The Moment of Psycho: How Alfred Hitchcock Taught America to Love Murder » (New Edition)

David Thomson, author of The New Biographical Dictionary of Film, is a regular contributor to The Guardian, The New York Times, Film Comment, Movieline, The New Republic, and Salon. He lives in San Francisco.

Renowned film critic David Thomson plumbs the horror and inspiration of Alfred Hitchcock’s greatest film.

The New York Times - Michiko Kakutani

Though readers may not agree with all of Mr. Thomson's arguments here, he makes a powerful—and sometimes surprising—case for the movie's importance in film and cultural history. Building on the work of Francois Truffaut (who first helped establish Hitchcock's reputation as an auteur) and the writings of the critic Robin Wood, Mr. Thomson does a deft job in this volume of reappraising Hitchcock's work, even as he deconstructs Psycho and its complex cinematic legacy.

1 1960 1

2 Continuity 21

3 Room Service 51

4 Housekeeping 69

5 Hitch-Cock 91

6 Other Bodies in the Swamp 115

7 A Noir Society 137

8 Lonely People 151

9 On the Way to Fairvale 159

Acknowledgments 169

Credits 171

Index 175