Watched Psycho (1960)

A relatively long time ago, we watched the series “Bates Motel”, the story of which was based on the book by Robert Bloch. In turn, the series itself was based on the 1960 film, which will be discussed. Is it worth watching the film after the series?..

If we directly compare the film and the series, then although Alfred Hitchcock’s work is a shorter story of the same (almost) story, I noted for myself the moments that make you just want to watch this film, despite the fact that you already know the main plot of the story. And the first of these moments is the actors. You know, there is, after all, some charm in how the actors looked before. That is, you see the actress who plays the main role. She is beautiful, but there is no such “artificiality” of appearance. This is evidenced, at least, by the not-so-perfect smile (which can now be seen even in homeless characters in films and series).

The second point is how, thanks to the musical accompaniment and the picture as a whole, they give you a constant feeling of anxiety. As if something is about to happen. And this is not the method of intimidation in the form of screamers, which is currently popular in cinema – there is some kind of “internal” fear here. I would call it the fear of the unknown. Something similar happened while watching The Shining, by Stanley Kubrick.

In the film, the main character steals a large sum of money, and at the same time the character constantly wonders whether she did the right thing, or whether it’s not too late to go back and try to fix everything somehow. This, again, shows a greater level of emotionality of the character than is found in modern cinema, when any murder or robbery is done in cold blood, without a single doubt about whether it should have been done.

Despite the fact that the film was released more than 60 years ago, it is interesting to watch now. It has its own flavour and taste, which makes it stand out from the background of empty modern films in the thriller genre. I would recommend it for viewing not as an alternative or replacement for the series, but, rather, in addition. The film shows us new sides, showing a more typical and ordinary story than a somewhat “modernised” series.