Filmguide to Psycho

by James Naremore

Paperback.

87 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

Reviews

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short academic treatise of the movie. It got a little too deep in the weeds for me (I'm not a film student, after all) but had some interesting things to look for the next time I watch it. What was most intriguing to me was that this was published in 1973, when Hitchcock was still alive, and only 13 years after the movie was released in theaters. While initial reviews were quite mixed, it seems that a mere 13 years later, it was already being studied in film classes. (Another little anachronistic nugget: it includes the addresses of film companies where you can rent the film! Pre-home theater days!)

I really liked this assessment of the movie: "Hitchcock's visual imagination...helps to make his film a part of the consciousness of anyone who has seen it. 'Psycho' affects people across the boundaries of class and even of language; it is, for all its barren and depressing atmosphere, a nearly universal movie."

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

James Naremore writes a good little analysis of Psycho, which still feels relevant today, though he wrote this in the 70s. Some might think his summary of the film to be pointless, since he only wants people who have seen the film to read his book, but it can be useful to quickly summarize the film being examined just as a quick refresher. This is a stylistic choice, and doesn't really have much to do with his analysis, which is clear, detailed and enlightening. He emphasizes the first third or so of the film - Janet Leigh's part of the film - feeling it to be more substantial than that second half. From his careful analysis of this part of the film, I can see and understand his point, though I am wary of overemphasizing the Marion Crane storyline. Norman Bates is the real main character of the film and Naremore does a good job examining some of the issues surrounding Norman. I especially like his concluding analysis of Psycho's effect on cinema and what we tolerate watching. He really nails the continuing trend in mainstream cinema to show more spectacles of violence and gore in horror films; he could really see the general direction the genre was headed in. This is a great little analysis and fans of the film I think would find it an enlightening read.

[Hilary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slim, good intro piece, although the book spends too many of its scanty pages just reiterating the plot, although the author expressly forbids anyone who hasn't seen the movie to read the book, so his audience clearly doesn't need a summary.