Psycho | 1960
Updated April 7, 2021
Critical Consensus
Roger Ebert | Chicago Sun-Times
Bill Weber | Slant Magazine
Richard Brody | The New Yorker
Wanda Hale | New York Daily News
Mark Kermode | The Guardian
Paine Knickerbocker | San Francisco Chronicle
David Jenkins | Time Out
Andrew Sarris | The Village Voice
Dave Kehr | Chicago Reader
Jack Harrison | The Hollywood Reporter
Chris Stuckmann | Chris Stuckmann YouTube
R.L. Shaffer | IGN
James Berardinelli | ReelViews
Bosley Crowther | The New York Times
Stanley Kauffmann | The New Republic
Bill Weber | Slant Magazine
Richard Brody | The New Yorker
Wanda Hale | New York Daily News
Mark Kermode | The Guardian
Paine Knickerbocker | San Francisco Chronicle
David Jenkins | Time Out
Andrew Sarris | The Village Voice
Dave Kehr | Chicago Reader
Jack Harrison | The Hollywood Reporter
Chris Stuckmann | Chris Stuckmann YouTube
R.L. Shaffer | IGN
James Berardinelli | ReelViews
Bosley Crowther | The New York Times
Stanley Kauffmann | The New Republic
Fix a critic’s review
Summary & Info
A secretary (Janet Leigh) embezzles $40,000 from her employer’s client, goes on the run, and checks into a rundown, remote motel. The young, shy proprietor (Anthony Perkins) and his mother seem to be the only other people around until the secretary is stabbed to death by a shadowy figure while taking a shower. Cast: Vera Miles, John Gavin and Martin Balsam. Director: Alfred Hitchcock. [1:49 – R]
Dueling Critics
“What makes ‘Psycho’ immortal, when so many films are already half-forgotten as we leave the theater, is that it connects directly with our fears: Our fears that we might impulsively commit a crime, our fears of the police, our fears of becoming the victim of a madman, and of course our fears of disappointing our mothers.”
“This time Hitchcock has put his usual close-up face-nibbling sex scene at the very beginning, (as usual, it is quite dispensable)…The whole thing is, in fact, much too long, and the plot is full of holes.”
Video
Psycho
Updated April 7, 2021
Critical Consensus
Roger Ebert | Chicago Sun-Times
Bill Weber | Slant Magazine
Richard Brody | The New Yorker
Wanda Hale | New York Daily News
Mark Kermode | The Guardian
Paine Knickerbocker | San Francisco Chronicle
David Jenkins | Time Out
Andrew Sarris | The Village Voice
Dave Kehr | Chicago Reader
Jack Harrison | The Hollywood Reporter
Chris Stuckmann | Chris Stuckmann YouTube
R.L. Shaffer | IGN
James Berardinelli | ReelViews
Bosley Crowther | The New York Times
Stanley Kauffmann | The New Republic
Bill Weber | Slant Magazine
Richard Brody | The New Yorker
Wanda Hale | New York Daily News
Mark Kermode | The Guardian
Paine Knickerbocker | San Francisco Chronicle
David Jenkins | Time Out
Andrew Sarris | The Village Voice
Dave Kehr | Chicago Reader
Jack Harrison | The Hollywood Reporter
Chris Stuckmann | Chris Stuckmann YouTube
R.L. Shaffer | IGN
James Berardinelli | ReelViews
Bosley Crowther | The New York Times
Stanley Kauffmann | The New Republic
Fix a critic’s review
Dueling Critics
“What makes ‘Psycho’ immortal, when so many films are already half-forgotten as we leave the theater, is that it connects directly with our fears: Our fears that we might impulsively commit a crime, our fears of the police, our fears of becoming the victim of a madman, and of course our fears of disappointing our mothers.”
“This time Hitchcock has put his usual close-up face-nibbling sex scene at the very beginning, (as usual, it is quite dispensable)…The whole thing is, in fact, much too long, and the plot is full of holes.”
Summary & Info
A secretary (Janet Leigh) embezzles $40,000 from her employer’s client, goes on the run, and checks into a rundown, remote motel. The young, shy proprietor (Anthony Perkins) and his mother seem to be the only other people around until the secretary is stabbed to death by a shadowy figure while taking a shower. Cast: Vera Miles, John Gavin and Martin Balsam. Director: Alfred Hitchcock. [1:49 – R]