Twelve cabins, twelve vacancies - My review of Psycho on Blu Ray

Psycho is an undeniable classic.  Made during Hitchcock's 'golden period' which also spawned Rear Window, Vertigo, North by Northwest, The Birds and the criminally underrated The Wrong Man, it has stood the test of time.  It's actually hard to believe that it's celebrating its 50 year old anniversary this year, and therefore it's a perfect time for this HD re-release on Blu Ray.

First off, for a 50 year old movie it cleans up well.  The images are smooth and sharp, and the remastered soundtrack is clear as a bell.

The story concerns Marion Crane, an unmarried thirty something who is having an affair with Sam Loomis.  Sam is a proud man, who won't have them together until he pays off the debt from a previous marriage.  When Marion is presented with $40,000 at her office, she steals it and makes a break for a new life with Sam.  It's a long drive, and she has to stop for a good night's sleep.  So she pulls into the Bates Motel.....

What strikes me about Psycho is how many long stretches of silence there.  A lot of the tension comes from Marion's paranoia, which then shifts onto Norman Bates' paranoia about the secret surrounding his mother being discovered.  A lot of long, silent glares.  Looking over their shoulder's at who may be following them.  The sheer length of the lead up to the shower scene....

It's Hitchcock at his most confident and most playful.  For Psycho, he bought the rights to Robert Bloch's novel anonymously, in order to keep the price down.  He then utilised the cast and crew from his popular television show, Alfred Hitchcock Presents.  The whole thing was made for less than $1 million, which for Hitchcock, coming off the expensive shoots on Vertigo and North by Northwest, was unheard of.

In fact, Hitchcock made the movie solely to make a point.  His reasoning was that so many bad, cheap, black and white movies were made yet still made a profit, then how would a well made black and white movie do?  He got his answer as Psycho went on to gross over $40 million and become one of the most successful movies of the year.

This is a quality Blu Ray release.  The movie is fantastic and the extras are not to be sniffed at either.  There is a wealth of documentaries, behind the scenes footage and interviews with the master of suspense himself from back in the day.  For anyone with even a passing interest in suspense and horror movies, this is essential.