Psycho (1960), directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh, follows a woman who goes on the run after stealing money from her employer, checks into the remote Bates Motel, and is murdered in the shower by the motel's disturbed owner in the film's most famous scene.
Why It Matters
- Killing the apparent protagonist in the first act shattered every convention of Hollywood storytelling
- Bernard Herrmann's shrieking string score is the most imitated in film history
- Pioneered the modern slasher and psychological horror genres
Hitchcock financed the film himself because studios thought the premise too disturbing. He insisted audiences could not enter the theater after the film started — unprecedented at the time. It became the highest-grossing film of his career and changed what movies were allowed to do.
Reference:
TaskLoco™ — The Sticky Note GOAT
