Psycho (1998) - DVD Review

MOVIE
VIDEO
AUDIO
EXTRAS
OVERALL

One Disc
1.85:1 Aspect Ratio (Letterboxed)
English Dolby Digital 5.1
French Dolby Digital 2.0
English Subtitles
Original Theatrical Trailers
Featurette
Commentary
Run Time: 104 Minutes
Keep Case

MOVIE
Rated R for violence and brief nudity

Okay. I have a bone to pick. Let me lay it out for you. Today's review is Psycho. Not the Alfred Hitchcock film considered a classic today though roundly criticized upon original release (like many classics.) I'm talking about Psycho with a little 1998 in parenthesis after it. The Psycho remake. I was in Florida when I first heard the news, on April Fool's Day nonetheless. I was completely cut off from my Internet sources and all I knew was a tiny paragraph in the entertainment section of USA Today reported that Universal wanted to remake Psycho with Drew Barrymore in the lead. So I paused for a moment, sat back, had a sip of my orange juice and decided that it was all a joke. I had a good laugh. Upon returning home and firing up my old 56k modem, I found out that, not only was it not a joke, but shooting was set to begin soon with my old arch nemesis Gus Van Sant. (A story to go into at another time) As production began and I heard they cast Vince Vaughn as Norman and recast Marion with Anne Heche. Then William H. Macy joined the cast along with Julianne Moore. Suddenly I was interested. But it wasn't until the first photo appeared in Entertainment Weekly's Fall Preview, showing Vaughn as Norman standing in front of the creepy farmhouse on the hill where that Victorian monster once stood. That's when my interest was definitely peaked. Onto my bone to pick. To all of you who roundly "hate" this remake. Like those who "love Pink Flamingos" (and you pretentious film students, I'm looking in YOUR direction) there are some who truly do love it (I'm included) because there's an oddball charm to it, and there are those who love it because it's hip to love something as odd as Pink Flamingos. So it is with this remake. There are those who really hate it (often because they hated the original too) and then there are those who feel the need to hate it for the sacrilege that it is, as a remake of their beloved Psycho. But, as this is a shot for shot remake, exactly the same, with only moments as the difference, with high quality actors, you CAN'T hate this one and love the other judging them on their own merits. They're ALMOST EXACTLY THE SAME! So stop lying. Admit that Norman's moment of masturbation while watching Marion adds an overt feeling of shame in his character that wasn't in the original. Admit that it's really cool to see something exactly the same though, somehow different. Admit that William H. Macy doing the same dialogue that Martin Balsam did is pretty damned cool! ADMIT IT!
Anyway. Since the movie is a shot for shot remake, I'll remake my old review by cutting and pasting the summary paragraph. Psycho, as you may or may not know, begins with a lunchtime tryst between unwed couple Sam Loomis (Viggo Mortensen) and Marion Crane (Anne Heche) where they speak in length about not having the money to marry and be happy. At work, Marion sensing an opportunity absconds with a large sum of money from her office under the guise of bringing it to the bank. She leaves town immediately, buying a new car, steadily eluding a police officer that finds her suspicious. Unfortunately, fate appears in the form of a quiet little motel beneath a Victorian house on the hill. Norman Bates (Vince Vaughan) manager of the motel tries to entertain his guest, bringing her food, inviting her to eat with him, at the same time fending off verbal abuse from his crazy mother living up on the hill. Marion, realizing that she'd trapped herself decides to return the money. She steps into a nice hot shower. She's brutally murdered.
I still refrain from mentioning the twist in my review on general principle. Though, if you've still not discovered the secret of Psycho, I'd either advise you to first watch the original or skip directly to the movie by putting the DVD in your player and pressing play instead of waiting for the menu. In the very menu, a morph reveals the ending. Horror of horrors. So, be quick on the draw and don't allow the menu animation to spoil the surprise.
I'm not sure about which to watch first, though. I do think that the original Psycho is superior, though only because of Mr. Van Sant's little bizarre arty flashes during the murders. Will someone please tell me what THAT was about? Really! But the case for watching this edition first is that it might get a fair shake that way. The bottom line is, this remake is not a monstrosity, not a horrific attempt at an experiment gone horribly wrong. It's just a remake. It is just slightly different and surreal. Don't condemn it for that. Give it a chance and you might be pleasantly surprised.

VIDEO QUALITY
This movie looks great. The stylized colors, the rich blacks, all reproduced wonderfully in Anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen. Take special note of a shot towards the end when Arbogast goes to the motel and Norman is standing out by the swamp. Beautiful.

AUDIO QUALITY
The sound mix is also high quality. Rich and full with a nice bass track. The rear speakers aren't used very often, but when they are, it's effective. The shower scene is very well mixed between the water falling all around you, the screaming in the center and the well mixed screaming violins.

EXTRAS
First we have a cool documentary on the making of this remake, showing us shot for shot comparisons to the previous film. The doc is interesting and is very similar to the doc on the House on Haunted Hill (1999) DVD. Both very enjoyably and likely put together by the same people. Though, this just proves to me the pretentiousness of Mr. Van Sent. Our second major feature is the full-length audio commentary with Van Sent, Heche and Vaughn. Van Sant and Heche get involved in various conversations and stories unrelated to the film and unrelated to the audience, so of little interest to us, while periodically, Vaughn points out that they should be watching and commenting on this interesting scene that's going on. So, for a moment, they talk about the film, then they just continue their gossiping.

CLOSING THOUGHTS
All I'm suggesting is that you not prejudge the film as so many people often do. Yes, it is possible to dislike this film and like the original. The performances are different. In the case of the peripheral characters like Loomis and Marion's sister, the performances are better. Vince Vaughn had a very different take on the character of Norman and thus played it differently. I like both. That's an important thing to remember. You don't have to pick one. It's not like you're going to be shown two versions of Psycho with the disclaimer "choose and perish." Give it a chance and you might be impressed.

Go to my Psycho (1960) review. (I've tried to use the same screen grabs from each film, or at least very close)