TEHRAN – Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 horror film “Psycho” will be screened on Thursday at the Iranian Artist Forum (IAF) in Tehran.
The screening is set at 5pm and the 109-minute film will be exhibited at IAF’s Naseri Hall with Persian subtitles, Irna reported.
The film stars Anthony Perkins, Janet Lee, Bella Miles, John Gavin and Martin Balsam. The plot centers around the encounters of Embedler Marion Crane (Lee), Shire Motel owner Norman Bates (Perkins), and his disturbed mother during the run. A private detective (Balsam), Marion’s girlfriend Sam Loomis (Gavin), and her sister Lila (Miles) investigate her disappearance.
Psycho was considered a departure from Hitchcock’s previous film, North by Northwest (1959), as it was filmed on a small budget in black and white by the crew of his television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
Initially, the film split critics due to its controversial subject matter, but the audience’s interest and excellent box office revenue prompted a major critical re-evaluation. “Psycho” was a massive commercial success. With a budget of $806,947 ($6.2 million at 2025 inflation), the film won $50 million at the box office worldwide ($384.5 million at 2025 inflation).
“Psycho” was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Hitchcock’s Best Director and Lee’s Best Supporting Actress.
“Psycho” is currently considered one of Hitchcock’s best films and is undoubtedly his most famous and influential work. It has been hailed as a major piece of cinema art by international film critics and scholars who praise its sophisticated direction, tense atmosphere, impressive camerawork, memorable scores and iconic performances.
It is considered “the heavily analyzed film of the longest career of the most researched director in the history of American cinema,” and is often ranked as the best film of all time. It has been considered one of the earliest examples of the slashing film genre, setting a new level of acceptability for violence.
In 1992, the Library of Congress considered the film “culturally, historically or aesthetically important” and chose it for preservation at the National Film Registry.
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