Psycho (Collector's Edition)

PHOTO 1 = version A: Front Cover (May 6, 2014)
PHOTO 2 = version B: Front Cover (November 4, 2014)
PHOTO 3 = version C: Front Cover (July 12, 2016)
PHOTO 4 = version A: Back Cover
PHOTO 5 = version B: Back Cover
PHOTO 6 = version C: Back Cover

Universal has issued "Psycho" on blu-ray three times, each time with a different cover (it's also in the 15 disc "Alfred Hitchcock Masterpiece Collection").
Two obvious questions:
1) Did Universal add any deleted scenes or bonus features that were missing from the first blu-ray?
2) Is the 2016 edition (version C) a new digital transfer?

Unfortunately, the answers are No and No.

This is pure cynicism on the part of Universal.
All three blu-rays are identical.
Only the covers are different.
Version B is the "Steelbook" edition.
Version C is part of Universal's "COLLECTIBLE POP ART SERIES"
Groovy.

-- The "steelbook edition" (version B) simply means that the blu-ray comes packed in a steel case instead of a plastic case.
Marketed as the "Deluxe Limited Edition".
It will survive a nuclear holocaust, but if you drop it, it will get dented and look crappy.
Dumb idea.
-- Unless you are an aging hipster, the "Collectible Pop Art Series" (version C) is beneath contempt.
-- One difference that no longer matters:
The back cover of Version C reveals that the "Digital HD Ultraviolet Copy" included with versions A & B is no longer included.
BUT the offer expired on May 2, 2016 anyway.

Version A: Psycho (1960) [Blu-ray]
Version B: Psycho (1960) - Limited Edition Steelbook (Blu-ray + DIGITAL HD with UltraViolet)
Version C: Psycho (1960) [Blu-ray]
Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection:
available in two versions:
-- 15 film box: Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection (Limited Edition) [Blu-ray]
-- 14 film box: Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection [Blu Ray]
The fourteen disc box is a British import.
The British box does not include "North by Northwest", but it costs a lot less.
The individual British and American Blu-Rays are identical.
Unlike most British Blu-Rays, these are region-free and should play on any US player.

ALFRED HITCHCOCK FILMOGRAPHY:
So this review won't be a total waste of time, I am including a Blu-Ray Filmography of Hitchcock.
Alfred Hitchcock directed 56 feature films (one is lost) over a 51 year period.
To date, 32 Hitchcock films have been released on Blu-Ray.

PART ONE: BRITISH PERIOD
Alfred Hitchcock directed 26 feature-length films for British studios between 1925 and 1939.
The first ten were silent.
'The Mountain Eagle" (1927) is a lost film.
"Blackmail" (1929) is counted twice - it was Hitchcock's final silent film, and simultaneously filmed as his first talkie.
To date, the Criterion Collection has released five of the British films on Blu-Ray.
I hope more will follow, but have no inside information.
All but two of the remaining films are on DVD. The exceptions:
-- "Blackmail", the silent version (1929)
-- "Mary" (1931), the German language version of "Murder!"
These obscure titles seem to cry out for the deluxe treatment in a double bill with the readily available version of the same film, but so far no company has risen to the bait (Criterion? Kino? anybody?)

1925 The Pleasure Garden - silent film
1927 The Mountain Eagle - silent film [lost film]
1927 The Lodger - silent film The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray] [coupled with "Downhill"]
1927 The Ring - silent film
1927 Downhill - silent film BLU-RAY [Criterion Collection, coupled with "The Lodger"]
1928 Easy Virtue - silent film
1928 The Farmer's Wife - silent film
1928 Champagne - silent film
1929 The Manxman - silent film
1929 Blackmail - silent version
1929 Blackmail - sound version
1930 Elstree Calling [musical comedy revue with four directors]
1930 Juno and the Paycock
1930 Murder!
1931 Mary [German language version of "Murder!" with a separate cast]
1931 The Skin Game
1931 Rich and Strange
1932 Number Seventeen
1934 Waltzes from Vienna
1934 The Man Who Knew Too Much [first version] The Man Who Knew Too Much (Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]
1935 The 39 Steps The 39 Steps (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]
1936 Secret Agent
1936 Sabotage
1937 Young and Innocent
1938 The Lady Vanishes The Lady Vanishes (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]
1939 Jamaica Inn

PART TWO: HOLLYWOOD PERIOD
30 feature films were directed by Hitchcock after he was lured to Hollywood (some of them were filmed in the UK, but for American studios)
ALL BUT THREE HAVE BEEN RELEASED ON BLU-RAY

1940 Rebecca = Criterion (recommended) or MGM blu-rays
1940 Foreign Correspondent
1941 Mr. & Mrs. Smith = DVD ONLY
1941 Suspicion
1942 Saboteur
1943 Shadow of a Doubt
1944 Lifeboat
1945 Spellbound
1946 Notorious
1947 The Paradine Case
1948 Rope
1949 Under Capricorn = DVD ONLY
1950 Stage Fright = DVD ONLY
1951 Strangers on a Train
1953 I Confess
1954 Dial M for Murder [2-D and 3-D versions]
1954 Rear Window
1955 To Catch a Thief
1955 The Trouble with Harry
1956 The Man Who Knew Too Much [second version]
1956 The Wrong Man
1958 Vertigo
1959 North by Northwest
1960 Psycho
1963 The Birds
1964 Marnie
1966 Torn Curtain
1969 Topaz
1972 Frenzy
1976 Family Plot

Amazon only allows ten links per review.
For Amazon links to to Hitchcock's American films on blu-ray, see Comment One (dated July 1, 2017). Click on "Oldest first"

PSYCHO has been around for over 50 years, and if you haven't seen it by now it's your own fault. Of course, it's been several years since I first saw it and, going through a Hitchcock marathon, I thought it would be an appropriate time to revisit it. My only memories of seeing it the first time are wondering what the big deal was. However, now having seen many films since then (including several more Hitchcock pictures), it seems even better to me the second time around. This is in large part thanks to the Bernard Herrmann's score, which punctuates all the right moments and backs off when necessary. The first thing other than the main theme that people will probably think of is the celebrated shower scene, but this time the moments where the score takes a back seat, or goes away entirely, stood out more. In particular, the scene where Norman and Marion have dinner in his parlor came off as extremely creepy, and the way in which Norman's demeanor changes within that scene was nothing short of amazing. Also, in contrast to NORTH BY NORTHWEST, PSYCHO has a rear-projected driving scene which actually worked for me. Again, a lot of this has to do with the score, but Janet Leigh's facial expressions and reactions to what goes on around her helped just as much to make it work. What also makes this film stand out from a lot of Hitchcock's other pictures was the conscious artistic choice to shoot in black and white. Although he said it would have been too gory to shoot in color, it gives the film a distinct griminess that stands in contrast to the high glamour of his other work. PSYCHO is decidedly unglamorous, and it succeeds because it fits with the subject matter. Lastly, Hitchcock is notorious for playing with audience expectations, and PSYCHO contains perhaps his greatest cinematic joke: the (apparent heroine) is killed off nearly halfway in to the film. Now her death does provide the dramatic momentum for the rest of it, but I can only imagine how audiences 1960 would have been shocked by this twist. In terms of his overall corpus (at least what I've seen so far), I'd put it up there with REAR WINDOW and NORTH BY NORTHWEST just shy of VERTIGO. The only thing that brings it down a peg is some needless psychoanalysis in the last scene. For me, it would have been more powerful to cut most of that out and skip to the chilling final shot that gradually zooms in on Anthony Perkins' face. Still, even with that scene, PSYCHO is definitely one of Hitchcock's finest, and laid the groundwork for the next generation of horror films.

Psycho follows Marion Crane when she steals $40,000 from her employer and ends up at the Bates Motel, where she encounters Norman Bates, the creepy manager. Psycho is a suspenseful and immersive film with many classic, unforgettable scenes.

Psycho's story is easy to follow and very suspenseful; the ending throws an amazing twist at the audience with a haunting final image/monologue. The film really hooked me and was extremely immersive; the conversations between the characters are memorable and engaging, the murders are unforgettable (the shower scene is still one of the most iconic scenes in film history, in my opinion), and the music is thrilling and epic. The acting was great from the entire cast; however, Anthony Perkins is genuinely creepy as Norman Bates and is definitely the standout in Psycho.

I own the Psycho (50th Anniversary Edition) [Blu-ray]. The picture quality is amazing and makes Psycho look like a recently released film; the sound quality is also great. It has plenty of special features including theatrical trailers, the making of, and other goodies. This version only comes with a Blu-ray disc; no DVD or digital copy, and it does not come with a slip cover.

Overall, Psycho is an extremely suspenseful horror film with great performances. I highly recommend purchasing and/or renting, especially if you can get your hands on the Blu-ray.

Psycho has some violence and blood. No sex or nudity.