The Moment of Psycho

How Alfred Hitchcock Taught America to Love Murder

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Film, History & Criticism, Performing Arts
Cover of the book The Moment of Psycho by David Thomson, Basic Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: David Thomson ISBN: 9780465020096
Publisher: Basic Books Publication: November 24, 2009
Imprint: Basic Books Language: English
Author: David Thomson
ISBN: 9780465020096
Publisher: Basic Books
Publication: November 24, 2009
Imprint: Basic Books
Language: English

It was made like a television movie, and completed in less than three months. It killed off its star in forty minutes. There was no happy ending. And it offered the most violent scene to date in American film, punctuated by shrieking strings that seared the national consciousness. Nothing like Psycho had existed before; the movie industry—even America itself—would never be the same.

In The Moment of Psycho, film critic David Thomson situates Psycho in Alfred Hitchcock’s career, recreating the mood and time when the seminal film erupted onto film screens worldwide. Thomson shows that Psycho was not just a sensation in film: it altered the very nature of our desires. Sex, violence, and horror took on new life. Psycho, all of a sudden, represented all America wanted from a film—and, as Thomson brilliantly demonstrates, still does.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

It was made like a television movie, and completed in less than three months. It killed off its star in forty minutes. There was no happy ending. And it offered the most violent scene to date in American film, punctuated by shrieking strings that seared the national consciousness. Nothing like Psycho had existed before; the movie industry—even America itself—would never be the same.

In The Moment of Psycho, film critic David Thomson situates Psycho in Alfred Hitchcock’s career, recreating the mood and time when the seminal film erupted onto film screens worldwide. Thomson shows that Psycho was not just a sensation in film: it altered the very nature of our desires. Sex, violence, and horror took on new life. Psycho, all of a sudden, represented all America wanted from a film—and, as Thomson brilliantly demonstrates, still does.

More books from Basic Books

Cover of the book The Fear Factor by David Thomson
Cover of the book Promises, Promises by David Thomson
Cover of the book Who's Been Sleeping in Your Head by David Thomson
Cover of the book The Second Bill of Rights by David Thomson
Cover of the book An Eye at the Top of the World by David Thomson
Cover of the book Moore's Law by David Thomson
Cover of the book Murder in the Model City by David Thomson
Cover of the book Offbeat Bride by David Thomson
Cover of the book The Atoms Of Language by David Thomson
Cover of the book It's a Girl by David Thomson
Cover of the book Blood Sisters by David Thomson
Cover of the book The Dead Moms Club by David Thomson
Cover of the book Fab by David Thomson
Cover of the book You Are Here by David Thomson
Cover of the book Lessons from the Monk I Married by David Thomson
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy