Double Vision
February 25, 2014 3:34 PM   Subscribe

Stephen Soderbergh combines both versions of Psycho to create "Psychos" Director Stephen Soderbergh has just posted, via his blog a link to Psychos, his combining of Alfred Hitchcock's classic Psycho and the slightly less well received Gus Van Sant "shot for shot remake".
posted by chris88 (28 comments total) 25 users marked this as a favorite
 
Honestly really looking forward to watching the whole thing, but the fact that it didn't somehow cut between the two movies at the moment when it flies into the motel window kinda disappointed me.

Also, my favorite thing about Psycho, which, despite its reputation, I still think is underrated, is the graphic establishing the exact date and time established at the beginning, and not just because it means Marion Crane is stabbed to death in the shower on my birthday!
posted by MCMikeNamara at 3:47 PM on February 25, 2014


I didn't think Anne Heche could be even more nothing like Janet Leigh, and yet, so she is. Thanks, Soderbergh!
posted by mochapickle at 4:23 PM on February 25, 2014 [2 favorites]


Ew, did Van Sant really set the titles in Univers the slightly wrong version of Franklin Gothic?
posted by Sys Rq at 4:34 PM on February 25, 2014


Art.
posted by Fizz at 4:49 PM on February 25, 2014


I'm glad that he's keeping busy in his retirement.
posted by octothorpe at 5:00 PM on February 25, 2014 [1 favorite]


he hasn't made many posts yet, and he keeps it short, but man, I love his blog so far. This is great if you're not averse to hearing good things said about Roman Polanksi's filmmaking prowess.
posted by philip-random at 5:08 PM on February 25, 2014


I kind of want to be Soderberg's friend if that is possible.
posted by The Whelk at 5:11 PM on February 25, 2014


Speaking of double vision, where do I pick up a bottle of Singani 63?
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:30 PM on February 25, 2014


I love the original and don't hate Van Sant's remake. But the one thing that ruins the new film for me is Vince Vaughan's performance. Ugh, I'll never understand why Van Sant cast him.
posted by crossoverman at 5:45 PM on February 25, 2014 [2 favorites]


I kind of want to be Soderberg's friend if that is possible.

He made The Limey. He's already my friend.
posted by urbanwhaleshark at 5:46 PM on February 25, 2014 [3 favorites]


There's also the fact that at the moment he is stabbed, William H. Macyhas a fleeting vision of, if I recall right, a stag in the woods. Or something. All I know is it went nuts, and we all go a little mad sometimes.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 7:21 PM on February 25, 2014


but man, I love his blog so far.

The Von Sternberg quotes are interesting.
posted by ovvl at 7:35 PM on February 25, 2014 [1 favorite]


To my shame I've only seen the remake.
posted by Harpocrates at 8:31 PM on February 25, 2014 [1 favorite]


Soderberg is one savvy, erudite, magnificent bastard.

The Von Sternberg quotes are interesting.


Yes indeed. And now I think "It takes endless labor to eradicate the traces of labor" (which is Soderberg quoting von Sternberg quoting Whistler, heh) is my new favorite quote
posted by Doleful Creature at 9:04 PM on February 25, 2014 [3 favorites]


OK, now it's time for every big-name auteur director to do what I keep saying they should: create their own unique re-edit of Tommy Wiseau's The Room.
posted by gusandrews at 9:09 PM on February 25, 2014 [2 favorites]


There's also the fact that at the moment he is stabbed, William H. Macy has a fleeting vision of, if I recall right, a stag in the woods.

Isn't it, more heavy-handedly, a sacrificial lamb? Or a lamb to slaughter?
posted by crossoverman at 9:12 PM on February 25, 2014


I thought it was a unicorn left over from Legend.
posted by philip-random at 9:14 PM on February 25, 2014 [1 favorite]


generic greeting! no one seems to be promoting it, but there is an upcoming play @ The Public directed by soderbergh.

http://publictheater.org/component/option,com_shows/task,view/Itemid,141/id,1099
posted by lslelel at 9:28 PM on February 25, 2014




Half of this is great!
posted by mazola at 10:58 PM on February 25, 2014 [5 favorites]


I agree with the cuts, but I would have reversed the clips.
posted by mazola at 11:04 PM on February 25, 2014


I like the remake, not because I like the remake, but because I like the fact of the remake, both the idea and the follow-through. I wish there hadn't even been the tiny deviations between the two, and Van Sant had kept it 100% true to the original.

I don't ever want to watch it again, but I'm glad it exists. It was a worthy failed experiment.
posted by Shepherd at 5:46 AM on February 26, 2014 [3 favorites]


After I watched the remake, I made a list of all the differences between the two versions. The lamb and the explicit masturbation weren't the only two; I filled an entire side of a sheet of paper with them. The most inexplicable to me, though, was van Sant's decision not to include that shot of the rings spinning around on the curtain rod after Marion rips the shower curtain off in falling to the floor.
posted by johnofjack at 6:15 AM on February 26, 2014 [1 favorite]


(I mean if we're just looking at the film as a series of shots, ignoring things like charisma and the ability to act convincingly.)
posted by johnofjack at 6:25 AM on February 26, 2014


After having actually watched this now: Neat!

...But I was frustrated by Soderbergh's edit in that it was almost doing something very, very interesting, i.e. depicting that we all have two personas: One we present to the world (1960) and one we keep to ourselves (1998). This would fit in perfectly (and rather brilliantly) with the whole theme of the film, and heighten the significance of the murders -- the surprise attacks happen when people are at their most vulnerable, thinking they're alone in their own little world. That's what I thought was going on, but then came Soderbergh's insistence on including Viggo Mortensen -- whose character, unless I missed something, never appears on screen alone -- and it all broke down, at one point even necessitating a really sloppy jump cut. Redo it without Viggo and you've really got something there.

(Also I'm not crazy about the use of colour.)
posted by Sys Rq at 6:33 AM on February 26, 2014 [1 favorite]


P.S., on a more confessional level: That was the first time I've ever watched Psycho. (I know, right? And I went to film school!)

Knowing all the major plot points beforehand -- exposure to pop culture of the late 20th century spoils it pretty thoroughly -- kind of ruins it. It's clear Hitchcock intended for most of the suspense and shock to come from the assumption that the still-very-much-alive mother is the murderer. Knowing otherwise rendered the viewing a purely academic exercise.
posted by Sys Rq at 6:44 AM on February 26, 2014


I am casually friendly with one of Anthony Perkins's sons, but I didn't see Psycho until a while after I met him. Let me tell you, that movie was way more of a mindfuck with that knowledge than if I had gone into it cold.
posted by pxe2000 at 8:11 AM on February 26, 2014


Knowing all the major plot points beforehand -- exposure to pop culture of the late 20th century spoils it pretty thoroughly -- kind of ruins it.

I recommend, if you ever get the chance, to see it with an audience in a movie theater. I saw it like that, after having seen it thrice on video, and it scared the bejezus out of me even though I knew what was coming.
posted by Omon Ra at 10:36 AM on February 26, 2014 [1 favorite]


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