The car sinking in the swamp was planned. Hitchcock had a hydraulic ramp hidden just below the surface so he could half sink the car, pause for a few seconds, then let it sink fully. But why?? Why go to all the trouble? Hitchcock loved to play with the audiences sense of morality. He was a trickster. When the car doesn't initially sink fully, we get scared that Norman will be found out. Hitchcock has tricked us into rooting for the bad guy. He regularly did these things in his movies. A true genius
I get what you mean. I'm sure people were on Norman's side for a moment there 😂 In my mind though, I was thinking, "Good. That crazy woman deserves to get caught." Of course, that's a great scene. It creates suspense and tension 👍 Hitchcock was good at what he did.
This is the best reaction to psycho I've ever seen on youtube. I love that you pay attention to details and listen to dialogues carefully without talking over. I loved that you read the facts about the film too
At 65 I remember those massive heavy American cars as a child. The front seats were called 'bench seats' and one could easily slide from the drivers to passenger side. Often after parallel parking on a busy street it was much safer to get out on the curbside.
The letter Sam was writing said: "Dearest right-as-always Marion, I’m sitting in this tiny back room which isn’t big enough for both of us, and suddenly it LOOKS big enough for both of us. So what if we’re poor and cramped and miserable, at least we’ll be happy! If you haven’t come to your senses, and still (...) " •••• The film never makes it clear who actually hired Arbogast - Mr. Lowry (Marion’s boss) or Cassidy (the client.) •••• People commonly slid over the seats in their cars, to exit the passenger side in those days, partially because it was easier: bench seats then, as opposed to today’s bucket seats. You could slide over after parking on a street, exit the car on the passenger side, and eliminate any risk that a careless driver would injure you or take off the driver’s door by accident, if you’d exited on the driver’s side.
Thanks for "translating" the letter 👍 I suspect it was Mr. Cassidy who hired Arbogast, because I don't expect his fees to be cheap. Ah, I see. I was wondering why he kept exiting through the passenger side 😂
The $40,000 in “Psycho” is a MacGuffin. Alfred Hitchcock coined the term MacGuffin to describe an object, device, or event that is necessary to the plot and the motivation of the characters, but insignificant, unimportant, or irrelevant in itself. The MacGuffin is usually revealed in the first act and thereafter declines in importance. It can reappear at the climax of the story but may actually be forgotten by the end of the story.
The explanation at the end was for the audience because until this time, few people, with the exception of psychiatrists, had ever heard of split-personality psychosis.
Another must see is Vertigo. Some say his best. You said you like “who done it” and twists - that’s Hitchcock. His trademark were cameos - also in Psycho (scene when Marion returned to the office). There is also a Mel Brooks parody: High Anxiety. And a movie that bears his name and shows the making of Psycho.
Just tons of fun to watch you respond to this movie!! My dad and I watched this movie together when I was about 10-12. I was a kid who adored scary movies. He was so giddy to introduce this film to me. Still on my Mount Rushmore of horror movies. Thank you for sharing your reactions ❤❤
Don't worry about thinking you saw the mother moving when Norman was somewhere else. It's meant to trick us. Just like the knife is never shown going into the girl, but people watching the movie at the time could swear they saw her being stabbed. About the sequels - compared to other franchises, the sequels aren't very bad. Anthony Perkins was involved in all of them, so that's a massive bonus. I really appreciate you coming to this movie so fresh. Some people feel disappointed with this and womder why it's considered such a masterpiece. They have seen so many movies with personality switches like this, they find the twist cheap or predictable. That's why they don't like the psychiatrist explaining stuff at the end. For them, it's superfluous because they already understood what happened. I started watching Bates Motel and it's really good. This is far from my favorite genre, so the fact that I almost finished a season is huge. If you want a palat cleanser, I suggest a quirky scifi-ish comedy called Frequently Asked Questions about Time Travel. It's not a classic, not even a cult classic. It's just a funny little movie with low budget that I wish I could watch again for the first time.
I've watched several Psycho reactions and you're the only one I've seen who's caught Norman's seeming irresponsibility in leaving his mother access to stabby things.
I don't often say this, but good reaction. Keep it up. And there is something to be said for being able to make a murder suspenseful enough without being graphic. Takes more effort, more talent. There was a mad race to be the most graphic once the code went away, and it made movies much worse for a few decades at least.
Please add Rear Window to the list, my favorite Hitchcock...North by Northwest is also great if not exactly typical Hitchcock. You'll get a lot of recs for Vertigo, which I find Hitchcock's most overrated.
Rear Window has had a zillion reactions, why need more? Vertigo has way more to it, and is comparable to Psycho. Rear Window is a pulp thriller with little surprise. Good role for James Stewart but he clearly has a more challenging role in Vertigo. There are good reasons Vertigo has been adulated by critics, it's much more complex and artistic.
@@henryellow I happen to love “Rear Window”. Love the sometimes sarcastic dialogue and Thelma Ritter is a real gem of an actress, aside from Kelly and Stewart.
Greetings, Henry. My name is Bill and I'm a big Hitchcock fan thanks to my father who took me to see "The Birds" when I was only seven years old. My reaction to "Psycho" was along the same lines as yours. I think I was 18 or 19 when I first saw it. I thought your reaction was excellent and your thoughts afterwards made a great presentation. I hope you will continue to on this route with Hitchcock. I'll be looking forward to seeing what other films this great director did.
Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it 😊 You're welcome to check out my Hitchcock playlist on my RU-vid channel. That's where I put all my reactions to Hitchcock movies.
The shower scene with the music has become iconic and often repeated, mostly in parody, since then. The blood was actually chocolate syrup. Hitchcock deliberately chose to make this move in black and white, even though at the time, color movies were taking over. He felt the audience could not handle seeing all that red "blood." Even so, audiences at the day were shocked. At the time, the Hays Code was still in effect, until 1968, when it was replaced by our current letter code rating system. The code restricted so much. Movies were not allowed to show much gore. Often people were seen being killed by gunshot and there is NO blood shown,. Not today, where blood is spurting everywhere and the corpse is shown in gory pieces. I'm surprised Hitchcock got away with the opening scene of Marian and Sam together, partially dressed, in a motel bedroom (along with the toilet scene, which wasn't needed to be actually shown). The code in most cases required even married couples to be depicted sleeping in separate twin beds. I think Hitchcock pushed the boundaries in the start as a way to distract the audience up until the murder. Marian was played by Janet Leigh, who was married to Tony Curtis (a leading man at the time), whose daughter is Jamie Lee Curtis (changed the spelling of her middle name). The story was that Janet Leigh was so traumatized by the shower scene, she couldn't take a shower after that. Perhaps but I suspect that legend was a product of Hollywood hype, as she would have been filmed with chocolate, not a blood red substitute. And the scene included a body double, so it wasn't filmed in an uninterrupted sequence.
No wonder the music felt quite familiar. I knew I heard it somewhere before but I don't remember where. "Movies were not allowed to show much gore." That's why I thought Marion didn't get stabbed, until I saw the blood. Hitchcock did push the boundaries with the censors to make this movie happen. I read that in one of the fun facts (didn't include it in the video though). For the toilet scene, he purposely made the toilet an integral part of the plot so he could push for the scene to be allowed in the movie. "The story was that Janet Leigh was so traumatized by the shower scene, she couldn't take a shower after that." That's ridiculous 😂 it's as you say, just Hollywood hype.
In 1960 Phoenix Arizona $40,000 could buy three houses. Depending on the part of the country, that amount in today’s equivalent wouldn’t even buy the one house. I think it would be equivalent to $300,000-$400,000 today.
I have reacted to all of them. They are in my Hitchcock playlist 😊👇 ru-vid.com/group/PLLSqozpxzKxjUSvWAkxpvNUbm7brRd-OW It's better not to watch my reaction to "The Birds". That movie is just not for me...
I like that you read the background information on this film. My friend Dorothy's father composed the music for this film and to chose he use only strings, a very "grey" haunted sounding music to match the b&w cinematography and to smartly conform to a tight budget, but it works perfectly. Also there is tons of visual foreshadowing throughout the opening scenes of the film. For instance, when Marion leaves the real estate office her shadow passes under a painting on the wall of a swamp in the desert and of course the visuals have strong vertical and horizontal lines opening with buildings on the Phoenix skyline, Marion lying down while Sam is vertical (no jokes, please), the horizontal motel and the vertical house above it, and then inside the vertical/horizontal visual design the diagonal is introduced with the windshield wipers in a heavy rainstorm to the knife in the shower. It's really brilliant. And I completely agree with you on the closing explanation by the psychiatrist as being essential to the story.
The music made the scenes scarier, that's for sure. No way, I didn't even notice the swamp painting on the wall! (is it a swamp though, I couldn't tell) I don't know about the vertical/horizontal thing though. If all that was really done on purpose, then this subtle foreshadowing is beyond me. Quite amazing that you even noticed this detail 👍 Explanation by the psychiatrist was executed perfectly.
The censor were stringent back then. You don't see blood on the knife or wounds because it would get passed the censors. The 'blood' you do see in the tub is actually chocolate syrup. It was ok to show the post effect.
It was also considered racy at the time for a woman to appear in a movie in just a bra and half-slip, carrying on with a man in a bed, particularly if neither party was married. The Hays Code of censorship stayed in effect until 1968.
I saw this movie when it came out. I was 7. I saw it with my parents and younger sister at the drive in. It was well known what happened. I love seeing a young person with their first reaction! Thanks for sharing 😊
@@henryellow I think the music was the scariest for me as a kid. I remember being scared to go to sleep that night but it didn’t stay with me. Movies were not rated in those days. And I know my father was a big fan of Hitchcock.
Oh, the music is one to remember for sure! It's a good thing it didn't stay with you. I've watched some horror movies (as a kid) that stuck with me for years! 😂
The sequels all have something worth watching, especially Psycho II. III was directed by Anthony Perkins and has some very nice touches. IV was written by the screenwriter of the original and he more or less ignored the 1st 2 sequels so it's pretty much a direct sequel to the original. The Bates Motel series is great! Freddie Highmore and Vera Farmiga are perfect for it. It's not a remake, it's a reimagining of the story as a whole with several changes. They do their own version of the Psycho story towards the end of the series. They add a brother for Norman and a brother for Norma and drug dealing, rape, murder and other interesting things. It is well worth a watch. The remake of Psycho pales in comparison to the original, but does have some fine acting. But it was instantly dated where the original seems as fresh as the day it was released.
Sorry but who in the remake do you think displays fine acting?! Vince Vaughn is laughable, Julianne Moore is wooden, Anne Heche is pathetic and William H. Macy can't be taken seriously wearing that hat that is 5 times to big for him.
@@rnw2739 I don't agree with any of your comments except the big hat....most of the costumes were terrible choices and that's what dated the movie immediately. Heche had always had a quirkiness about her acting, but I enjoyed it. Vaughn was solid and at the time was not known for his goofball rolls...I think he had only done 1 or 2 movies before this. Moore wasn't at her best I will agree. Viggo Mortensen's choice to be kind of a redneck was fine and the more minor characters were mostly good...I didn't care for Rita Wilson's bubbly choice, or her kind of southern type accent. The Library Cop from Seinfeld was good as the Sheriff. I'll say the worst actor in the whole movie....was the house. The house in the original is a character itself and they covered it with this generic front that had almost no menace to it at all. Some things did irritate me, like I said it was dated right away, but some of the dialogue was taken from the original and should have been updated. Marion said her boss had excess acid....nobody was saying that anymore at the time...and licking stamps had gone out of style too. It seemed odd to me that the Sheriff's wife picked up the phone and talked right to the switchboard operator to connect them with Norman....people have told me it still happens, but it just seemed a little off. I really hated how they made Mother look...blonde hair and a pink bathrobe...ugh! But I do think the story is very strong and still holds up and I stand behind my fine acting comment.
Enjoyed your reaction. So many more great Hitchcock movies ! I would suggest Rear Window, Vertigo, Notorious, Rebecca, and Shadow of a Doubt. The Birds and Spellbound are also good. Honestly you can’t go wrong with almost any Hitchcock movie.
I remember showing this film to my young nephew years ago. He dismissed it at first because it was in b&w, but quickly became mesmerized by it. When it was over, he was like "What a great movie!" Of course I had to laugh at this. Many, if not all, of Hitchcock's films were experiments in filmmaking in one way or another. In "Psycho," the killing of Marion, the protagonist, disorients the viewer by eliminating someone the film spent some time investing itself in, disrupting the classical model of narration. The film sustains its momentum by transitioning the viewers' interest to Norman before settling on Lila and Sam. The thematic elements present in Psycho are classic Hitchcock cinema: psychotic behavior, voyeurism and mother figures/motherhood. These themes are also explored in Hitchcock's Rear Window, Notorious, Vertigo and Shadow of a Doubt. Indeed, "Shadow of a Doubt" may be regarded as an early "Psycho" precursor. In "Psycho" these themes are explored in greater depth. Hitchcock's studio, Paramount, refused to fund "Psycho" because it had no faith in the source material. So, the film was an experiment in its production. "Psycho" is based on a 1959 novel by Robert Bloch of the same name. Today, both the novel and the film are considered masterpieces of the horror genre. Paramount also would not agree to distribute the film without major concessions from Hitchcock. These included Hitchcock personally financing the project himself while foregoing his usual director’s fee. For his part, Hitchcock retained 60% ownership of the film. Hitchcock mortgaged his own house to finance the film and shot it using his tv crew. Hitchcock had a popular weekly tv anthology series at the time. Clearly, he had a lot of confidence in his tv crew. This low-budget film quickly made millions and made Hitchcock a lot of money. The music for "Psycho" was by Bernard Herrmann, regarded as one of the greatest composers for film. Because the film was low-budget, Herrmann scored it for strings only as opposed to full orchestra. So, the effect in tone-color is also rather b&w. I think if you look at the score, say, of the shower scene, the notes resemble a slash! The dialogue in the film is also fantastic. I love how when Marion is eating, Norman drops a hint that his mother is like his stuffed birds. "She's as harmless as one of those stuffed birds." Marion's last name is "Crane," like a bird. This film is chock-full of all sorts of allusions and symbolism. Circa 1960, just about every car had bench seats. The gear shift was on the steering wheel column so that wouldn't have hindered you. Most cars were manual transmission, too, and without power steering or aircon. Also, by this time, seats were primarily vinyl and fairly slippery. So, it was especially easy to slide across them. The ignition, lights, and wiper knobs were on the dash. It was no problem to just slide across and exit the car on the other side if you wanted to. It could also be safer, if you were parking on the street. You could slide across and get out curbside instead of in the street. Or even because it was quicker to get where you wanted to go rather than walk around the car. Maybe the ground was muddy, too. Lots of reasons to do this. Ah, the younger generation. They don't know so much. They should go to old car shows and check out these beautiful old cars. By the way, if there's ever an EMP, I believe these old cars would still work, the new ones for sure wouldn't. Oh, by the way, that $40,000 would today be over $400,000. So not chump-change.
If I remember correctly, Hitchcock could've made this film in colour, but he decided to do it B&W instead. It was a great decision 👍🏻 Indeed, I did not expect Marion (who I assumed to be the main character) to be killed. The music is simple, and memorable. When you couple it with the shower scene (and the fact that the audience at the time do not expect these types of scenes due to the Hays Code), it became the classic horror music. "She's as harmless as one of those stuffed birds." That's subtle foreshadowing 😂 I've never seen cars like that in real life. I believe they were never made like that in my country. Also, our driver seat is on the right side instead of the left side. Thanks for sharing 😊
Nice reaction. Hitchcock is definitely a master. Others I’d recommend, Frenzy, Rope, To Catch a Thief, Dial M for Murder. It would also be interesting to see a reaction to both versions of The Man Who Knew Too Much. One of a few directors to do a remake their own film, First one came out in 1934 then 1956 for the remake. With spooky season coming up here’s a couple of chillers for you. “Les Diaboliques” (1955) which Hitchcock loved and in fact inspired Pycho in some ways. “Don’t Look Now” (1973) is also another super atmospheric suspense film. Based upon the book by Daphne du Maurer. Hitch also did a few movies based upon her novels.
I met Simon Oakland who played the psychiatrist at the end when I was working at Universal 16 years after the move came out. I said I admired him in PSYCHO and all he said was "That was a long time ago". I wish I'd known he did it in one take so I could sound halfway intelligent. 🙄
@@henryellow It was a HUGE hit in its day --- and for Hitchcock -- so he undoubtedly remembered it. But if you look at his IMDB credits or wikipedia, he did a massive amount of work. I just wasn't familiar with any of it.
The girl taking the tranquilizers is Hitchcock's real life daughter. $40k back then is worth $403,800 today. 18 year old daughter was getting quite the house. And Marion stole much more than people think. Marion wanted to switch cars because back then the tags were tied to the vehicle and not the owner. Once the cop showed up there was no reason to go on with the transaction. Sandwiches and milk wasn't really for company. He said he was fixing himself dinner and she could have some. Everyone younger is weirded out by the "you eat like a bird". It means you eat little or daintily. It was quite a common saying and said as a compliment. Opposite of you eat like a pig. The first cinematic toilet flush in history was in this movie. They used the word "friend" in the 50-60s like we use the word "Bro". The studio made Hitchcock add the psychiatrist monologue because they didnt think they would understand why Norman killed. He didnt want to and said audiences are smarter than that. Most people dont get it until the monologue, so I think the studio was right on this one. Anthony Perkins was selected for this part because all of his previous movies he play the sweet boy next door and Hitchcock would use the audiences prior knowledge to his advantage. Plus Hitchcock somehow gets us to root for Norman. When the car stops in the swampy, everyone thinks, "oh no" but then when it continues to sink, the audience gives a sigh, not realizing that is sympathy for the bad guy. Anthony Perkins' wife died on the plane that struck the Twin Towers on 9/11. They have two boys, Elvis and Oz. Arbogast is actually a real name with Germanic origins. The name means "bright guest" or "glorious guest," and it's derived from the Old High German words "ar" and "gast." Hitchcock liked the bird theme. From the movie, The Birds, to Norman's hobby, to Marion's last name. Hershey's syrup was used for Marion's blood. They tried other things, but it stood out the most on black and white. Leigh said the Hitchcock was controlling and ruined her career and that she had to endure weeks of being attacked by live birds. The movie was shot in 16 weeks. Leigh was only there for 5 of those weeks. Live birds were only on set for 5 days and they built in enclosure around the set to keep the birds in. If you went into the enclosure you knew you were filming with live birds. This nonsense about Hitchcock releasing birds on Leigh unexpectedly is just that, nonsense. Leigh was paid $500 per week for her 5 weeks of work. All totalled comes out to $25,400 today. She was an unknown before this and after this got plenty of work and also got to attach her name to a masterpiece we are talking about 50 years later. Leigh is pronounced Lee.
Wow, that's a lot of things you've shared~ I'm quite aware that $40k back then is a big amount. Because only a big amount would tempt someone like Marion (who has worked for her employer for 10 years) to run away with the money. ""you eat like a bird". It means you eat little or daintily." Oh, I see. First time I've heard of that phrase so I thought it was a bit strange (especially with all those stuffed birds in the room). "Anthony Perkins' wife died on the plane that struck the Twin Towers on 9/11." Oh my, that's a tragedy 😨 "Leigh said the Hitchcock was controlling and ruined her career and that she had to endure weeks of being attacked by live birds" I not sure what you're referring to. Are you talking about the other movie "The Birds"? But Janet Leigh didn't act in that movie, right? Maybe you meant another actress. Whichever the case, it's fine, I'd rather not hear too much of it in case there are any spoilers... (Most likely I'll watch The Birds very soon!) Thank you for sharing! 😊
Leigh was far from unknown when Psycho was made. Hitchcock specifically wanted a star to play the lead so the audience would be more shocked when she is killed mid way through. Something that apart from very few exceptions never happens in movies to this day.
Hitchcock had been making suspense films and murder mysteries, since the silent era. Some of those films seem dated today. However, some stand out. "The Birds", "Rear Window", "Vertigo", "Strangers on a Train" and "Rope". Hitchcock never thought "Psycho" was a slasher film, but a psychological horror film. To prove his point, he did make a slasher film called, "Frenzy" in 1972. If Hitchcock ever attempted a 'rom-com' (he didn't), his style of directing could be seen in the 1958 film, "Bell, Book and Candle", which featured two of his main actors, James Stewart and Kim Novak (Vertigo). Then, there is the funny Mel Brooks 'Hitchcock parody', "High Anxiety".
I've got most of Hitchcock's other films on my list 😉 Mel Brooks's "High Anxiety" is on my list too, but I intend to watch more of Hitchcock's films first before I watch that one.
Hitchcock had a dummy made up that would gush blood when stabbed. On film, Hitchcock felt it didn't look realistic, and it wasn't his style anyway. So he settled for stabbing motions, screams, and chocolate syrup. Hitchcock said the movie was one-third Bernard Herrmann's music. That was why he showed the credits in unusual way. Normally, the next-to-last name is the producer's, and the last the director's. In the credits for this movie, Herrmann's is the next-to-last name. His last composition was for the movie Taxi Driver (1976) which you might like. He died shortly before Taxi Driver was released.
Joseph Stefano, who wrote the screenplay, went on to become producer and screenwriter of The Outer Limits, an anthology TV series of horror, science fiction and thriller stories. It was often compared to The Twilight Zone, another anthology series on a rival network. Robert Bloch, who wrote the original novel, was a writer of weird tales and was a contemporary and friend of H.P. Lovecraft, one of the most famous horror writers of the 20th century.
Oh, to have seen this movie in 1960 - too bad I was born only the day before this movie was released (yes, I'm 63 now). Here's the thing that is never explained - and I have explained it on other reactions to this movie. This movie was a first - nothing like it had been done before. The original advertisement featured Janet Leigh very predominantly on the posters without giving a hint as to what the movie was about. The movie had a gimmick: You had to see the movie from the beginning. If you were five minutes late, too bad, you waited till the next showing. So people paid their money, sat down, the movie started, and for 45 minute they THOUGHT they were seeing a movie about a woman who stole money. So you can't even begin to imagine what a shock that shower scene was. It was the most violent scene up to that time despite never seeing the knife touch her body, or seeing any wounds. So here is this horrible murder, the supposed star of the movie is now dead, and the film wasn't even half over. THAT is what scared audiences silly. From that point on, audiences didn't know what to expect. And it took them so much by surprise that nobody seems to notice that as the film goes on, the film becomes less violent - only one other murder after that. My older sister saw this as a first run movie and was able to tell me that the audience was so jumpy that when Vera Miles walks up to the house, every time the house was shown, the audience would scream even louder. NOW TRIVIA SPOILERS HERE: Anthony Perkins was in New York rehearsing for a play when the shower scene was shot. The person who doubles for him - was a WOMAN. Yep, a woman. The scene where he carries her down the stairs? That was not a fake cadaver - that was a real person (another woman). So yes, Hitchcock cheated a little to throw people off - which was the idea. But by all accounts, it looks like you enjoyed the movie. And that is, well, good.
It's interesting to hear how the movie was introduced to the public at the time, as well as the audience's reaction. Haha, Hitchcock sure threw me off, and I enjoyed the movie indeed 😉 Thank you for sharing! 😊
This is the first time I’ve seen you and your reactions. I don’t normally subscribe on first time, but I like your thought-provoking style and your incisiveness… so you get my sub right now 👏🏻
"Spellbond" was another Hitchcock film in wich he plays with psychoanalysis. I hope you will find a copy (Sorry if my english is not perfect it's not my first language)
The three sequels were good and worth watching to get the entire story…all staring Anthony Perkins and the final film was also written by Joseph Stefano
There is no entire story. There are decisions by producers to make sequels which leads to screenwriters being hired to think up a way to try and repeat the formula of the first movie. The fact that Joseph Stefano was hired for one of them doesn’t make it something that has to be watched to “get” the full story. When Hitchcock made Psycho no one was thinking of it as merely the beginning of a saga.
16:27 Saturday Dearest right-as-always Marion: I'm sitting in this tiny back room which isn't big enough for both of us, and suddenly it looks big enough for both of us. So what if we're poor and cramped and miserable, at least we'd be happy! If you haven't come to your senses, and still
Hitchcock was known as The Master of Suspense. A couple of his movies are adapted from stories by Daphne du Maulier. Rebecca and The Birds, and my favorites. But all his movies are worth seeing, even the silent ones, pre-1927. Hitchcock moved to Hollywood from England, just before or after WWII.
Ed Gein is the real life murderer that this is loosely based on. There are a lot of similarities with the Norman Bates character and Ed Gein. Texas chainsaw massacre is also based on the exploits of Ed Gein. Ed had a serious mental problems during a time when there was no real treatment for people with mental illnesses. Just like Norman, Ed’s family lived in isolation and his mother thought women were basically evil except her of course. His father was a alcoholic and died first and then when his mother died, his mental illness really kicked into high gear.
As you go through Hitchcock films, while you will notice there are certain elements that are common to all, they also can be totally different in terms of the story itself. My favorites are Dial M for Murder and the Lady Vanishes, both remade several times by other directors, which can give a one-to-one comparison to how Hitchcock did it and others, not so well.
You have just taken your first step into a larger world, the world of Alfred Hitchcock the Master of Suspense. Try some of his other great movies, 1958 Vertigo 1955 The Trouble With Harry (Under appreciated black comedy) 1955 To Catch a Thief 1954 Rear Window (one of Hitchcock’s best) 1953 Dial M for Murder 1951 Strangers on a Train 1948 Rope (Hitchcock Cinematic experiment, filmed in camera reel long continuous shots!) 1946 Notorious (Spy thriller, amazing film!) 1943 Shadow of a Doubt (Uncle Charlie comes to visit…) 1940 Rebecca (Hitchcock’s first American made film, won an Oscar for Best Picture.)
It's a shame that some young people can't read or write cursive because today's teachers don't teach it. My dad taught me to write in cursive when I was in first grade.
At Universal Studios in LA they have the house and motel on the tram tour. They stop the tram and they have a creepy guy standing by a car looking in the trunk. As the driver talks about the movie the creep notices the tram and slowly starts moving towards the tram. It is super creepy. Probably the best part of the tour.
Additional potty trivia: as you pointed out, Henry, Psycho has the first toilet flush seen in a movie (in America, at least). The film Catch-22 (1970) shows someone sitting on a toilet for the first time - in a scene with Martin Balsam and Anthony Perkins who are both also in Psycho! 🚽🤯! The only (in my humble opinion) Psycho follow up worth seeing is Psycho 2 (1983). While it's very low-budget and has some dodgy effects, the script is a worthy follow up and a delightfully surprise-filled puzzle with a banger of an ending. Perkins is amazing in it and Vera Miles returns as Marion's sister. Is it as good as Psycho? Of course not. But its pretty danged fun and worth considering. Ironically (intentionally?) Psycho 2 _also_ has a 🚽 first. But I don't wanna spoil the...uh...toilet. 🤔 Yuck.
Ooo, I see. Thanks for sharing! 😊 I feel like there are rarely any coincidences in Hollywood 😂 I'll add Psycho 2 to my list and perhaps I'll watch it after I watch Hitchcock's other films.
Psycho was the first film to show a toilet onscreen, but a toilet was heard flushing two years earlier in the film I Want to Live (1958), starring Susan Hayward.
@@geraldmcboingboing7401 Hey Gerald, I saw a notification about your comment (about "Psycho didn't win any Academy Awards") but couldn't find that comment. If you deleted it, that's fine, but if you didn't then it's most likely a RU-vid comment bug. Your other comments on this particular video might also be deleted (it has happened to someone else before, on another video). I'd suggest commenting on my community post (where I announced Psycho as the winner of the movie poll). I'd still be able to check out your comments there if you would like to share your thoughts on Psycho 😊
@@henryellow Thanks, Henry! I did delete it when I realized that you had corrected your statement in the video by adding a note onscreen about the awards that were won by Janet Leigh, Joseph Stefano and Robert Bloch. On my computer, that onscreen note was out of focus and I didn't realize what it was until further into the video, when you corrected something else that you had said. It's a problem I often have with my computer. It takes a little bit for the video to come into focus, so I often miss things at the start of videos, if they are printed on the screen. I had to use a magnifying glass to read what it said. You did a great job in your reaction!!! Thanks again!!
Your mordant wit makes you a good fit for Hitchcock. Consider reacting to more. Plus, you are the first reactor to this film that I've seen note that Marion sitting in room surrounded by stuffed birds is herself a bird (Crane).
Janet Leigh is Jamie Lee Curtis's mother. And yes, Psycho is considered to be the first of the modern slasher films. Most all Hitchcock's movies are worth watching. Vertigo 1958, The Man Who Knew Too Much 1956, North By Northwest 1959, The Birds1963. Also check out Carnival of Souls 1962.
Crane is a bird's name, as you mentioned, and so is Phoenix (Arizona). I doubt Hitchcock would have made the shower scene gory no matter what he could get away with. He made the movie in black and white so as to avoid making the shower scene gory. He is able to create as much of a sense of violence by implying it as modern movies do by showing gore. By the way, I don't think you'll find a better acting job anywhere than Anthony Perkins does in this movie. Hitchcock has many, many brilliant films. A few are: "North by Northwest" "Rear Window" "Vertigo" "Strangers on a Train" "Marnie" "Suspicion" "The Lady Vanishes" "Rope"
Hitchcock chose to have this filmed in black-and-white because he wanted to show the blood and in color he wouldn’t have been able to show it because of the code
He came back for all the remakes too, right? I read in one of the fun facts, Anthony Perkins said that he would've still chosen to do Psycho if he was given the chance again.
The 2nd one is worth watching. As for other Hitchcock films... Vertigo, Rear Window, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Rope, and North By Northwest are all must see films.
Another Alfred Hitchcock movie you should react to is rope based on the Leopold and Loeb murder. It’s a psychological thriller. Another psychological thriller is the Manchurian candidate with Angela Lansbury.
What's interesting to me about this story is that this happens to Marion just as she's about to return the money and make things right. Norman's story never interested me. Funny how you said Marion should stop at a motel. That's the one thing she shouldn't have done.
Other great Hitchcock films include Notorious and Vertigo, both of which I highly recommend. I also look forward to your reaction to North by Northwest.
Hi, enjoyed your reaction. If you like movies with plot twists you definitely need to react to more Hitchcock, I would suggest Vertigo. Another great psychological thriller that you will enjoy is "Identity" (2003)
$40,000 dollars would be 400 bills(if they were all 100s). Stacked together, it would be a little less than 2 inches high (assuming they were all new bills that would stack flat).
@@henryellow as for the thickness of the envelope of money, it could have been even thinner. Back then the US used to have a $500 bill, a $1000 bill, a $5000 bill and a $10,000 bill. Those bills were discontinued in 1969.
I am not the fan of Hitchcock that a lot of people are. I think I liked his earlier stuff best. But I really did like Rope and Lifeboat. Rope more for he effort than for the result. And Lifeboat for Tallulah Bankhead.
@@joebloggs396 I like Rope, too. But in the end, it is not so much that I think it was miscast, but that it could have been cast better. I like Stewart a lot. And from a production standpoint, he was certainly a box office draw. But I think an actor with more stage experience might have fared much better in winning me over.
Ok before you watch scream (1996) you need to watch Friday the 13th (1980) because Scream will including horror trivia I am so glad that you are watching the original slasher film Psycho (1960) because that was mentioned in scream.
I agree with the critic, the long winded anti climatic explanation tagged on at the end wasn’t necessary, brought the film to a slowly descending pace. Should’ve ended in the basement or walking Sam & the sister slowly walking out the door in a kind of embrace while a couple of cops and/or medical attendants with a strait jacket strolling in. Most of the audience could’ve pieced together the end well enough, and what they weren’t sure of would’ve been hashed out in after movie discussions and reviews. Many of the finest movies leave it up to the audience to fill in the missing pieces according to their own individual designs ✅
Some reliable reports (on the DVD commentary), say that Hitch was ambivalent about the ending with the psychiatrist's explanation (calling it 'a hat-grabber' - as in: people will grab their hats, ready to get out, when the explanation starts). There is a balancing act going on: there are pluses and minuses to leaving the scene in, or in removing it. I personally enjoy having the scene in the film. Without it, you'd be unlikely to know that Norman had also killed a total of four other people. I also enjoy the reaction shots of Lila, Sam, and the other people as the psychiatrist makes the various points. I also like that the writing and the script took pains to differentiate between what people normally think of with the (now-outdated) term, "transvestite," and what Norman was actually doing. (Although, it's hard to imagine that LGBTQ people are happy that this film exists, in any case - where the only male person who dresses in womens' clothing is also the only insane person we see.)
Some may not like the psychiatrist's explanation. Personally, I am glad the scene is included. Not only was it revealed that four people were killed. It also explained the extent of the mental illness that Norman is suffering from. It isn't just Norman being "a crazy psycho killer". Norman didn't kill anyone, it was "Mrs. Bates". The battle fought inside his mind was won by the dominant personality (Norma Bates). The psychiatrist also revealed that Norman killed his mother (which is another little twist, because it differs from the story Norman told and the story the sheriff told). And goes on to tell us how Norman started creating this new personality within his mind. It wraps up the movie quite nicely.
The knife not penetrating the skin is also more artistic. We know what is happening; there is no need to be graphic. From her pulling down the curtain to the blood spiraling down the drain to the close-up of her dead eye...well, that is as good as it gets. I'm one of those who thinks Vertigo is his greatest film and can reasonably be called the greatest film ever made, so I certainly recommend you react to it. Rope has only a handful of reactions and would also be a good choice. It is hard to go wrong with Hitchcock: Rear Window, Strangers on a Train, Notorious; so many great choices.
The real reason it isn't graphic is because those kind of scenes weren't allowed in movies at the time. Though I do agree that Psycho is a masterpiece even without the gory scenes (or especially without it). Oh yes, I've just added those movies you mentioned as I'm reading the comments. Thanks for your recommendations! 😊
Arbogast was sliced across the face? I believe it was blood spraying across his face. Doubt the censors (at the time) would've allowed a face slicing scene.
@@henryellow Well, of course, there were limitations at the time in that respect; but even without them, you weren't going to see Janet Leigh's bare breasts covered in blood or one of them being partially sliced off. The limitations and Hitchcock's enormous skill combined to make one of the greatest scenes in film history. In general, realism is not something that was important to Hitchcock; the quotidian didn't really interest him. With some of his movies, it is perhaps good to think of them as very realistic dreams. There isn't the bizarre, nonsensical behavior and happenings that we see in our dreams, but things still aren't exactly 100% like reality. Anyway, you are welcome for the recommendations. Thank you for your thoughtful reactions.
Awesome reaction to Hitchcock movie masterpiece and yes the movie psycho was base from real events even a man call Ed Gein that was inspiration for movie for character Norman Bates and i have for you a movie from Hitchcock call Birds
I'm glad you enjoyed the reaction! 😊 I saw that fun fact too. Ed Gein was a serial killer and grave robber. I'll add "The Birds" to my list, thanks for your suggestion! 😉
The sequels are good and stars Anthony Perkins. Though this original is the masterpiece, the remake is a modern remake, but it is too much like the original.
Do not make the mistake of assuming the sequel is by definition, not worth your time... 'Psycho II' is a fantastic film and far better than the original in ny opinion. I woukd strongly recommend you watch 'Psycho II' as it is an excellent character study of Norman Bates when he is released from the asylum 22 years later and tries to fit into society. 'Psycho III' and 'Psycho IV' are not as good but the first sequel, 'Psycho II' (1983) is absolutely excellent.
