"A boy's best friend is his mother."At that line, my own mother turned to me in silence, an eyebrow raised. It seemed apropos to bring my mom to this screening and she realized that she'd never actually seen the film from beginning to end.
This is still my favorite Hitchcock, followed closely by North by Northwest. Seeing it on a big screen and with a powerful sound system, I was once again swept up in this bait-and-switch descent into darkness. Janet Leigh is wonderful and Anthony Perkins...well, the word 'legendary' is thrown around a lot these days, but there you go. Martin Balsam is also a treat.
And that Bernard Herrmann score? (chef's kiss) It's still just as brilliant as ever. Same for John L. Russell's Oscar-nominated photography. That crane shot during the scene where Norman takes his mother down to the fruit cellar is stunning.I've always had a slight issue with the length of many Hitchcock dialogue scenes. They always feel a bit too long, but here, the pacing feels just right. In fact, the most famous scenes (the shower and staircase murders) play out surprisingly quickly. And the silent body-disposal and subsequent panic when the car doesn't want to submerge all the way into the swamp is still riveting.It's funny, I used to always get mad at John Gavin when he's being a dick to Perkins in order to distract him. You still feel sympathy for Norman Bates despite his situation. Guess I've got a soft spot for psychos.
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