Psycho (1960) First Time Watching! Full Movie Reaction!!

"problematic"

Laura Palmer

There was never a line in the film where someone asks if Norman is homosexual. As has already been stated, Sam asks why he was dressed like that and a man in the psychiatrists room says he is a transvestite and Dr.Richmond refutes that and points out the difference.

Rob Walters

You can dig for miles and miles through Hitchock's symbolism. There's the old school British sexist word for a woman - "bird". Her name is Marion CRANE (and could be "Marryin' Crane"), and she's from Phoenix (a bird mythical who dies, then rises again from the ashes - an image of her death then the return of her sister). You can pick any one scene or symbol in Hitchcock movies and just run and run with it.

Neal Romanek

A great one - James Bond before James Bond.

Neal Romanek

Will do! -Sam

TBR Schmitt

I've added it to the list! -Sam

TBR Schmitt

Haha that is awesome! What a fun memory for them. Oh my goodness, I know exactly who you're talking about! How funny. He does resemble Anthony Perkins a ton! -Sam

TBR Schmitt

Oh wow! I was so distracted by the taxidermy I missed out on the symbolism! -Sam

TBR Schmitt

I think we'll need a second viewing now that we know the twist! -Sam

TBR Schmitt

Definitely won't be waiting until next year for more haha -Sam

TBR Schmitt

Will definitely be checking it out! -Sam

TBR Schmitt

Oh wow I had no idea there were changes made from the original! The chocolate syrup is so funny! I wonder how many things they tried before landing on that. -Sam

TBR Schmitt

We'll for sure be doing more Hitchcock films! -Sam

TBR Schmitt

Definitely on our list! -Sam

TBR Schmitt

We totally didn't put that together from the start! But yes, all for Sam haha -Sam

TBR Schmitt

Thank you for sharing all these interesting facts! I love to hear them :) -Sam

TBR Schmitt

Yes!!! The build up just to make us feel paranoid haha -Sam

TBR Schmitt

Absolutely!

TBR Schmitt

I definitely want to watch the next one! 80s and Perkins sounds like an excellent combo! The Fog is definitely on our list as well :) -Sam

TBR Schmitt

We'll definitely be doing more Hitchcock! -Sam

TBR Schmitt

Y’all need to watch Rear Window now. Y’all really need to watch Rear Window, it is top tier Hitchcock.

Also something to consider is a movie called “Charade” with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. It’s been called the greatest Hitchcock film that Hitchcock didn’t make.

Texas Anla'Shok

My grandparents saw this movie in the theater when they were dating and my grandmother still talks about that being the only time she ever heard my grandfather scream. 😆 Also, if y’all have ever seen “Legally Blonde” you’ll see Anthony Perkins’ son—he’s the tall, creepy looking law student with the shifty eyes who spent his summer deworming orphans in Somalia. 😉 (I’m sure he’s been in other things, too, but that’s what I always associate him with.)

Aimee

Another thing about the parlor scene with Norman and Marion are the birds you see framed with them. Norman has owls - 2 in fact- (Mother & Norman) depicting birds of prey in flight. Marion is framed with a crow - and black birds have been symbols of death for millennia (Biblical times). Even Arbogast sees the crow first when he peeks into the parlor before he’s killed.

Catherine LW

If you listen to the conversation between Norman and Marion again, it’s full of foreshadowing.

Texas Anla'Shok

I'm glad I collect Blu-rays and DVDs so I have the original uncut versions of the film. As corporations see fit to cut films and TV shows whenever they like, physical media becomes that much more important to preserve the original.

Mike Tocci

My personal favs are The Birds (1963) ad Shadow of a Doubt (1943) but Vertigo, North By Northwest, Notorious and Rear Window (all I have to say is Grace Kelly!) are all iconic Hitchcock classics too. So glad you guys will spend some time with these and you don't have to wait until October to do so.

Michael Rhine

The psychologist didn’t say he was a transvestite, it was one of the men sitting there. The psychologist said he was not a transvestite.

Catherine LW

It's mystery, not horror, though.

Shaun2342!

Yeah, the AFI had Vertigo as the ninth greatest american film, but that is just american critics. The other list is worldwide.

Shaun2342!

North by Northwest and The Birds are fun. Every 10 years Sight and Sound magazine does a poll of critics and filmmakers around the world of the best films of all time. Their last one was 2012 and Hitchcock's Vertigo dethroned Citizen Kane as the "greatest film of all time." I don't know if I entirely agree, but that's what the critics say. Vertigo is definitely fantastic and sort of required viewing for film lovers. I'm pretty sure it ranked higher than Psycho on the American Film Institute list too.

Shaun2342!

I'm really relieved and delighted to see that the versions of Psycho that are available nowadays for streaming have actually cut a handful of problematic lines from the end of the movie. In a version I owned on VHS, somebody asks the psychologist if Norman is 'a homosexual' because he was dressed in his mother's clothes - thankfully, the only portion of that scene that still remains is the bit where the psychologist corrects him and says that Norman is actually a transvestite (still a problematic term now, but nowhere near as bad as the original context of the scene). Also! Fun bit of trivia to lighten things up a tiny bit lol - all of the blood in the shower scene was actually chocolate syrup! It showed up better on screen with the black and white film. :D

Rue

North by Northwest is another wonderful Hitchcock film

Turtle

Would love you to check out Vertigo, Hitchcock's finest imo

Shehab Dawoud

Fantastic reaction, as always. One small point: you wondered a couple of times as to why Marion would be so motivated to steal the cash (it's roughly 10x inflation to modern money, BTW -- like she took $400,000 cash and dropped $7,000 to the used car guy). It doesn't really come up outside of the first scene, but Sam cites paying off his father's debts and his alimony payments as the main reasons he and Marion can't be together openly, even get married. Looking forward to your next reaction!

Dylan Platt

Glad you guys watched it! I agree with the request for more Hitchcock - Rear Window is a very enjoyable thriller/romance, The Birds is flawed but so classic, and Vertigo is perhaps my favorite film of all times. Some notes on Psycho: • adjusted to today's dollars, that $40k she stole would be about $370,000 today; • many people swore the shower attack was filmed in color because of the blood - in reality, Hersey's syrup was used for the blood! • as violent as it seems, never once do we ever see the knife cut or stab into her body; • the moment the shower curtain is ripped open, the crew switched the shower water from warm to frigid cold, without telling her they were going to do it, for that extra shocked reaction from her! • Killing off the main character of a movie partway through was a huge coup, and a shock to the audience who had never seen anything like that before; promos for the film included Hitchcock himself warning that no one would be allowed into the theater once the film was started, and "please don't spoil the secret to your friends!" • the story of this film was based on a real person and situation - and that very same story was also adapted into the Texas Chainsaw Massacre! In Psycho it is downplayed that he would actually make furniture and things out of human skin, not just stuff birds. • Regarding the movie being black and white: Hitchcock had already been making large, lavish productions in color (Vertigo was just a couple years before Psycho), but low-budget horror films made by indy filmmakers were becoming popular, and there was even a sense that Hitchcock was too comfortable with his big-budget studio films and the edgy small horror films were where it was at. So Hitchcock made Psycho - lower budget, black and white - to say I'm still the master, I can beat them at their game as well as make the big Hollywood films.

Mark

Yes, please watch all his masterpieces!

Future Boy

I love Psycho 2. Even more than the original. It's got that great 80s vibe, and Anthony Perkins and Meg Tilly are go good together. It's obviously not as iconic or as important as the first one, but it's so much fun. I'd love to see a reaction to it one day!

Future Boy

Yes more Hitchcock please!

Michael Soukup

Great reaction, guys! I’m excited to see more Hitchcock reactions from you both. Hitchcock used red herrings in this: the camera panning to the money all the time, the cop up close talking to Marion, then later following her and watching her buy another car… you get expectations about it and then nothing happens but then you’re hit by something else entirely! He’s called the Master of Suspense for good reason!

Catherine LW

Welcome to the wonderful world of Hitchcock. I hope you guys will continue to mine his filmography. So many great films.

Mitchell Smilie

There is a "Psycho II" (1982) again starring Anthony Perkins as Norman. Its about Norman getting released from the mental institution and returns to the house 22 years later-- deemed rehabilitated and "sane". This movie is actually not bad at all, comparing to the original. It's no Hitchcock movie but it's very worth a watch. It's definitely more intense being made in the 80s. I was a little disappointed you guys figured out Norman was dressing as his mother early on. Haha... you guys are sharp! Great reaction! Speaking of Jamie Lee Curtis and her mom Janet Leigh... They are both in John Carpenter's "The Fog".

Mr. Writhms

People talk about twists in thriller movies these days like nothing, but Hitchcock popularized it. Would love to see you guys react to Rear Window and Vertigo.

Arya Amirsoleimani