Talk:Psycho (1960 film)

Is Psycho in the public domain?

A video of the shower scene would be useful for various reasons, but is it in the public domain and can it be shown? Klee Bakudan (talk) 23:10, 13 February 2023 (UTC)

It is not public domain. Andrzejbanas (talk) 02:54, 14 February 2023 (UTC)

So, can it be shown in the Wikipedia article? Klee Bakudan (talk) 17:40, 14 February 2023 (UTC)

No. - kosboot (talk) 17:47, 14 February 2023 (UTC)

Genre lead

I've made changes to the genre lead in the article and categories. Basically, I have removed any genre that is not mentioned in the prose anywhere per WP:STICKTOSOURCE and WP:OR and WP:SUBJECTIVE. I'd be happy to discuss things, but we want only a primary genre in the lead, not two or three mixed together sub-genres. Andrzejbanas (talk) 19:42, 15 May 2023 (UTC)

Hello,

Psycho is very much a horror film, and its influence to that genre is without question. Therefore, I would like to add ‘horror’ back to the genre, since there are many types of thriller films. The ‘psychological horror thriller’ description formerly written was most accurate.

Thanks. 176.29.31.91 (talk) 07:57, 3 July 2023 (UTC)

Instead of trying to convince people that this is true, it would be more efficient to show this by citing a reliable source. DonQuixote (talk) 09:35, 3 July 2023 (UTC)

From the article's accolades section: In 2005, Total Film magazine ranked Psycho as the 6th-greatest horror film of all time.^[207] In 2010, The Guardian newspaper ranked it as "the best horror film of all time".^[208] Director Martin Scorsese included Psycho in his list of the 11 scariest horror films of all time.^[209] The film was named as the third best horror movie of all time in a readers' poll by Rolling Stone magazine in 2014.^[210] [...] In 2021, the film was ranked at No. 5 by Time Out on their list of "The 100 best horror movies".^[213]

Additionally, the Rotten Tomatoes critics' consensus quoted in the Reception section reads: Infamous for its shower scene, but immortal for its contribution to the horror genre. Because Psycho was filmed with tact, grace, and art, Hitchcock didn't just create modern horror, he validated it.

By contrast, looking over the prose/references, I only readily see two sources that classify it as a thriller: Kaganski 1997, and Nickens & Leigh 1996 (the latter work's title being Psycho: Behind the Scenes of the Classic Thriller). This isn't at all to say that the film isn't a thriller or should not be classified as such, but there seems to be plenty of indication from the sources that it belongs to the horror genre just as well. —Matthew  / (talk) 13:02, 11 July 2023 (UTC)

Further articles that support its horror classification:

https://ew.com/article/2009/08/04/psycho-the-horror-movie-that-changed-the-genre/

https://www.popmatters.com/alfred-hitchcock-psycho-mother-horrors

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/oct/22/psycho-horror-hitchcock

https://variety.com/2020/film/columns/psycho-60th-anniversary-alfred-hitchcock-norman-bates-1234636252/

Therefore it is more appropriate for 'horror' to be the main genre for this film. 109.107.243.199 (talk) 13:19, 23 July 2023 (UTC)

I checked AFI and AllMovie, two sources predominantly used for genre classification in my experience. The former lists Horror as the film's primary genre, while the latter lists Mystery, Drama, Horror, and Thriller as primary genres. As such, I'd support calling it a horror film, but calling it a psychological horror film would appear to be overreaching. DonIago (talk) 16:31, 24 July 2023 (UTC)

In that case, I will be changing the genre from thriller to horror, as it has been agreed upon that it is more appropriate. HA5797 (talk) 06:59, 11 August 2023 (UTC)

Requested move 21 January 2024

The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The result of the move request was: not moved. (closed by non-admin page mover) Lightoil (talk) 06:48, 29 January 2024 (UTC)

---

Psycho (1960 film) → Psycho – As one of the most influential films of all time, this is clearly the primary topic of the term "Psycho", both in terms of long-term significance and pageviews. It is also worth noting that while the informal term "psycho" can mean either psychopath or psychotic, Wikipedia is not a dictionary. InfiniteNexus (talk) 19:45, 21 January 2024 (UTC)

• Support per long-term historical significance. Presently the link for the film on the psycho disamb. page is buried deep in the list. The film, and its title, have stood the test of time and achieved, and has held, iconic stature. Randy Kryn (talk) 10:06, 22 January 2024 (UTC)
• Strong oppose – The term is too broad to be directly related to the film. The terminology was disseminated in various contexts in pop culture, in addition to the clinical symptom itself. Even though there is a greater number of views for the 60s film, the change in this case is unjustifiable. Svartner (talk) 01:09, 23 January 2024 (UTC)

  "Psycho" is an informal abbreviation for either "psychopath" or "psychotic". If a reader deliberately types "Psycho" into the search bar, it is more likely they are looking for the film than the medical conditions. Or, if they are looking for the definition of the word, they would be going to Dictionary.com or Wiktionary. WP:NOTDICT. InfiniteNexus (talk) 06:54, 23 January 2024 (UTC)

• Oppose. I understand the point, but its use as an abbreviation is far too widespread for the film to be primary, no matter what it's long-term significance may be. -- Necrothesp (talk) 14:18, 23 January 2024 (UTC)

Oppose: too broad for the film to be the primary meaning, and if anything, the novel came before its adaptation yet the article it's rightly titled Psycho (novel). Searching for 'psycho' should redirect to a disambiguation page. 2A02:B125:10:4044:6BB8:9B81:138C:9959 (talk) 01:47, 24 January 2024 (UTC)

• Oppose per those above. The film (like the novel) is named for the slang term already well in use at the time. BD2412 T 01:12, 29 January 2024 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Legacy

The Legacy section of the article lists a number of films that reference it. If a suitable reference can be found it might be appropriate to mention the novel Dark in Death, as the story starts with a woman being murdered in a movie theater during the shower scene. JDZeff (talk) 05:45, 28 April 2024 (UTC)