Alfred Hitchcock’s second entry on our 1/1000.
What can you say about Psycho? It really is an amazing film. I hadn’t really taken much notice of Hitch’s films when I was young, then when I was about 23 and I was back in education studing ‘Film & Television Production’. One of the lectures was including watching the film projected onto the wall/big screen of the room. It literally blew me away. The atmosphere is just breathtaking and the music, I don’t think has been bettered in film history.
Of course the film sees, ‘A Phoenix secretary steals $40,000 from her employer’s client, goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother’ (Source: Website, IMDB). It stars Anthony Perkins, who really gives a creepy performance, and Janet Leigh who equally impresses.
Interestingly, ‘Hitchcock bought the rights to the original novel anonymously from Robert Bloch for only US$9,000. He then bought up as many copies of the novel as he could to keep the ending a secret’. Also ‘Although Janet Leigh was not bothered by the filming of the famous shower scene, seeing it on film profoundly moved her. She later remarked that it made her realize how vulnerable a woman was in a shower. To the end of her life, she always took baths (Source: Website, IMDB).
Look out, as always, For Hitch’s cameo. He can be seen very early on the film as he wanted the concentrate on the film as opposed to looking out for him.
As a rather long footnote, there were a number of sequels. All non-Hitchcock: Psycho II (1983), Psycho III (1986) and Psycho IV: The Beginning (TV Movie, 1990) all starring Anthony Perkins. There is also a shot for shot remake/homage directed by Gus Van Sant (Why?!?), Psycho (1998) starring Vince Vaughn as Norman Bates and Anne Heche as Marion Crane. Now, this IS worth a watch. Only really to see how the film looks in colour. It was poorly recieved and the question must be asked as to why a classic like this was remade.
There was also TV Movie spin off, ‘Bates Motel’ (1987). It tells the story of a man inheriting the Motel after the death of Bates. This was produced as a pilot for a TV series but was never picked up. ‘In early 2012, it was announced that a new TV series titled ‘Bates Motel’ was in development at the network, later on it was confirmed that the show was picked up for a 10 episode first season. However, being a prequel to the film, it has nothing to do with the failed 1987 TV pilot’ (Source: Website, Wikipedia).
Continuity wise: ‘While Bates Motel (1987) was a partial continuation of the series as it continued from where Psycho left off, it ignored the continuity of Psycho II, Psycho III, and Psycho IV: The Beginning due to the death of Norman Bates in the film and the fact that Bates is deemed sane and returns to the Bates Motel in Psycho II. Psycho (1998), a shot-for-shot remake of the first film is not considered to be an official sequel of the original series as it breaks complete continuation from the last film Psycho IV: The Beginning. It is sometimes referred to as a reboot of the Psycho series, however, some still consider it an installment of the films even though it has been confirmed that it is not. There are also some continuity problems in Psycho IV: The Beginning that have to do with some of the past events explored in Psycho, Psycho II, and Psycho III. Reflecting on the continuity issues, Robert Price writes “It seems that all the different Psychos drift into and out of one another. There is no real sequence. All are variant versions of the same myth’ (Source: Website, Wikipedia).
As an extra footnote, there was one more version of the original: ’24 Hour Psycho is the title of an art installation created by artist Douglas Gordon in 1993. The work consists entirely of an appropriation of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 Psycho slowed down to approximately two frames a second, rather than the usual 24. As a result it lasts for exactly 24 hours/1440 Minutes’, rather than the original 109 minutes. The film was an important work in Gordon’s early career, and is said to introduce themes common to his work, such as “recognition and repetition, time and memory, complicity and duplicity, authorship and authenticity, darkness and light (Source: Website, Wikipedia).
I reassure you, we won’t be showing ’24 Hour Psycho’ at a future TLFC meeting as, of course, it is not commercially available.
1000 FILMS TO WATCH 
There can’t be many people of a “certain age” who haven’t seen the original Psycho. I haven’t seen it for many years, but I’m sure it retains it’s innate sense of shock. One thing I always remember about the film, aside from all the obvious talking points, is that the Janet Leigh character departs relatively early on, which was rather ground breaking (and a shock in itself) for the time.
As for the many sequels and spin offs, I think I will give them a miss!
Indeed, I read, too, that it was a shock to audiences that she was killed off so early. The film buff in me wants to see the sequels but I know I WILL be disappointed. I have seen the remake though and it is a worthy watch as it is a shot for shot homage to the original, though obviously not in the same class.
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