January 8, 2010 - Psycho

Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho is another classic film for which I cannot precisely pinpoint the first time I saw it, although it was obviously on television, and to date I have never experienced it on the big screen.

It's unfortunate that Hitchcock's masterful film will always overshadow the chilling Robert Bloch novel that spawned it, however one cannot deny the iconic nature of the film.

I was surprised to have heard that some of you who may be reading this have never seen it. I think it is one of those films that has so deeply penetrated pop culture that people might even be disinclined to watch it, thinking they know too much about it to appreciate it, and yet they are missing out on a truly great film.

For my money, one of the most frightening images in Psycho is something completely innocuous. For those of you familiar with my long time fascination with Dan Curtis' Burnt Offerings, and one character from that in particular, you may be able to guess what it is about Psycho that I find so disturbing.

It remains one of Hitchcock's finest, with great performances from Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh and Martin Balsam. I guarantee you it's going to look great on the big screen. If you've never seen it, this is your chance to finally catch up!

We hope you'll join us as we celebrate the film's Golden Anniversary as part of our 40/40 series.