Psycho (1998)

User Rating:

4.6/10   

Director:

Gus Van Sant

Writers (WGA):

Robert Bloch (novel)
Joseph Stefano (screenplay)

Release Date:

4 December 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Check in. Unpack. Relax. Take a shower. [Theatrical]

Plot:

A young female embezzeler arrives at the Bates Motel which has terrible secrets of its own.

Plot Keywords:

Motel | Money | House | Remake | Detective

Awards:

3 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Vince Vaughn	...	Norman Bates
Anne Heche	...	Marion Crane
Julianne Moore	...	Lila Crane
Viggo Mortensen	...	Samuel 'Sam' Loomis
William H. Macy	...	Milton Arbogast
Robert Forster	...	Dr. Fred Simon
Philip Baker Hall	...	Sheriff Al Chambers
Anne Haney	...	Mrs. Eliza Chambers
Chad Everett	...	Tom Cassidy
Rance Howard	...	Mr. Lowery
Rita Wilson	...	Caroline
James Remar	...	Patrolman
James LeGros	...	Charlie the Car Dealer
Steven Clark Pachosa	...	Police Guard
O.B. Babbs	...	Mechanic

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and sexuality/nudity.

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 (uncut) | Iceland:16 | Philippines:PG-13 | Brazil:14 | Netherlands:12 | Netherlands:16 (DVD rating) | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Canada:14A | Finland:K-14 | France:-12 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Italy:VM14 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R | Singapore:PG (censored version)

Filming Locations:

Gorman, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Viggo Mortensen starred in another Hitchcock remake the same year, A Perfect Murder (1998). In both movies he is the female protagonist's lover, begins the first scene of each film in bed with her, and is involved in a crime involving an identical amount of $400,000.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Norman finds Marion dead in the bathroom, he turns out the lights and the neon outside, but when he's dragging Marion's body to the trunk, the lights and the neon are on again.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Samuel 'Sam' Loomis: You never did eat your lunch, did you?
Marion Crane: I better get back to the office. These extended lunch hours give my boss excess acid.
Samuel 'Sam' Loomis: Why don't you call your boss and tell him you're taking the rest of the afternoon off? Its Friday, anyway - and hot.
Marion Crane: What do I do with my free afternoon? Walk you to the airport?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Back Lot Murders (2002) (V)

Soundtrack:

Put It On

Why?

Yes, why? Among the filmmakers that came out in the 80's and 90's Gus Van Sant is one of my idols. There are others, a few. Steven Sodebergh, PT Anderson, Tim Hunter, Danny Boyle, Martin Donovan, Harmony Korine, Wes Anderson. Idiosyncratic, infuriating some times, but consistent, surprising, unpredictable. Their names make me switch on the TV, go to a video store or even buy a ticket and go to a movie theater. Van Sant's "Psycho" however, gives me pause. Why? I wonder. A shot by shot massacre of one of the perennial classics. The color was jarring, the performances, atrocious. What was Vince Vaughn doing? Was it a parody? A bad joke? What the hell was it? Anne Heche as Janet Leigh? Who dressed her? Viggo Mortensen with a cowboy hat. Viggo is a superb actor but in this case he couldn't make us forget John Gavin and if Julianne Moore had been introduced to the world through this performance there wouldn't have been any "The Hours" for her, "The Minutes" maybe. So, here I am, bad mouthing the work of one of my idols. The crashing question remains: Why, Mr. Van Sant? Maybe, in the words of President Clinton, because he could. I'm afraid that's no excuse.