Directed by AFI Life Achievement honoree Alfred Hitchcock, PSYCHO (1960) is the story of a boy and his mother. The film appears across six of the American Film Institute’s lists celebrating excellence in the art form – including both the original list of America’s greatest films the 10th anniversary edition, as well as among cinema’s greatest thrills and most iconic film scores. Anthony Perkins’ Norman Bates was ranked by AFI as the second greatest film villain ever to terrorize audiences – and the character also earned a place on the Institute’s accounting of the art form’s greatest quotes, with the chilling line “A boy’s best friend is his mother.” AFI honorary degree recipient Saul Bass designed the PSYCHO’s iconic title sequence and served as a pictorial consultant on the film.
Learn more about PSYCHO in the AFI Catalog.
