Blu-Ray Review: 50th Anniversary Edition of Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’

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CHICAGO – Are we going to have to wait for a major anniversary of every Alfred Hitchcock film for them to be released on Blu-ray? Only two of the films directed by the best filmmaker of all time are available in HD, last year’s 50th anniversary release of “North by Northwest” and the amazing new 50th anniversary edition of “Psycho.” While there’s a part of me that longs to have all of my favorite director’s films on Blu-ray today, if they’re all as incredible as the releases for “NxNW” and “Psycho,” I might be willing to wait.

Television Rating: 5.0/5.0

I’ve probably seen “Psycho” more than any film. If fans of “Star Trek” can be called Trekkies, you could call me a Hitchie. The filmography of Alfred Hitchcock is, without a doubt, the reason I do what I do. From a young age, I marveled at the master of suspense and his ability to manipulate audiences. People often ask me my favorite movie of all time and, while it has changed over the years, it’s always been a Hitchcock movie. (Today, it’s “Vertigo.”)

Clearly, I’m a bit biased when it comes to DVD or Blu-ray releases of Hitchcock films, but I believe even those who don’t bow at the altar of the legendary director will marvel at one of the best HD releases of the year. With a spectacular transfer, hours of special features, and a film that would still be powerful if it were released today, this is one of the best classic Blu-ray releases of all time.

Psycho was released on Blu-ray on October 19th, 2010
Photo credit: Universal

The first thing fans of the film will notice is that it’s never looked quite this good. The remastered 1080p picture is absolutely stunning with the perfect color balance, line detail, and amount of grain to create a better video transfer than we’ve yet seen for the film. In fact, this is one of the best HD black & white video transfers, period. It’s stunningly good and should be used as the model for all films of this era being released in HD.

As for the film itself, “Psycho” is one of those works that often gets boiled down to its essentials and can be somewhat dismissed by the cultural focus on the infamous shower scene. While that scene is inarguably one of the most influential and important in the history of cinema, what’s sometimes missed is that “Psycho” would be a masterpiece without it.

One of Alfred Hitchcock’s most notable strengths was the way in which he could lead a viewer by their nose through his suspense funhouse, always staying one step ahead as an audience eagerly awaited what was around the next corner. There’s a confidence to his storytelling that’s been often-copied but rarely-matched. In many ways, “Psycho” is his best example of his skill at unpredictable storytelling as its very structure shocked 1960 audiences and remains effective today. The concept of killing a major star halfway through a film may not seem revolutionary in 2010 but it certainly was in 1960 and when Hitchcock switched leads, from the protagonist to the antagonist, movies would never be the same.

The special features on “Psycho” are detailed, lengthy, and remarkable with tons of archival footage included next to more recently-produced material. It’s all worth a look.

Special Features:
o Psycho Sound: A never-before-seen piece that looks at the re-mastering process required to create a 5.1 mix from the original mono elements using Audionamix technology.
o The Making of Psycho: A feature-length documentary on Hitchcock’s most shocking film.
o In the Master’s Shadow – Hitchcock’s Legacy: Some of Hollywood’s top filmmakers discuss Hitchcock’s influence and why his movies continue to thrill audiences.
o Hitchcock/Truffaut Interviews: Excerpts from a 1962 audio interview with Alfred Hitchcock.
o Audio Commentary: Feature-length audio commentary with Stephen Rebello (Author of “Alfred Hitchcock and the making of Psycho”)
o Newsreel Footage: The Release of Psycho: Vintage newsreel on the unique policy Alfred Hitchcock insisted upon for the release of the film.
o The Shower Scene: A look at the impact of music on the infamous “shower scene.”
o The Shower Scene: Storyboards by Saul Bass: Original storyboard design.
o Production Notes: Read an essay on the making of the film.
o The Psycho Archives: See the gallery of on-set photo stills from the film’s production.
o Posters And Psycho Ads: See a gallery of original posters and ads from the theatrical campaign.
o Lobby Cards: View a gallery of promotional lobby cards from the film’s theatrical campaign.
o Behind-The-Scenes Photographs: View rare photos showing the cast and crew at work.
o Theatrical Trailer: Watch the original promotional trailer from the film’s theatrical campaign.
o Re-Release Trailers: Watch the promotional trailer created for the re-release of the film.

As a film, “Psycho” still has the power to surprise and entertain me. While it may seem that a Blu-ray release of one of my favorite films would be an easy sell for this critic, it could have easily gone the other way and been a heartbreakingly inadequate one given the pedestal on which I place so many Hitchcock’s works. Universal has done exactly what they needed to do: Delivered one of the best classic Blu-ray releases yet produced for one of the best movies ever.

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com [email protected]