Psycho
by Gus Van Sant
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Anne Heche, Julianne Moore, Viggo Mortensen, Vince Vaughn, William H. MacyDirector: Gus Van Sant
Brand: Universal Studios
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Collector's Edition, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 104 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1999-06-08
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Universal Studios
Movie Reviews of Psycho
Movie Review: An Intriging Remake
Summary: 5 Stars
To understand what I am saying, because I understand, recognize, and believe that Hitchcock's original is a masterpeice(2nd to only North by Northwest), I think that this remake not only has value but may be MORE valuable from a film studies vantage point for several reasons.
Without changing much at all(most of the changes for updating/practical purposes or because they were in Hitchcock's notes), Van Sant reworks the entire movie. Characters are very different in this version, even though they say the same line and go through the same motions. IT shows that it's not just what they say or where they go, the who is vital to the essence of the movie.
A LOT of people criticize Vaugn's Bates, but I find his version fascinating. Whereas in the original the sense it is that there is a serious inner problem with this person, a person who was so connected with his mother he created this persona, in the new version the character is completly different. Now Norman comes off more psychologically repressed, and I think slightly more innocent while at the same time more unhinged. I get the sense that his mother was repressive to him here, creating the monster, whereas before the monster came from Norman after she was dead.
Marion is different as well, not so much innocent as she was in the original as she is selfish, the new Marion is more willing to do wrong but is also more aware of the world she lives in. There is a cynical edge to some of the comments she makes, where the original Marion goes through with a more or less naive attitude about her own wrongdoing.
This movie is amazing because it changes the entire context of the story and the characters and barely changes a word or shot. By tweaking the editing and the deliveries ever so slightly, Van Sant and his crew have created an amazing example of what makes a film and how important subtlty is when creating a film. This movie disproves any notion that any movie is easy to recreate, because this movie doesn't recreate Psycho AT ALL. This movie reshapes Psycho, forming a new vision that fits more in with our times. And while those classic quirks are comfortable to most of us who love the original, it is hard to honestly admit that the new quirks don't at least intrique you with the way that remold your preconceived notions of what was and what is the essence of the(or really any) movie.
Don't hate on this movie because they had the audacity to remake a classic. Lots of classics get remade without the love of the original evident here. This movie is important because it plays so much off of the old as well as working as a good movie all on its own. It is possible to love both version of this, trust me. Don't just say it sucks because it's not Hitchcock, and remember that sacred-cow Hitchcock made boring or silly movies too (Vertigo and Spellbound respectivly). Psycho(1960) IS a classic, but even then I think that this movie adds to it.
Summary of Psycho
PSYCHO - DVD MovieNumerous critics had already sharpened their knives even before Gus Van Sant's shot-for-shot color "re-creation" of the 1960 black-and-white Hitchcock classic was released, chiding the Good Will Hunting director for defiling hallowed ground. This intriguing cinematic curiosity, though, is hardly as sacrilegious as critics would lead you to believe. If anything, Van Sant doesn't take enough liberties with his almost slavish devotion to the material, now updated with modern references. At times, you wish Van Sant would cut loose with a little spontaneity, a little energy, a little something. Unfortunately, when he does venture outside Hitchcock's parameters, with inserted shots of storm clouds during the murder sequences, it's to little effect. Granted, he liberally splashes color throughout the film (especially in the case of the infamous shower scene), and this is a great-looking movie, but in his obsession with adding a new physical dimension to the film, there's little insight into these characters that Hitchcock hadn't already provided. Vince Vaughn, a robotic and giggly Norman, doesn't crawl under your skin the way boy-next-door Anthony Perkins did, and Anne Heche is admirable if not very sympathetic in the Janet Leigh role. Van Sant does score a minor coup, though, in his casting of the supporting roles: Julianne Moore provides a welcome shot of energy as Heche's irritable and curious sister, William H. Macy is a perfect small-time detective, Viggo Mortensen is studly enough to make you understand why Heche would want to run away with him, and James LeGros walks away with his one brief scene as a used car salesman. And Danny Elfman's gorgeous rerecording of Bernard Herrmann's score is a potent supporting character unto itself. Students and fans of the original film will get a kick out of the modern revisions, but don't expect anything of Hitchcockian caliber; watch it for the sum of its intriguing parts, but not the whole. --Mark Englehart
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