Rotten Tomatoes Logo Do you want to see ‘High Anxiety’?

High Anxiety (1977)

tomatometer

No Score Yet...

Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 1
Fresh: 0 | Rotten: 1

audience

66

liked it
Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 13,883

My Rating

Movie Info

This is Mel Brooks' spoof of over ten Alfred Hitchcock classics, including Psycho, Vertigo, and The Birds (Brooks actually used the bird trainer from that classic suspense movie in making his film). Brooks plays Dr. Richard H. Thorndyke, a renowned Harvard psychiatrist with a concealed fear of heights, or High Anxiety. Thorndyke takes over as the newest director of the PsychoNeurotic Institute for the Very, Very Nervous after the last director dies under suspicious circumstances. He soon finds

PG, 1 hr. 34 min.

Mystery & Suspense, Comedy

Apr 4, 2006

Cast

All Critics (32) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (20) | Rotten (8) | DVD (8)

Very very funny Hitchcock spoof with some adult humor.

December 19, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comment
Common Sense Media

...an homage to the films of Alfred Hitchcock, if by "homage" you mean a series of parody skits which would be at home on The Carol Burnett Show shoehorned into a plot drawing heavily on Spellbound.

July 8, 2010 Full Review Source: Playback:stl | Comment
Playback:stl

Most of this stuff isn't particularly funny however, and even though I watched High Anxiety for the first time in 2010, I'm not sure it would have been very funny back in 1977 either.

June 11, 2010 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | Comment
Combustible Celluloid

Brooks spoofs the master, Alfred Hithcock, and make a minor comedy classic of his own with High Anxiety

May 19, 2010 Full Review Source: What Would Toto Watch? | Comment
What Would Toto Watch?

One of Brooks lesser comedies from the 1970s, but it beats hands-down any of his later work.

March 23, 2009 Full Review Source: Three Movie Buffs | Comment
Three Movie Buffs

The cinematic equivalent of an Elvis impersonator

April 16, 2006 Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | Comment
Film Freak Central

Mel Brooks reached his comedy peak with this riotous spoof of Alfred Hitchcock thrillers.

April 11, 2006 Full Review Source: FulvueDrive-in.com | Comment
FulvueDrive-in.com

ridiculous and hilarious

August 26, 2005 Comment
Shadows on the Wall

Brooks at his most brilliant!

June 14, 2005 Comment
7M Pictures

its endless parade of campy Hitchcock gags makes us feel smart

January 20, 2004 Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | Comment
Filmcritic.com
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for High Anxiety

Dr. Richard H. Thorndyke (Mel Brooks) is a well-known psychiatrist suffering from what his own doctor calls "high anxiety," one of the many recurring references to the titular psychiatric condition in Alfred Hitchcock's classic thriller VERTIGO. After being appointed as the head of the Psychoneurotic Institute for the

September 19, 2011
spielberg00
Alexander Diminiano

Super Reviewer

Another hilarious spoof comedy from Brooks, this one spoofs Hitchcock's films, and it's very effective. If you like Brook's films, check it out.

September 6, 2010
ajv2688

Super Reviewer

    1. Brophy: I got it. I got it. I got it. [thump]
    2. Brophy: I ain't got it.
    – Submitted by Eli A (4 months ago)

Latest News for High Anxiety

What's Hot On RT

Critics Consensus
Critics Consensus

Journey 2 Not Worth the Trip

Luis Guzman
Luis Guzman

What are his 10 best movies ever?

<em>Amazing Spider-Man</em>
Amazing Spider-Man

See the all-new action-packed trailer!

The Avengers!
The Avengers!

Five new Marvelous pictures

Top Movie Quizzes

LEGO Mania: 2011 Best Picture Nominees
by natalie - 18,576 taken
created 12 months ago
How Much Do You Know About Leonardo DiCaprio?
by natalie - 44,481 taken
created 15 months ago
Pixar Movies!
by jdikwlzviv - 27,179 taken
created 15 months ago
The Wizards of Harry Potter
by jdikwlzviv - 27,675 taken
created 15 months ago

Foreign Titles

  • Le Grand Frisson (FR)
Help | About | Jobs | Newsletter | Critics Submission | API | Licensing | Blog | Developers | Mobile