SR: I used to be a therapist and I’ve always seen the film as about, among other things, loneliness and terrible isolation and the damage that parents can do to children. And I’m talking about adult children, as well as young children, because I saw that again and again in people that entered my practice and my life. An- thony seemed to bring an understanding of that to the character of Norman Bates. Not someone with a split personality but as someone with multiple per- sonality disorder.
David, you’ve said that the second half of the movie, after Marion is murdered, is inferior to its first half. Would you say that Marion is a
better-developed character than Norman? DT: Oh, I think the film is really about Norman. But I think that Hitchcock was not really interested in explaining how Norman came to be. So the final scene where the psychologist is explaining about Norman and Mother was really quite clumsy. I think that Hitchcock was interested in the dynamic between Marion and Norman, and the themes of them both being trapped in their own corners. The explanation at the end just kind of beats it down. I do think the movie begins moving downward after the shower scene. It gets duller.
SR: No, most film critics and fans would argue that Norman Bates is the most extraordinary character in the movie. I think Marion is a really good character and a really interesting character but that’s not the concern of Psycho. The con- cern of Psycho is life is cruel and short and arbitrary and terrible things can hap- pen to people who make one fatal mistake, and it’s about the damage that’s done to parents and children and how that horror and tragedy gets repeated and repeated until it’s ended.
WC: I think Hitchcock successfully flipped who the audience identifies with from her to him. At first they identify with her even though she is not that sympathetic of a character, but he kind of rolled it over to Norman Bates, who becomes so fascinating as the movie continues.
Cont’d. on p.22 Of A Feather: Birds are one of several recurring motifs in the film.
HERE’S NO SHORTAGE OF DOCUMENTARY MATERIAL ON PSYCHO, BUT THE THREE SEQUELS TO ALFRED HITCHCOCK’S ORIGINAL CLASSIC HAVE GONE LARGELY UNEXPLORED – UNTIL NOW, WITH THE RELEASE OF THE PSYCHO LEGACY, A TWO-DISC DVD SET FROM SHOUT! FACTORY (OUT OCTOBER 19).
The 87-minute film features interviews with the cast and crew of all four movies in the series, including the original
film’s assistant director Hilton Green; Psycho II star Robert Loggia and screenwriter Tom Holland; Psycho III stars Diana Scarwid and Jeff Fahey and screenwriter Charles Edward Pogue; and Psycho IV: The Beginning director Mick Garris and stars Olivia Hussey and Henry Thomas. As well, there’s never-before-seen Anthony Perkins footage from a late ’80s convention appearance, plus archive ma- terial of actress Vera Miles and Psycho II’s director, the late Richard Franklin. According to the doc’s writer/director Robert Galluzzo, it was Franklin who actually got the ball rolling on The Psycho Legacy. “He was very proud of Psycho II and was very stoked about
doing a documentary about his film and the ones that followed,” says Galluzzo. “So, he was very integral in setting it all off.” Among the program’s behind-the-scenes anecdotes is the surprising revelation
of a troubled working relationship between Perkins and his Psycho II co-star Meg Tilly. As such, Galluzzo regrets not being able to interview the actress for the doc- umentary. “We tried, but from what I understand, she’s an author of children’s books now
and that’s primarily her focus,” says Galluzzo. “So, it’s very rare that she ever talks about any of her film work. It would have been nice to get her side of the story.” In addition to the making-of stories from series contributors, Galluzzo
also asked other filmmakers for their thoughts on how the films influenced them; genre vet Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator) is included, as are younger directors such as Adam Green (Hatchet) and Joe Lynch (Wrong Turn 2). Noticeably absent from discussion, though, are the aborted Bates Motel
TV series and the 1998 Gus Van Sant remake – both of which Galluzzo intended to include but later dropped as they didn’t fit the tone of the proj- ect. “It surprisingly became more about Anthony Perkins and Anthony Perkins playing Norman Bates for the majority of his life as opposed to
just another Psycho movie,” he says. “It didn’t feel like it fit in.” Galluzzo is relieved The Psycho Legacy is finished in time for Psycho’s gold an-
niversary. “The fact that I finished it on the 50th anniversary was sheer coincidence. I didn’t
think that it was going to take me three years to make this thing. I think that if you’re a Psycho fan, I can’t imagine you not loving it. And if you’re not, I hope it will make you want to go revisit those movies.”
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128