Psycho

Of course it is the original I watched! No need to get into explaining the story here, I am sure everyone has seen what is a true classic in movie mythology….and if you haven’t, I am sure not going to ruin it for you here. This is one of the all time greats in horror movie history, and probably in film history in general. Even the ones that have yet to discover this film are usually familiar with the character Norman Bates, made classic by Anthony Perkins. (The Black Hole, Catch 22)

After watching this again, for I don’t know how many times, the only thing that really stood out was Dr. Richmond’s medical speech at the end. Not there was a thing wrong with it, it was played great by Simon Oakland (West Side Story), but I think if this film were shot today, there would be no need for the long explanation. The speech did offer some insight, but today’s audiences would have put most of that together. Not to mention it would have made a great cut or transition going from the shot of the skull to shot of Norman Bates. Oh well, I am not going to criticize greatness too much.

Of course there is Janet Leigh (Little Women, Angles in the Outfield), who was made famous for the shower scene in this movie, and flush the first toilet in screen in a motion picture. (Just another piece of useless trivia.) Martin Balsam (All The President’s Men, Tora Tora Tora, Best Supporting Actor in A Thousand Clowns) is perfect as the inquisitive detective, especially in his interview scene questioning Norman Bates.

If you haven’t seen this film, don’t miss an all time classic. And what  perfect time to watch it with Halloween coming up. (Speaking of Halloween, Dr. Sam Loomis played by Donald Pleasence was named for the character Sam Loomis in Psycho….ok, that’s two worthless pieces of trivia in one review.) I recommend you see this one sometime soon, if not this weekend. Shot in glorious black and white, this is an american icon of a movie!