Psycho [Collector's Edition]

Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece of suspense and horror gets a highly respectable release on DVD in this Collector's Edition. The quality of the 1.85:1 widescreen transfer is superb, and though the print shows some signs of age, the overall effect is that one is viewing moving, high-contrast, black-and-white photographs. The audio is also first-rate. Bernard Herrman's sinister, punishing score is scarier than ever here. All in all it's a technically masterful digital presentation; the movie has never seemed more chilling. The bonus materials are enlightening and thorough. The "Making of Psycho" documentary is one-and-a-half hours of juicy behind-the-scenes nuggets. Interviews with Janet Leigh, writer Joseph Stephano, and other cast and crew members are edited together with scenes from the movie for a historical, entertaining look at the modern classic. The theatrical trailer is nearly seven minutes in length; it's the tongue-in-cheek, bizarre, and now quite famous tour of the Bates Motel, with Hitchcock as the tour guide. "Production Notes" and "Cast & Filmmakers" provide the usual static images, brief biographies, talent filmographies, and movie trivia information. This Collector's Edition DVD of Psycho consistently stuns and shocks, allowing the full impact of Hitchcock's creepy opus to unnerve and distress future generations of unsuspecting viewers.