Psycho (1998)

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

Director:

Gus Van Sant

Writers:

Robert Bloch (novel), Joseph Stefano (screenplay)

Stars:

Vince Vaughn, Anne Heche, Julianne Moore

3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Vince Vaughn	...	Norman Bates
Anne Heche	...	Marion Crane
Julianne Moore	...	Lila Crane
Viggo Mortensen	...	Sam Loomis
William H. Macy	...	Milton Arbogast
Robert Forster	...	Dr. Simon
Philip Baker Hall	...	Sheriff Chambers
Anne Haney	...	Mrs. Chambers
Chad Everett	...	Tom Cassidy
Rance Howard	...	Mr. Lowery
Rita Wilson	...	Caroline
James Remar	...	Patrolman
James Le Gros	...	Car Dealer (as James LeGros)
Steven Clark Pachosa	...	Police Guard
O.B. Babbs	...	Mechanic

Storyline

Marion Crane steals a lot of cash from a man whom her boss is in business with. On the way to see her boyfriend, she stops off by an old motel, run by the odd Norman Bates. She is murdered in the shower. Her sister, boyfriend, and a private investigator try to find out where she is, while we learn more about Norman Bates.

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Plot Keywords:

motel | money | house | stolen money | shower | 

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Taglines:

We all go a little mad sometimes...yes...sometimes once is enough

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and sexuality/nudity

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 December 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Psicosis

Filming Locations:

Colonial Street, Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£606,782 (UK) (8 January 1999)

Gross:

£1,447,991 (UK) (22 January 1999)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Gus Van Sant:  talking to someone looking just like Alfred Hitchcock, in the beginning of the movie when Marion Crane enters the office after her lunch break. In the original version of Psycho, Hitchcock had a cameo in the same scene.

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Goofs

The bundles of money Marion Crane has are of $1,000 bills (as clearly seen in one shot) when in actuality circulation of bills larger than $100 were halted by President Richard Nixon in 1969.

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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?

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Crazy Credits

Some of the opening credits split apart, just as the original's did. They segue into the opening shot of Phoenix, Arizona.

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Connections

Referenced in How High (2001)

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Soundtracks

"Put It On"
Written by Robert Hackl (as Bob Hackl) & Ken Stange
Performed by Sourcerer

User Reviews

"If you don't jell, it's not Jello, and this just ain't jelling"

I know curiosity killed the cat, but I simply had to see the remake of Psycho, especially after being on such a Hitchcok journey recently and knowing his work. I've watched the original Psycho though since I was a kid, I knew how to respect it and not only that, it was an excellent movie! One of the best, in fact! The first thing I said when I heard about the remake was "How do you remake perfection?". I stuck to that as well, but I think I have a more open mind now and figured maybe it was a way of introducing Psycho to a new generation.

But this turned into a total insult and slap to the face of the original Psycho. I know this has been said, but I watched the making of this film, and the director was like "Oh, I just want to update it and shoot each scene shot by shot like the original"... what's the friggin' point?! OK, but I want to judge this movie on it's own, despite it's insulting blows the original. I mean, the acting wasn't up to par, but honestly, it looked like the actors just watched the original and just memorized the lines from there and made it their crappy own.

Watching the making of this film, I wanted to slap Anne Hasche, she said "I've never seen the original, I just wanted to work with Gus." Ooh, that made me angry, because frankly, it's not just that, she really sucked in this role as Marian, she wasn't convincing, not to mention her shower scene really was horrible. Vince Vaughn didn't make... let's just put it this way, the film was horribly miscasted. This was a sin against film and on it's own, this was actually a bad movie. It was too much and destroyed what could've been a new introduction for a new generation. But to Gus, leave the film making the one's who KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING!

1/10