Hitchcock’s most notorious work remains terrifying after all these years, digitally presented, this reissue marks this milestone work’s 50th Anniversary.

As larcenous Phoenix real-estate secretary Marion Crane (Leigh) picks the wrong place to spend a night: The bates Motel (12 cabins, 12 vacancies, 12 showers), run by a peculiar young man (Perkins) and his crotchety old ‘mother’. Based on Robert Bloch’s novel, the film’s numerous set pieces remain unsurpassed (the superbly edited shower sequence, storyboarded by Saul Bass is one of the most influential in film history), with the film having accrued the reputation as the master of all suspense movies.

It’s hard to place yourself into the mindset of audiences from 1960 when Hitchcock first unleashed Psycho on an unsuspecting public. You can only imagine the genuine terror that a fully fledged ‘horror’ film like this would inflict on cinema-goers who had grown accustomed to new releases being in soft-focus and colour. Rejecting those principals, Hitchcock opts for the stark and menacing Black and White that has long been forgotten now. Sure the occasional film now comes out with a retro-active tinge to it (The White Ribbon is a prime example) but nowadays these are done for deliberate effect to evoke a sense of time and place… Hitchcocks classic was meant to be completely contemporary and it manages to remain so… 50 years after its release.

Of course the scenes are as ingrained in the minds of those who have never seen the film as it is in the psyche of those have watched it over and over again. The music and famed title sequence are ever-present but this film has so much more to offer. The innovative ‘twist’ stands up to the most forensic of examinations and the dialogue is surprisingly provocative. Janet Leigh oozes sex-appeal which most modern actresses fail to reach with Marion Crane remaining utterly alluring without resorting to cheap tricks.

It takes a while for the film to introduce Norman Bates and his Motel, with the first act taking great pain to set-up the thinking of another criminal as Crane goes on the run with a bag full of cash. Her paranoia is perfectly captured as she struggles with her conscience taking risk after risk as her mind plays tricks with her. Hitchcock is having fun here teasing the audience, we are left with the assumption that this is going to be a crime story about a woman on the run… and then we finally check into the Motel.

The scenes where we learn more about Norman Bates (Perkins) are bristling with tension and the slow reveal of his character to Crane is where the director shows us his true class. It would have been so easy to go for the cheap thrills but instead we are again teased and lulled into a false sense of security. It’s a temptation that most modern filmmakers find impossible to resist.

The iconic shower sequence is always more brutal than you remember it, without really showing us anything Hitchcock manages to horrify and traumatise us. The rest of the film is often left aside in reviews (apart of course from the twist), but it is as good as the first half. The investigation into Crane’s disappearance is very intriguing with the audience for once being in on the gag like Hitchcock… or so we think.

The print is superb and adds an amazing amount to the original film… in this digital format you actually get to see the master in perfect detail.

Rating: *****

Review: Cassam Looch