The Making of 'Psycho'

Excellent behind the scenes of the movie. Great comments by some of the actors, the screen writer and assistant director. Lots of insight. Great comment about first appearance of toilets in a movie. Great comments about the shower scene. A truly scary movie especially for 1959.Hitchcock was one of the best directors before computer animation took over.

Insightful look at the making of one of cinema's most remarkable films ever made by pioneer filmmaker Hitchcock. Interview include star Janet Leigh, Hitchcock's daughter Pat, his assistant Peggy Robertson, the film's screenwriter Joseph Stefano, assistant director Hilton A. Green, Rita Riggs who was in charge of the wardrobe, editor Paul Hirsch, and none other than the HELLRAISER mastermind Clive Barker. A lot of material ended up coming to life in the light-humored HITCHCOCK; however, there are some other stories worth hearing, such as the 'full moon error' (you'll know once you watch it). The Collector's Edition DVD is one place to view this.

*** (out of four)

Feature length documentary on the making of "Psycho". It's mostly all talking heads with clips from the movie. It goes through every single aspect of the movie. Even the costumes are discussed in detail! The only actor left alive from the movie was Janet Leigh and she's most entertaining going into detail about working with Hitchcock and the movie. The most interesting of all was Patricia Hitchcock (Hitch's only child) who knew how her father and mother worked. Her insights were fascinating. However, all in all, I found this slow-moving and pretty dry. Sure some of the pieces were interesting but not continuously. Still, if you're a fan of the movie you'll probably love this. I also think this is the only footage we have of Leigh talking at length about the movie. So it's OK for maybe a one time viewing.

I have seen Psycho several times, though not during its initial theatrical release; I'm slightly too young for that. It is of course by the master, Alfred Hitchcock, and although it is not my favourite of his, there is no doubt it ranks highly with me and his genius is clearly evident throughout the film. So when I spied the Alfred Hitchcock Collection DVD edition of Psycho on sale at a used book store, I quickly snatched it up. And am I glad I did. The original film is there in pristine condition and there are loads of extras. The best is a documentary called, "The Making of Psycho". I had seen and read several stories over the years about the movie but this documentary was the best. It had numerous people involved in the original film, like Janet Leigh, Joseph Stefano who wrote the screenplay, assistant director Hilton Green, costume designer Rita Riggs and others; all giving excellent commentary. They talk about the many vicissitudes in making the film from the very inception to the final release which could have, but thankfully did not, scuttle the entire project. I feel that I learned more, not only about this particular film, but about movie making in general than ever before. I would urge all serious students of cinema to watch "The Making of Psycho".

This is a feature-length documentary on the making of Psycho, found on the 45-year Anniversary Double-Disc edition... phew, what a mouthful. It consists of interviews, mainly with the cast and crew(Barker also adds to this), behind-the-scenes material, and clips from the movie(and a couple of others). This covers quite a lot of ground, going into everything you'd expect and a few things you wouldn't necessarily think of. In case anyone who hasn't yet watched the picture is reading this, I will not specify any scenes. Besides, you probably know which the iconic sequences and occurrences are, if you should. Leigh and Stephano are some of the most compelling to listen to, but really, everyone here has something to say that is worth hearing. Coming in at 90 minutes, this is well-paced and never boring. It goes through the entire creative process, all three stages, if the level of detail varies, partially due to the age(and the sad death of Mr. H, the master... it's a good thing they made this in time for the star and writer to partake in it). From the technical(and never overly complicated) explanations to the anecdotes, everything in this is interesting. It's well-edited and has a great pace. Also on this set is a marvelous fifteen-minute excerpt of the American Film Institute Salute to Alfred Hitchcock, a half-hour presentation entitled Masters of Cinema with the famed director responding to questions(the only downside is the somewhat below average sound quality), a comparison of the shower scene(with/without the music), Newsreel Footage, production photographs/drawings, and the theatrical trailer. I recommend this to any fan of the influential release. 7/10