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Original Film Review From December, 1998:
I wanted to like it. I tried to like it. That said, I just didn't really care for Gus Van Sant's remake of the classic Hitchcock thriller. It's not Van Sant's fault, and it's definitely not the fault of the actors; it's simply the fault of Hollywood itself, I think. I think that Van Sant seems to realize and almost admit himself, that this isn't a movie, it's more of a high-concept marketing ploy. The director himself hasn't tarnished the original film with this remake, but one has to ask quite a few things after sitting through it; "what's the point?"; I don't see the point of remaking a film like this for today's audiences: it seems geared towards the younger crowds that weren't around when the film first was released. Interesting concept, but I don't see these crowds having much interest in a direct remake; it's not like the situation we went through a few years back when "Romeo+Juliet" was given a burst of splash and color. Since it's likely that most people know the whole story of Norman Bates, I think I'll make this review more a discussion of the concept of remaking the film as well as it's performances. I'm not saying I want a sudden burst of energy in "Psycho" like what was done with "Romeo+Juliet", but I would have liked to have seen something different or an update here and there, even then I'm not sure anything like this is even neccessary, but if you're going to make a shot-by-shot remake of the original, why not just re-release the original? I guess I just don't understand the point. "Vertigo" and "Gone With The Wind" as well as other classics have been given a remastered edition recently and have hit theaters again with critical and commerical acclaim, I could definitely see the same thing being done here, if possible. This film just seems like an attempt to grab a younger audience's interest and I just don't see it happening; I see adults going to this film and likely enjoying it, but that's about it.
Again, back to my ideas about the point of remaking the film; maybe it's the fact that I think there's a quiet and subtle nature about Van Sant's imagery as a director that makes him a good choice for a shot-by-shot remake of the film, and that's what he did here; but why remake shot by shot a film that will never be duplicated? I would have liked to have seen what a different director who gives his films a different, colder mood would have done; someone like Bryan Singer, whose "Usual Suspects" brought the crime thriller drama back to life. There is a certain cold glow that Singer brought to Los Angeles that I think would have translated well to the cold glow of the rooms of the Bates motel. I did like some of the cinematography in this adaptation, but there's something lacking; a sharpness or a focus that this adapation lacks, an energy that the original had that just isn't there for this film. The best word to describe this film as a whole is simply a curiosity for people who enjoyed the original film.
There are definitely good performances here; I especially liked Vince Vaughn in the Norman Bates role(for an especially outstanding performance by Vaughn and Anne Heche as well, check out "Return To Paradise" when it hits video shelves in early 1999). Also good here are excellent actors such as the lovely, beautiful and talented(and also my favorite actress) Julianne Moore, Anne Heche,Robert Forster and Viggo Mortgensen.
See it for the score as well; the familiar "Psycho" music sounds incredible in today's six channel digital sound( I personally viewed the film in Dolby Digital). There's a feeling of almost agressive following along with the original in this film of how it was remade, as if everything was to be exactly 100% similar, with a few exceptions.
This remake definitely shouldn't really bother any of the hardcore fans of the original; most might walk out of it simply wondering what the point of it all was, but I think only Gus Van Sant could answer that question. I wanted to like this film, but after thinking about it, I walked out somewhat indifferent at the end. I didn't "not like it", but I didn't leave thinking how much I'd enjoyed the past couple of hours.I liked looking at the visuals and the camerawork as well as the acting, but there's a spark here that I just felt never really got lit.
THE DVD:
VIDEO QUALITY: Universal has done a great job on both of their recent "Collector's Edition" releases. "Gods and Monsters" was released on DVD on the same week that "Psycho" was and both offer excellent image quality. The anamorphic 1.85:1 image on this disc is clear, clean and pleasingly crisp, although not quite as sharp as possible at all times. Colors are natural, accurate and vibrant. There is absolutely no color bleeding and colors are well-saturated: not overly saturated. There really isn't anything problematic about the image quality: there really aren't any distracting artifacts and nothing is wrong with the print used. Even some of the darker scenes retain a pleasing amount of detail on this transfer. It's just another really nice job by Universal.
SOUND: The score sounds wonderful here, rich and pure. The soundtrack is clean and crisp with a few instances of effective and thrilling surrounds. Again, the score sounds fantastic and full of deep bass. Dialogue is clear and natural. The only problem is not with the sound itself: again, Universal has disabled the control of the audio from the remote. You can not switch between the film audio and commentary with the remote and that's rather annoying to have to go to the menu each and every time you want to go back and forth.
MENUS: Animated and enjoyable film-themed menus that are easy to navigate. The only problem is that the soundtrack must be switched in the menus instead of directly from the remote.
EXTRAS: Definitely some very entertaining extras included with this disc:
Commentary: A very entertaining and informative commentary by director Gus Van Sant and actors Vince Vaughn and Anne Heche. If you've heard the commentary for "Good Will Hunting", you've got an idea of Van Sant's commentary style. He's not the most "enthusiastic" person really, but he has a wealth of interesting information to offer and this disc is no different. The three commentators are wonderful together and Heche especially is quite funny and animated during the presenation. Vaughn and Heche are interesting together during the discussion because they worked together not only on "Psycho" in 1998, but also "Return To Paradise".
The commentary itself is a mixture of things. A lot of informative technical information on the decisions that were made in the process of filming a shot-by-shot(well, for the most part) remake of the original. There's a lot of talk by the actors as well about the choices and slight updates that they made to their roles. On the other half, there's a lot of interesting stories about the production and a few funny moments talking about the final product. I always like when more than one person is involved in a commentary and the group can discuss between each other the behind-the-scenes information that went on. There are a few people that can hold a strong commentary on their own, but I just always find it more interesting to hear more than one person's thoughts at one time. One of the most interesting portions of this commentary is the differences between the "faster" style of the advertising campaign and the actual movie itself. The portion of the commentary that focuses on the ad campaigns of recent films is really one of the commentary's best moments. I didn't care for this film, but I think that the commentary is one of the better recent commentaries I've listened to.
Trailers:Fortunately, there is the theatrical trailer. Unfortunately, all of the cool TV ads aren't included.
Documentary: "Psycho Path", a 30 minute documentary is also included on this disc. The documentary is really quite interesting, taking a look at the history of the film itself and interviews with the cast and crew involved with both the current and first versions. It's an entertaining and informative look with a lot of behind-the-scenes information and views into the production of the film. A lot of documentaries are simply interviews; I liked this one simply because it's a nice mix of looks at the first film, interviews and looks at the behind-the-scenes production of this film. The scenes of filming and production are so interesting that I wished they would be more of the focus than a lot of the more basic interviews that were part of this documentary.
GRADES:
The Film: 73/C = (365/500 possible points)
Video: 91/A = (364/400 possible points)
Audio: 92/A = (368/400 possible points)
Extras: 90/A- = (270/300 possible points)
Menus: 85/B = (170/200 possible points)
Value: 83/B = (249/300 possible points)
Presentation:85.75/B = (85.75/100 possible points)
TOTAL POINTS:1871.75/2200
Overall:85.07%/B
Final Thoughts: Although I'm not sure that there should have been a Collector's Edition of this title, it's certainly a very nice effort by Universal. The $34.98 price tag is slightly more than Universal should have asked for this title and although the extras are fine, there have been plenty of discs made by other companies that have offered more for less. I didn't care much for this film, but if you're interested in purchasing it, the quality is top notch.
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