What is your favorite movie?

Alone in a mammoth NY city movie palace matinee at the too young age of fourteen, I was terrified by PSYCHO. Having haunted me since then, I’m amazed by so much in my all-time favorite movie as I’ve rewatched it during the four dozen years since then. Cinemaphotography, editing, score, writing, acting, aret direction, costume design all work cohesively to create a masterpiece of macabre mood. I liken the milk & sandwiches with the juxtaposition of Marion Crane’s blond hopefulness to Norman Bates dark desolation equal to the best of Shakespearean dialogue. The death of the former by the murder of the latter represents not only a deep schism in just how I perceived cinema from that time on but also an iconic rift in popular American culture forevermore. The result of Hitchcock’s meticulous filmmaking endures unsurpassable by sloppier, overt wannabes, not to mention his sneak peak into motherhood gone wrong rendering it never quite the same again for this boy/man and others so devastated by his simply brilliant use of the film medium.

When I was a kid, one of the cable channels would run Friday Night Horror Movies. I would wait up for my Mom to get home from work and we would watch these old horror films. Most weren’t scary at all, but when Hitchcock’s Psycho was played, I can honestly say that was the first time I was ever truly terrified by a film. I can remember driving my face into a pillow and telling Mom to “tell me when it’s over” during the shower scene. Now that I’m older, it still chills me to the bone when I watch it. Psycho grabs you in a way no other film can and doesn’t let go. It is a work of pure genious, the twists and turns and tension make for a brilliant film. And the acting was top notch, especially Anthony Perkins, whose Norman Bates to this day makes me nervous around people that run hotels. It is my absolute favorite film of all time to the point that whenever it’s on TV, I’ll watch that over anything that’s on TV. Hitchcock was a genious.

I am a huge fan of Alfred Hitchcock, but think Psycho is his best work. The suspense is terrifying, even for todays audiences, and the character of Norman Bates is magnificent. He is one of the greatest movie characters of all time, since he is a murderer, but yet extremely innocent at the same time, since he has been overtaken by “mother”. The acting, plot, and suspense all combine into a movie experience that is a classic, and one of the best ever made.

Been my fav for so many years now. It hasn’t aged a bit in 40-years plus. So many suspense/horror movies owe their origins to Hitch.

A true directors masterpiece and an actors dream!

Though like other people I do have other favorites. Yet,’Psycho’, from whenever I first saw it,to this day,I’m amazed! Why?

Not because that it is a great screenplay by Joseph Stefano, that led us through one story then shocked us thirty minutes later to the follow another plot.

That Alfred Hitchcock did not waste one second of film frame in this classic from the beginning titles,to the end. I personally or anyone who loves film, could study each cut that he did and not find a flaw or that empty story hole.

Mr. Hitchcock let the camera be the storyteller which to this day has not been matched. Alfred Hitchcock, who shot a couple of color films prior was very smart to film in black and white. It gave it more depth to both the great characters( as like the unreplacable perfect, Norman Bates, Anthony Perkins)and beautiful settings that was greatly photographed by John L. Russell. Also, I can’t forget the great score by Bernard Herrmann.

Thank you for giving a true masterpiece that can never be duplicated…Alfred Hitchcock was a directors, director… that knew what the film camera was meant to be used for. Which is a lost art in today’s world.
By: Paul Manijak

Hitchcock’s masterpiece got me hooked onto the master and inspired me to direct films.

Psycho introduced me to the world of suspense and real film.. Hitchcock’s masterpiece got me hooked onto the master and inspired me to direct films. I hope to be as famed as he. Psycho, unlike the crappy remake, scares the hell out of you. I saw the film ten years ago and still hate taking showers. I wish more films were made like this and Psycho should be in the top ten at least!
By: Carl Foley

Psycho changed the way I looked at films.

Psycho changed the way I looked at films. I began to take a greater notice of the intricate little things that a director throws in. The use of Black and White and shadow makes the mood more tangible and surreal. I absolutely love it.
By: Ashley Smith

Psycho is by far the most frightening horror film of all time.

Psycho is by far the most frightening horror film of all time because Anthony Perkins’ Norman Bates is so non-threatening, and, in fact, quite easy to empathize with. The film opened the doors for all psychological thrillers, and changed how the industry did things.
By: Christina Copes