One they couldn't quite pull off without a Hitch.
"Psycho" (1998 Gus Van Sant version.)
Overall Rating: **
Right now, if Gus Van Sant and company had decided to remake "Rear Window" or "North by Northwest," you'd probably be reading a fairly good review. Unfortunately, Van Sant remade "Psycho," which is one of my least favorite Hitchcock films. Like some of the characters, the new film doesn't quite make it.
When Marion Crane (Anne Heche) is asked by her boss to deposit $400,000 in the bank, she sees the chance to embezzle a fortune. On her second night on the run, she encounters bad weather, and must stop at the out of the way Bates Motel. When she gets a chance to talk to Norman Bates (Vince Vaughn), the motel proprietor, on the subject of personal "traps," her conscience finally catches up with her. Norman, however, has his own personal trap.
If the story sounds familiar, that's because the script is almost exactly the same as the one used for the Hitchcock version. A reference to a Walkman has been added, all references to money have adjustments for inflation, and a line that was supposedly taken out of the original for being too lurid (a reference to bed being a "better playground" than Las Vegas) has been restored. Something must have been removed, because the new version is about five minutes shorter than the old. Beyond that, there just isn't that much difference--and that's the big problem.
The original "Psycho" had plenty of elements that didn't add up. For instance, Sam (Marion's lover, played by Viggo Mortensen) doesn't know about the worst crime in the history of his home town, and he can fly around the country freely, even though he has little money; it didn't work then and doesn't now. The new version only adds more problems. In this day and age, Marion would probably get far more than $400,000 if she sued Lowery for sexual harassment because of how Cassidy treated her, and she buys a car with cash--even though modern laws to impede drug dealers make large cash transactions difficult and thousand-dollar bills are uncommon. What worked in 1960 often just doesn't work in 1998.
The use of the original script also shoots any suspense in the foot--at least, it does for those who have seen the original. All the way through, I kept thinking "this is like the Hitchcock version." It's hard for anything to sneak up on you when you already know the next line. This is especially a problem for many of the actors. Watching Vince Vaughn, William H. Macy (who plays Arbogast), and James LeGros (who plays the car dealer), for instance, I was thinking "he isn't quite as good as so-and-so." They weren't really bad, just not as good. On the other hand, Viggo Mortensen was terrible--his bad southern accent is not only totally out of place in California, but it makes half his lines incomprehensible.
The new "Psycho" isn't a total loss. It has a few nice touches not in the original: sounds from the next room in the opening scene make an amusing counterpoint to Sam and Marion's discussion of marriage, a much clearer view of Sam's letter in the hardware store adds emotional impact, and what replaces Hitchcock's cameo (which includes a man I take to be Gus Van Sant) works very well. Anne Heche is brilliant--I'd say even better than Janet Leigh--as Marion; she is very convincingly nervous and wages an effective battle with her conscience. Julianne Moore, who plays Marion's sister Lila, is also very good; she is more active in her role than Vera Miles was, and it works very well.
Nor is Gus Van Sant an incompetent director. I knew that from the fact that I thoroughly enjoyed "Good Will Hunting," his film last year about a prodigal prodigy. As a whole, beyond the script and Mortensen's acting, there isn't too much wrong with the new "Psycho." A few extraneous sound effects (many times, when characters' lines are merely in their heads, there is an echo effect) and camera shots (weird shots interspersed with every murder) are distracting, but not too badly so--and I'm not really sure Van Sant is to blame for these anyway.
In all honesty, I expected to really hate "Psycho." I only mildly disliked it, which probably indicates a decent job on the part of the filmmakers. The new "Psycho," however, isn't nearly as good as the old--and that's its main weakness. In the end, as Norman never quite escapes the shadow of his mother, the new "Psycho"--from the identical opening credits to the dedication at the close of the final credits--never quite escapes the shadow if its superior earlier version.
Click here for a review of original, "Psycho," directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
Title: "Psycho"
Release date: December 5, 1998
Overall Rating: **
Right now, if Gus Van Sant and company had decided to remake "Rear Window" or "North by Northwest," you'd probably be reading a fairly good review. Unfortunately, Van Sant remade "Psycho," which is one of my least favorite Hitchcock films. Like some of the characters, the new film doesn't quite make it.
When Marion Crane (Anne Heche) is asked by her boss to deposit $400,000 in the bank, she sees the chance to embezzle a fortune. On her second night on the run, she encounters bad weather, and must stop at the out of the way Bates Motel. When she gets a chance to talk to Norman Bates (Vince Vaughn), the motel proprietor, on the subject of personal "traps," her conscience finally catches up with her. Norman, however, has his own personal trap.
If the story sounds familiar, that's because the script is almost exactly the same as the one used for the Hitchcock version. A reference to a Walkman has been added, all references to money have adjustments for inflation, and a line that was supposedly taken out of the original for being too lurid (a reference to bed being a "better playground" than Las Vegas) has been restored. Something must have been removed, because the new version is about five minutes shorter than the old. Beyond that, there just isn't that much difference--and that's the big problem.
The original "Psycho" had plenty of elements that didn't add up. For instance, Sam (Marion's lover, played by Viggo Mortensen) doesn't know about the worst crime in the history of his home town, and he can fly around the country freely, even though he has little money; it didn't work then and doesn't now. The new version only adds more problems. In this day and age, Marion would probably get far more than $400,000 if she sued Lowery for sexual harassment because of how Cassidy treated her, and she buys a car with cash--even though modern laws to impede drug dealers make large cash transactions difficult and thousand-dollar bills are uncommon. What worked in 1960 often just doesn't work in 1998.
The use of the original script also shoots any suspense in the foot--at least, it does for those who have seen the original. All the way through, I kept thinking "this is like the Hitchcock version." It's hard for anything to sneak up on you when you already know the next line. This is especially a problem for many of the actors. Watching Vince Vaughn, William H. Macy (who plays Arbogast), and James LeGros (who plays the car dealer), for instance, I was thinking "he isn't quite as good as so-and-so." They weren't really bad, just not as good. On the other hand, Viggo Mortensen was terrible--his bad southern accent is not only totally out of place in California, but it makes half his lines incomprehensible.
The new "Psycho" isn't a total loss. It has a few nice touches not in the original: sounds from the next room in the opening scene make an amusing counterpoint to Sam and Marion's discussion of marriage, a much clearer view of Sam's letter in the hardware store adds emotional impact, and what replaces Hitchcock's cameo (which includes a man I take to be Gus Van Sant) works very well. Anne Heche is brilliant--I'd say even better than Janet Leigh--as Marion; she is very convincingly nervous and wages an effective battle with her conscience. Julianne Moore, who plays Marion's sister Lila, is also very good; she is more active in her role than Vera Miles was, and it works very well.
Nor is Gus Van Sant an incompetent director. I knew that from the fact that I thoroughly enjoyed "Good Will Hunting," his film last year about a prodigal prodigy. As a whole, beyond the script and Mortensen's acting, there isn't too much wrong with the new "Psycho." A few extraneous sound effects (many times, when characters' lines are merely in their heads, there is an echo effect) and camera shots (weird shots interspersed with every murder) are distracting, but not too badly so--and I'm not really sure Van Sant is to blame for these anyway.
In all honesty, I expected to really hate "Psycho." I only mildly disliked it, which probably indicates a decent job on the part of the filmmakers. The new "Psycho," however, isn't nearly as good as the old--and that's its main weakness. In the end, as Norman never quite escapes the shadow of his mother, the new "Psycho"--from the identical opening credits to the dedication at the close of the final credits--never quite escapes the shadow if its superior earlier version.
Click here for a review of original, "Psycho," directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
Title: "Psycho"
Release date: December 5, 1998
MPAA rating: R
Overall rating: **
Overall rating: **
Aprox. run time: 104 min.
Director: Gus Van Sant
Writers: Joseph Stephano, Robert Bloch (novel)
Stars: Vince Vaughn, Anne Heche, Viggo Mortensen, Julianne Moore
Original URL: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Mansion/7045/Psycho98.htm
Director: Gus Van Sant
Writers: Joseph Stephano, Robert Bloch (novel)
Stars: Vince Vaughn, Anne Heche, Viggo Mortensen, Julianne Moore
Original URL: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Mansion/7045/Psycho98.htm
Added to blog site: 8/4/09
Labels: Movie review, ReviewsbyJohn
posted by John at 12/05/1998 02:33:00 AM
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