Search - Psycho [Special Edition] on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Violence, Brief Nudity, Not For Children Movie Release: 1960 DVD Release: 10/07/2008 Format: DVD - Black and White,Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Edition: Dual Layered Audio Tracks: English, French Subtitles: French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 2 Number of Discs: 2 Run Time: 1 hrs 49 mins Studio: Universal Studios Members Wishing: 20 Genres: Thriller, Slasher Film, Psychological Thriller See Also: Psycho [Collector's Edition], Psycho [Collector's Edition], Psycho [Collector's Edition] [$5 Halloween Candy Cash Offer]

In 1960, Alfred Hitchcock was already famous as the screen's master of suspense (and perhaps the best-known film director in the world) when he released Psycho and forever changed the shape and tone of the screen thriller. From its first scene, in which an unmarried couple balances pleasure and guilt in a lunchtime liaison in a cheap hotel (hardly a common moment in a major studio film in 1960), Psycho announced that it was taking the audience to places it had never been before, and on that score what followed would hardly disappoint. Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) is unhappy in her job at a Phoenix, Arizona real estate office and frustrated in her romance with hardware store manager Sam Loomis (John Gavin). One afternoon, Marion is given $40,000 in cash to be deposited in the bank. Minutes later, impulse has taken over and Marion takes off with the cash, hoping to leave Phoenix for good and start a new life with her purloined nest egg. 36 hours later, paranoia and exhaustion have started to set in, and Marion decides to stop for the night at the Bates Motel, where nervous but personable innkeeper Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) cheerfully mentions that she's the first guest in weeks, before he regales her with curious stories about his mother. There's hardly a film fan alive who doesn't know what happens next, but while the shower scene is justifiably the film's most famous sequence, there are dozens of memorable bits throughout this film. The first of a handful of sequels followed in 1983, while Gus Van Sant's controversial remake, starring Vince Vaughn and Anne Heche, appeared in 1998. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Anthony Perkins - Norman Bates
Janet Leigh - Marion Crane
Vera Miles - Lila Crane
John Gavin - Sam Loomis
Martin Balsam - Milton Arbogast, detective

Alfred Hitchcock was already one of the most influential filmmakers alive when he released Psycho in 1960, but with that film he rewrote nearly all the rules of how a suspense film was made, and the movie's bold approach and edgy subject matter helped make it one of Hitchcock's most popular and enduring works. Nearly fifty years after it first hit screens, Psycho has lost little of its power to shock, and as part of their "Universal Legacy" series, Universal Home Entertainment has released a new two-disc DVD edition of the film, ten years after Psycho first appeared in the digital format. Psycho has been given a new widescreen transfer for this release, letterboxed at 1.85:1 on conventional televisions and enhanced for 16x9 playback on anamorphic monitors. The image looks great, with strong blacks and a full range of grey tones, and the source materials are clean and free of scratches and speckles. The audio has been mastered in Dolby Digital Mono, and while the fidelity is limited by the technology of the day, the sound quality is impressive for the period and the transfer is very good. In addition to the original English language audio track, an alternate French dubbed version is also included, and optional subtitles in English, French and Spanish are also on board. Most of the bonus materials included with this set were also featured on the 1998 release, including a full-length documentary on the making of Psycho which features extensive interviews with screenwriter Joseph Stefano and actress Janet Leigh. However, there are a few items new to this set, among them an informative commentary track from Stephen Rebello (author of a book on Psycho) and a classic episode from the television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents, "Lamb To The Slaughter" (which was directed by Hitchcock himself). Other extras on this set include an additional documentary in which a number of noted filmmakers discuss Hitchcock's impact on contemporary cinema, a vintage "visual pressbook" on the initial marketing of Psycho, several trailers and TV spots for the film, the infamous shower scene isolated with and without music, Saul Bass's original storyboards for the shower sequence, still photographs and behind-the-scenes snapshots from the shoot, a gallery of posters and lobby cards, and audio excerpts from François Truffaut's celebrated interviews with Hitchcock. Given how good the first DVD release of Psycho was, many longtime fans may not feel the need to upgrade to this new edition, but if you haven't already added this film to your personal library, the "Universal Legacy" edition will satisfy the most devoted Hitchcock fan. (Two curious details about this set -- while this is part of the "Universal Legacy" series, Psycho was originally produced and released by Paramount Pictures, and the music that accompanies the DVD menus is actually from the 1990 made-for-television sequel, Psycho IV: The Beginning!) ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide