Today in History: "Psycho" premieres
While this film is extremely tame by today's standards, Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" was immesely graphic in 1960 and was a truly shocking experience for cinema-goers.
source
This film is so legendary that a film about making the film has been made and it ended up doing quite well also. The difficulties that Hitchcock faced while getting this movie made during the rather "puritan" times of the 60's was immense. As silly as it seems now, depicting unmarried people in any sort of romantic situation was considered totally off-limits on screen and well, murdering a woman in the shower was unthinkable.
source
Hitchcock was incredibly protective of his film and when it was close to being released he wouldn't even allow the stars to do any sort of press out of fear that they would accidentally reveal the plot. Janet Leigh was a super-star at the time and one of the main elements of the film that Hitchcock was trying to shock audiences with was that she was presented as the star of the film, only to have her character killed off very early on it the movie. This strategy wasn't often used in films, but I do recall how shocked I was when Drew Barrymore was killed in the first 5 minutes of "Scream."
source
while the reactions are funny... it is also important to note that if you wanted to have a ciggie during a movie in 1960... go ahead!
While we have been desensitized to violence in our current time. Something of this magnitude was unheard of in 1960 and there were many cases of people fleeing the cinema and also getting sick inside of it. It's quite funny to me to think of a time of such incredible innocence since Psycho would be in danger of being considered a kids film these days.
When the film was released, Hitchcock had a strict policy of not allowing anyone who turned up late into the theater. He was adamant in this policy to the point if a theater violated this policy, Hitchcock would pull the movie from that cinema and refuse to allow them to have it back.
source
It was initially met with mixed reviews, which i suppose is understandable since it was so incredibly risque for the time-period. Upon its release in England, it received almost entirely negative press. This, of course was later revised once it was determined that the general public actually LOVED the film.
If you haven't seen Psycho, you really should even though it is extremely tame and perhaps even boring by today's standards. If you don't have it in you to appreciate a rather major piece of cinematic history, you could opt to see the film Hitchcock starring Anthony Hopkins, which basically details the making of this film and all the hardships that were faced in getting it to the public.
I love how you describe it as "tame." :P Some of us saw it as a child and even though it was many years after the release, it was quite traumatizing for a few moments/days at the time. ;) Not that there was anything particularly crazy about it, but in the right mood/setting/mindset, as a child, it can be quite scary. lol
It is interesting the creation of this director I met him was with a book he wrote called "cold blood" there are many translations, but I loved reading it when I was little is one of my literary jewels and not because of the message but because I I opened the world to this wonderful world that is reading .... Thank you for sharing friend as always happening. My respects and a hug from Venezuela ...
Classic.
It blew my mind when someone pointed out that early in the film when Janet Leigh's character is packing her bag, you can see all the way back into the bathroom, to the shower, to a shower head. Not a coincidence (not only because Hitchcock was meticulous but also) because the set was constructed for the scene. Pretty interesting foreshadowing choice.
Posted using Partiko Android
The movie seems interesting, if you said that was quite a different movie from the ongoing trend in that era, I would love to watch it then, also loved the satire of ciggi. Now a days it isn't allowed in cinemas.
Is it available on youtube or netflix?
I don't know as though I have seen the whole thing all the way through. I know I have seen bits and pieces of it. My wife and I really enjoyed the show Bates Motel when it was on. It did a good job of making things fresh while still giving nods to the original. It is interesting to think how innocent we were back then. Not just us because of our age, but the nation as a whole. I kind of miss it.