One of the greatest Westerns ever made gets the deluxe treatment on this superior disc from Republic Home Video's Silver Screen Classics line of special-edition DVDs. Written by Carl Foreman (who was later blacklisted during the anticommunist hearings of the '50s) and superbly directed by Fred Zinnemann, this 1952 classic stars Gary Cooper as just-married lawman Will Kane, who is about to retire as a small-town sheriff and begin a new life with his bride (Grace Kelly) when he learns that gunslinger Frank Miller (Ian MacDonald) is due to arrive at high noon to settle an old score. Kane seeks assistance from deputies and townsfolk, but soon realizes he'll have to stand alone in his showdown with Miller and his henchmen. Innovative for its time, the suspenseful story unfolds in approximate real time (from 10:40 a. m. to high noon in an 84-minute film), and many interpreted Foreman's drama as an allegorical reflection of apathy and passive acceptance of Senator Joseph McCarthy's anticommunist campaign. Political underpinnings aside, this remains a milestone of its genre (often referred to as the first "adult" Western), and Cooper is flawless in his Oscar-winning role. The first-rate DVD gives this landmark film all the respect it deserves, beginning with a digitally remastered transfer from the original film negative. Additional features include the exclusive documentary The Making of High Noon, hosted by film historian Leonard Maltin and featuring interviews with the late Lloyd Bridges (who played Cooper's rival ex-deputy), director Fred Zinnemann, and producer Stanley Kramer. Also included is the original theatrical trailer and a special chapter stop highlighting the Oscar-winning song "Do Not Forsake Me. [+]

Incontestablement, le film le plus célèbre du maître du suspense. Pourtant, tourné en 1960 pour à peine 8 000 dollars, avec une équipe de télévision, il n'a pas été immédiatement bien reçu. Alors considéré comme mineur, comme un petit film de genre, Psychose constitue avant tout une leçon de mise en scène. Hormis la célébrissime scène de la douche – maintes fois reprises, notamment par Brian de Palma – il faut souligner la virtuosité technique que déploie Sir Alfred, par exemple dans la scène de la découverte de la mère, ou bien celle du meurtre du détective. Mais au-delà du brio de sa réalisation et de son apparence de film d'épouvante, Psychose s'impose comme film typiquement hitchcockien : voyeurisme, difficile rapport à l'argent, OEdipe mal digéré, fascination pour les blondes, toutes les obsessions majeures du cinéaste des Oiseaux et de Vertigo s'y trouvent condensées, notamment grâce à un hallucinant Anthony Perkins dans le rôle désormais mythique de Norman Bates, et une musique de Bernard Herrmann à vous glacer les sangs. -Sylvain Lefort.