A Look Back At 'Psycho' (1960)

One of Alfred Hitchcock’s great cinematic masterpieces (and I would even argue his best) is 1960’s Psycho. I had previously placed it on my ’10 Movies to Watch in October’ list (which you can check out here: http://onlyinthemoviesblog.blogspot.com/2016/10/10-movies-to-watch-in-october.html) but I still felt like I should have given it a little more of a in-depth review.

 This is not only a great psychological horror film but a great film overall, with iconic moments, a great score, solid acting (particularly Anthony Perkins) and wall-to-wall suspense. It’s spawned a couple of sequels, a remake, and TV show. Much like Hitchcock urging theater owners not to let people to enter the theater late, because it would ruin the experience, I’ll give the setup and end it there just in case anyone reading this has not seen the movie.

The Film starts out in Phoenix, Arizona. During a hotel rendezvous while on her lunch hour, a secretary at a real estate office named Marion Crane (played by Janet Leigh) discusses with her boyfriend, Sam Loomis (played by John Gavin), why they can’t afford to get married because Sam is in pretty substantial debt. When Marion returns from lunch, a client comes by the office and drops off a $40,000 cash deposit for a property. Her boss asks her to deposit the money in the bank, and she asks him if she can take the rest of the afternoon off afterwards. But, she doesn’t go to the bank and instead decides to steal the money to give to Sam. So, Marion heads out of town and toward California where Sam lives. That evening, she pulls over on the side of the road and falls asleep, only to be awakened in the morning by a state trooper. He asks her a couple of questions and is suspicious about her nervous behavior but lets her to drive on anyway. Shaken by the run-in with the officer, Marion stops at a dealership and trades in her car for another and then continues on her way.

Later during her travels, it starts raining pretty heavily so she decides to stop for the night at the Bates Motel where she meets Norman Bates and the whole film take a sudden and violent turn.

Like I stated earlier, I think this is one of the all-time great films and it’s always especially good to watch around Halloween. So, if you’re one of the few who hasn’t seen it -or- if you just haven't watched it in a while, go check it out. You’ll be glad you did.

I give this film a 5 out of 5.

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...and for some more good reads check out this Book, Video game, and Comicbook blog:
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10 Movies To Watch In October

Well, it's October that time of year when people are carving jack-o-lanterns, kids are thinking about all the Halloween candy they're going to eat, and department stores are setting up for Christmas...

With Halloween fast approaching it's also a great time of year to sit back and watch some awesome movies. So get ready to curl up with your pumpkin spice latte, because here are the 10 movies you should watch this October:

1) Halloween -1979
Directed by John Carpenter
For me, this is the standard that all other slasher movies get compared to. There would be numerous sequels featuring the menacing Michael Myers, but it is the original that has become a horror classic and one of my all-time favorites.

2) Frankenstein -1931
Directed by James Whale
I like to grab some popcorn, relax, and enjoy this one every October. An iconic monster movie with an incredible cast (Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, Dwight Frye). This is one that will get anyone into the Halloween spirit.

3) The House on Haunted Hill -1959
Directed by William Castle
Five strangers are invited to a party at a supposedly haunted house and they're told they'll each be given $10,000 if they can stay all night. On top of that, the husband and wife who are hosting the party are both planning to kill each other.

4) Psycho -1960
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
From the suspenseful pacing to the great acting (particularly Anthony Perkins) to the iconic shower scene to the amazing score, this movie hits you with everything. It's a Hitchcock masterpiece worthy of putting on during any night of pumpkin carving.

5) Re-Animator -1985
Directed by Stuart Gordon
The movie is solid all the way through, there are some awesome and gory special effects and the main character Herbert West (played by Jeffery Combs) is awesome.

6) Alien -1979
Directed by Ridley Scott
It's a great movie. It's full of suspense, the special effects are still awesome, and as an added bonus you can watch it back-to-back with its equally great sequel 'Aliens'.

7) House of 1000 Corpses -2003
Directed by Rob Zombie
This is a favorite of mine and one I always recommend to people. It's one of those movies that's crazy, twisted, and really entertaining. Plus, Sid Haig is awesome.

8) A Nightmare on Elm Street -1984
Directed by Wes Craven
It's kind of unfortunate that as the Elm Street series went on Freddy Kruger became sort of a joke, becoming less intimidating and delivering one-liners with each kill. While this movie isn't without it's flaws, it's still a pretty great horror flick and a good choice to have on during Halloween parties.

9) The Exorcist -1973
Directed by William Friedkin
The movie centers around Regan (played by Linda Blair) a young girl who becomes possessed by a demon. It's always good for a couple of scares, but stay clear of the sequels.

10) The Wolf Man -1941
Directed by George Waggner
“Even a man who is pure at heart and says his prayers by night may become a wolf when the wolfsbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright.”
...it's a perfect film to watch as Halloween night approaches.

10 Alfred Hitchcock Movies Everyone Should See

     

          I've already looked at Sean Connery, John Travolta, and Arnold Schwarzenegger in these '10 Movies Everyone Should See' pieces. So, I thought today it would be fun to look at an iconic Director's career, and my all-time favorite Director is Sir Alfred Hitchcock. As in previous posts, this isn't meant to be a ranking of a person's films but instead, a list of films that I think best represent a person's career and are some movies that like the title suggests"Everyone Should See".

1)      Psycho  -1960

I think most film lovers have a favorite Hitchcock film and this one is mine (narrowly edging out the #2 film on this list ‘Vertigo’). Norman Bates (played by Anthony Perkins) is a fantastic character, I love the music, the pacing, the cinematography, and the plot draws me in even though I’ve seen the film countless times.

2)      Vertigo -1958

I’ve already written an article on why this is a masterpiece so I won’t go into this one too much. It’s a great psychological thriller about fear and obsession. It’s also often regarded as Hitchcock’s best work, and for that alone it’s worth checking out.

3)      Rebecca -1940

This film has an eerie, haunting quality, and it’s full of mystery that really draws you in. It also has the distinction of being Hitchcock’s first American film and it did win ‘Best Picture’ at the 1941 Academy Awards.

4)      Rear Window  -1954

Photographer L.B. Jefferies (played by James Stewart) is recovering from a broken leg with nothing better to do than to look out the back window at the people in the apartments across the courtyard from his own. Then one night he hears a woman scream and soon realizes that one of his neighbors (played by Raymond Burr) may be a murderer. This was the second pairing of James Stewart and Alfred Hitchcock (the first being ‘Rope’) and they hit a home run with this one.

5)      North By Northwest –1959

Whether it’s the scene where Cary Grant running down a dirt road while being shot at by a plane or the chase scene atop Mt. Rushmore, this movie is a fun ride from start to finish.

6)      The Lady Vanishes –1938

An English tourist (played by Margaret Lockwood)is traveling by train in Europe. She meets a kind elderly woman on the train and they talk for a bit. A little later, it seems that the old woman has disappeared from the train, and all of the other passengers deny having ever seen her. From there the search is on for clues that may lead to the missing woman.

7)      The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog -1927

This silent film is one of Hitchcock’s earliest, and actually one of my favorites. In the film there is a ‘Jack the Ripper’ type serial killer on the loose and after the most recent murder, a strange man who matches the description of the killer happens comes to town. Could he be the killer or is this just a coincidence?

8)      Marnie -1964

This one also made it onto my ’10 Sean Connery Movies Everyone Should See’ list and for a similar reason; it’s a damn good movie. However, because Sean Connery would play more iconic roles (like James Bond) and Hitchcock would make more memorable films, this is underrated and often forgotten classic.

9)      Rope -1948

This is one I recommend to people constantly. Just for the thrill of it, two guys murder one of their friends, put the body in a chest in the middle of their living room, and then hold a dinner party with the body still in the room. It’s such a simple, yet suspenseful movie.

10)   The Birds -1963

This might not be one Hitchcock’s strongest film but at the same time it is remarkable how good he was able to make a movie that’s about birds attacking a small seaside town. Also, Tippi Hedren is fantastic.

Honorable Mentions: Frenzy (1972), The 39 Steps (1935), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), To Catch a Thief (1955)


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