‘Psycho’ at 60: The Scariest Thing About Hitchcock’s Masterpiece Is Its Humanity
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@Hownos. Thanks for the link. Gleiberman makes a lot of good observations (although his suggestion that Talking Heads' 'Psycho Killer' was born out of David Byrne's resemblance to Perkins is spurious as far as I can tell - the supporting link doesn't make that case!).
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shareOnce every 10 years, the "outside world" takes the long, hard look at Psycho that we've been doing around here(and at imdb) for years now. Its sort of fun to get the attention for "our" movie -- on other anniversaries, The Exorcist and Jaws and Star Wars and The Godfather get the nod but...Psycho is "ours" -- and it is back there aways, isn't it?
Generally, not much "new" can be said about Psycho in these articles, but I tend to dig for the tidbits that are.
I will say this about David Byrne and Perkins and "Psycho Killer." I recall a Rolling Stone review that said "David Byrne looks a lot like Anthony Perkins...and so Psycho Killer would seem to be an homage to Perkins." So...Byrne may not have originated it...but Rolling Stone noticed the resemblance and figured the song WAS meant to play it up.
I like this writer because Psycho is his favorite horror movie, flat out. Mine too -- but I'm used to having The Exorcist and The Shining score ahead of it. I'll say this: I don't remember anything NEAR the screaming in the theater that I heard at Psycho when I saw The Exorcist(gross-outs) and The Shining(weird family psychodrama; Scatman's murder didn't scare me.)
"Psycho" now famously "only" has two murders, but they were the FIRST two such murders(history was made), they were arguably the BEST such murders(days and dollars were spent creating them), and we sure knew a lot about those victims(back story with Marion; personality with Arbogast.) These victims MATTERED. They were unforgettable.
And Anthony Perkins went 23 YEARS as the Norman Bates of 1960 before tarnishing his own brand. Accept no substitutes for 1960 Norman -- written by Stefano out of Bloch, directed by Hitchcock , acted by a hungry young actor out to prove his worth.
Still, the article is right: Psycho probably has the most "human" and humane set of characters in any horror film. We FEEL for Norman Bates(we don't desire his death at the end); we FEEL for Marion Crane and the sister who loses her(Lila) and yes, even for the boyfriend who loses her(Sam -- he will find another woman, maybe its Lila -- but Marion will forever haunt him.)
And me, I even feel for Arbogast, a cool guy, good at his job, just DOING his job, who pays the ultimate price for his talent.
Psycho was (and can still be) a "scream machine," but the people in it really turned out to matter to us.
Another article wrote this: "in his other movies, Hitchcock USED landmarks. In Psycho, he CREATED a landmark: the Bates mansion."
True, isn't it? The Bates Mansion is as much a "monument" as Mount Rushmore one movie before(NXNW) and the Golden Gate Bridge two movies before (Vertigo.) Not to mention the Statue of Liberty in Saboteur.
But the Bates Mansion was its OWN landmark. A character in the movie, on screen a LOT (and a lot more than Rushmore or the Golden Gate or Lady Liberty.) Almost always seen "up to the right looking down at an angle." (When Lila finally get to approach from the front -- its a whole new house.)
Not to mention -- the Bates Mansion is terrifying enough on its own(as Arbogast found out) but...coupled with that motel down below(as Marion found out)...the "combo package" is the Greatest Setting for a Horror Movie Ever. (Second place: the Overlook Hotel in Winter.)
Its good and great and right that every 10 years, the rest of the world is reminded what a landmark film Psycho was and is. But its nice to spend the days exploring it in a bit more detail -- along with all the other movies before, after and during it.