it thoroughly deserves its high regard.

The Blu-ray is loaded with features (many of which have been seen on DVD), and the restoration is perfect. Any serious film fan should own this. Hopefully the rest of Hitchcock’s films will get a treatment this respectful to the source material.