Psycho (1960)

In this article, we will be looking at 2019’s book “1001 Movies to See Before You Die” and going through each film in a random order that I have chosen. We will be looking at what constitutes this film to be on the list and whether I think this film deserves to be here at all. I want to make perfectly clear that I won’t be revealing details from this book such as analyses by film reporters who have written about the film in question, so if you want the book itself you’ll have to buy it. But I will be covering the book’s suggestions on which films should be your top priority. I wouldn’t doubt for a second that everyone reading this article has probably watched many of these movies anyway. But we are just here to have a bit of fun. We’re going to not just look at whether it should be on this list but we’re also going to look at why the film has such a legacy at all. Remember, this is the 2019 version of the book and so, films like “Joker” will not be featured in this book and any film that came out in 2020 (and if we get there, in 2021). So strap in and if you have your own suggestions then don’t hesitate to email me using the address in my bio. Let’s get on with it then.

Psycho (1960) dir. by Sir Alfred Hitchcock

Released in the DeMille Theatre in New York on the 16th of June, 1960, the film "Psycho" by Sir Alfred Hitchcock was known more for its controversies than the film's plot. Here's a fun fact about the plot: the critics were forbidden from having their own screening of the film and had to see the film with the general public because of the fact that Hitchcock feared they would give away key plot details in their reviews before the public had seen it. Another side of this is that Hitchcock himself banned Janet Leigh, Anthony Perkins and the rest of the cast from making TV appearances concerning the film out of fear they too, would accidentally give away some plot details. So this film was a secret until it came out.

Another aspect of the secrecy of this film is that there was a rule put on that the cinemas should not allow anyone in after the show had started. Initially refuting this with Hitchcock, the cinemas soon bended to his will because of the masses upon masses of queues that were outside the theatres when the film came out.

Flash-forward to 1992, this film got inducted into the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress and by then was already one of the most influential thriller films of all time.

The American Film Institute has rated "Psycho" on its top thriller film of all time and at number eighteen on the list of the one hundred greatest films of all time according to their lists. Norman Bates has been rated as the second greatest villain of all time whereas his quotation: "A boy's best friend is his mother" is put at number fifty-six on the list of greatest lines in movies.

I have seen this film so many times because it is on my list of movies I like to watch on a rainy day. I love the way the film deals with its solution and the way in which the storyline deals with the characters. I think that Sir Alfred Hitchcock did not allow people into the theatre after the starting time because of the fact that the audience wanted to see the woman on the poster - Janet Leigh. If you arrive after a certain time though, you will not get to see her and though I think that Sir Alfred Hitchcock was worried about people feeling cheated, I think he actually did not want people to miss a part of the storyline so that they could make up their own mind about good and bad. At the beginning of the film, there is something really strange about Janet Leigh’s character Marion Crane and so, to miss that is quite vital to the way the story unfolds, especially regarding her sister.