Official DVD Details: Robert Galluzzo’s The Psycho Legacy

In 1960 Alfred Hitchcock took a seemingly mild-mannered “boy-next-door” and turned him into a murderous madman obsessed with his dead mother, catapulting the horror genre into a new realm of possibility — laying the foundation for the “slasher film” genre — and forever changing the American public’s relationship with showers. Anthony Perkins’ chilling portrayal of Norman Bates became an iconic role that has crept into the filmmaking vernacular, creating the template for the psychoanalytical thriller and the lone, crazed killer that has populated so many horror films during the last half century.

Hitchcock’s original Psycho gave birth to three sequels and one remake, and the series continues to affect popular culture 50 years later.

THE PSYCHO LEGACY, written and directed by Robert V. Galluzzo, follows the indelible filmmaking legacy left by the Psycho movies and unravels the screenwriting, casting and directing of all the movies, examining their undeniable longevity and success. Interweaving rare and never-before-seen interview footage with Anthony Perkins and dozens of interviews with the films’ cast, crew, writers and directors including Robert Loggia, Olivia Hussey, Henry Thomas, Diana Scarwid, Tom Holland, Hilton Green, Mick Garris, Richard Franklin, as well as other writers and directors in the horror genre, including Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator), Adam Green (Frozen), Joe Lynch (Wrong Turn 2), Michael Gingold and Tony Timpone from Fangoria, and many more, THE PSYCHO LEGACY is the first documentary to unite and explore decades of Psycho movies in one place, revealing surprises and insights into what is considered the “grandfather of modern horror.”

Notes on the Psycho films:
Hitchcock’s Psycho was based on Robert Bloch’s 1959 novel, which in turn was loosely based on the life of Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gein. The film starred Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin and Martin Balsam and featured a stirring and unforgettable music score by Bernard Herrmann. Psycho was released August 10, 1960, and broke box office records around the world. The infamous shower scene features some 70-plus different camera angles yet runs just 45 seconds. After the film was released, Leigh refused to take showers; one of her homes didn’t even have a shower stall. When forced to take a shower for lack of a bath, she would make sure all the windows were locked and that the bathroom and shower doors were wide open. Other tidbits: Psycho took cinema into uncharted territory by being the first movie to show a toilet (which was banned by the Production Code), have the female lead parade around in a bra and slip, and have an unmarried couple lying on a bed during their lunch break.

Psycho tops the American Film Institute’s list of 100 Most Thrilling American Films and is number 14 on their list of the top American films of all time.