Psycho

Rating:
Summary: a kind of "naked gun" horror movie
Review: First of all, to everyone that says stuff like "Psycho better in color". Hitchcock did an exellent job doing it in black/white, because it gave us a sence of darkeness and felling of kind of, "don't trust in people etc" (Marion and the policeman). So doing a "color-film", is completely wrong, I think. But "The remake" isn't all that bad. I mean, the dialouge between Marion and Norman is really humoures! Just listen to, them when they talk! It sounds like they reading from a dusty script from the late 50:ies. And the shower scene. It remaindes me of one of the terrible, discusting "Psycho-sequles"! The only thing that makes me think of the masterpiece it self is the score. But even that sounds weak. I like Ann Heache and Julianne Moore though. But Viggo and Vince are all wrong for this!!! No, I think you all should see the original piece, if you are looking for a good scare...

Rating:
Summary: Improved impression of a masterpiece
Review: I've just purchased this DVD from Amazon and have to ask what all the screaming is about. Firstly Hitchcock simply took Joseph Stefano's screenplay and produced his vision of the story. Gus Van Sant has now produced his vision of the same story and as much as it is alike to Hitchcocks version, Van Sants vision, in my opinion, is a much creepier and visceral experience. I'm not trying to disrespect Hitchcock, his "Psycho" is one of my favourite movies but with Van Sant I just got that extra punch that I felt "Psycho" always needed. Given the fact that I've seen the original so many times should have had detrimental effect on my enjoyment of the remake, naturally the old law of diminishing returns should have applied here but it was simply crumbled under the power of Van Sants wonderful interpretation. Vince Vaughn is by no means better with his portrayal of Norman Bates but he is on an equal par with Anthony Perkins and in some awkward way is slightly more disturbing when you know what insanity lurks beneath his handsome demeanour. Janet Leigh I've always been a fan of in the Horror genre from this movie through to "The Fog" and right up to her recent appearance in "H20" but Anne Heche seems to exude that caring "Girl next door" emotional concern that, looking back, Janet seemed to lack in the original. It's silly to compare one against the other really, both should be enjoyed for what they achieve and every one will always have their favourite among the two. The DVD itself offers a stunning 1.85:1 framed image with bright saturated colours and deep night-time blacks and the dolby digital soundtrack is pretty impressive given the lack of loud explosions, but it plays well with the atmospherics. Listen to the eerie whispers in "Mothers" bedroom when Julianne Moore checks out the wardrobe or the childs laughter that underscores the music in Normans bedroom. Very effective. But it's the commentary by Gus Van Sant, Vince Vaughn and Anne Heche that makes this disc all the more worthwhile. Offering thoughtful insight into the purpose of this remake with humourous stabs at its production, make for a very entertaining get together. Add all this to "Psycho-path" a clever, "fly on the wall" documentary charting the remakes growth, from it's on set production to the movies release and you have one of the best collectors discs Universal have released so far.

Rating:
Summary: Hailing the memory of Hitchcock
Review: I don't understand the viewers who were so totally disappointed in this remake. I thought that it was done amazingly well! As far as I can tell, the film stuck very close to the original: script, charactarization, dialouge, and even the filming was completely Hitchcock. One might even say it was a steal. The entire film hails the memory of the late master of suspence! My only disappointment was that Vince Vaughn was not as convincing in the part as Anthony Perkins. All in all though, a good choice.

Rating:
Summary: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!
Review: Come on! I can't imagine why ANYONE would give this film higher than 1 or 2 stars. It was horrible! The acting ws the worst in any film in recent memory. Norman Mastubating while watching Marion undress is absolutely stupid! Why do you need that? Perhaps they added scenes like that (along with a touch more graphic violence) to gain that "special" R-rating? I can't express how much my girlfriend and I hated this movie.

Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your time--rent the original.
Review: Several aspects of the original movie made cinematic history, and here Gus Van Sant's frank plagiarism (how can you improve a classic?) would cause Hitchcock to roll over in his grave. The director shot everything scene-by-scene the same as Hitchcock, except he added a pointless 2-second shot of a sheep or something in the road, with a blue lense on the camera. Who does he think he is, David Lynch? Vince Vaughn can't TOUCH Anthony Perkins' shy, subtle Norman Bates with a 10-foot pole. He makes the character an obviously perverted individual, which destroys the entire premise of the movie. Van Sant took a piece of American pop culture and ruined it.

Rating:
Summary: This Film is Stellar!
Review: I have seen the first "Psycho" sooo many times and it creeps me out every time I pop it into the VCR. I am a HUGE fan of Vince Vaughn, so of course I ran out to the theater to see this. I must say it was eery and chilling throughout the whole picture. Vince devilishally giggled his way throughout the film as Norman Bates and Anne Heche gave off suspense and terror portraying Marion Crain. The shower scene was well done, but a little too modernized. I wish that they had done it like the original, only showing blood going down the drain at that scene. Vince was HOT in the film and I recommend it to anyone who is a big fan of him.

Rating:
Summary: A creditable effort but, no.
Review: Van Sant is a good director, but he really didn't do much for promoting Hitchcock other than to make you appreciate the original Psycho more than his remake. Vince Vaughn is the best feature of the film, but the other actors seemed uncomfortable and a little bit snobby. The worst thing about this remake is that all the kids who haven't seen the original that have been bred to graphic violence as the standard for a "good" horror film are now going to avoid it because they have seen the remake. If you are considering this as a purchase do yourself a favor and get the original instead - it's light years ahead of this one.

Rating:
Summary: The worst remake, no movie, that I have ever seen before
Review: This was the worst remake, scratch that, the worst movie that I have every seen. First of all, the acting was terrible. Vince Vaughn¹s acting made me dry heave and he disgraced Anthony Perkins portrayal of the ultimate villain, Norman Bates. The scene that locked my opinion about him was when he was spying on Marion Crane (Ann Heche). And the one thing that I found very offensive as a PSYCHO fan was when Norman Bates was in the small rwhite room. He didn¹t seem as dark and believing s Anthony Perkins. He looked too much like a killer that it wasn¹t scary. When Perkins did it, he looked like the boy next door. That is why it was so disturbing.Unlike Vaughn¹s performance, Ann Heche¹s was pleasing. She was no Janet Lee, but she was still good. The only complaint that I had was her short hair. Lesbian or not, Marion Crane should have at lest some hair.The supporting actors that I was pleased with were Arbogast, the private detective, and Marion¹s sister, Lila Crane. They were believable. But I wasn¹t happy with Sam, Marion¹s boyfriend. The Sam in the original was more caring and loved Marion. The remake¹s Sam acted as if he didn¹t care what happened to her. I came to this conclusion when Sam was hitting on Marion¹s sister. I found this wrong and this added to another one of my reasons not to see it.The only thing that I liked about this movie was how they used some of the original props in this film. Like the original "Bates Motel" and house (with some restorations), the car that Marion traded for the new car, and all of the pictures, stuffed animals and sculptures in the parlor of the "Bates Motel."So, I do not recommend for anyone to see this movie. It was the worst movie that I have ever seen. It is a waste of time, film, and box office space. (This review was written by me, the webmaster of the best PSYCHO page on the net.)

Rating:
Summary: pure madness
Review: Have they all gone mad at Universal's?. I just bought the DVD thinking that after all it would be amusing watching it considering the undenied talent of Gus Van Saint, but as you say in French "Ridicule does not kill" and the whole experience is rather boring and above all bloodily pointless. But what is really unbearable is clearly the poor acting abilities of Miss Heche, way below Janet Leigh's top notch performance and Vince Vaughn is no match to Anthony Perkin"s portrayal of Norman Bates. And why bother with a director? The whole thing could have been computerized for what it's worth. Now the next thing we know, they'll be casting Vince Vaughn as Orson Welles in a colourful remake of "Citizen Kane" with Joaquim Phoenix and Anne Heche of course. Psycho is Hollywood at its worst. No imagination, just a dull copy of what others have created in a much better way with something called talent and good taste. In 1959, Psycho was a daring picture. What is given to us today is snobbish mediocrity.

Rating:
Summary: Better than the original
Review: Most people will prefer the original merely for the snob appeal of Hitchcocks name. Personally, I didn't realize how bad the acting was in the original until I compared it to the superior remake. I love how they camped the performance up just a bit. Considering the film hasn't aged well, the mild humor was a god send. I loved the tweaked shower scene and the added images.