Psycho
What's to say that hasn't already been said? An exercise in tension and attention to detail. Perkins has never bettered his initial Norman Bates role (although he comes pretty close in Welle's The Trial).
The technical brilliance of the movie is meted out with such confidence and assurity that it's not difficult to see how this film became a new bench mark in cinematic terms and entertainment.
My only slight downer is the drawn out 'explanation' at the end, but I put this down to years of watching contemporary cinema where ambiguity has become the preferred 'solution' - although not always.
NB: whilst I don't hate Van Sant's remake, just watching Hitch's original again serves to underline how utterly pointless a scene for scene remake was.
Psycho II
Richard Franklin and Tom Holland's sequel has enormous boots to fill, but hats off to them both, they really manage to do it with some skill. It's probably a big help that they got Perkins to reprise his role and the fact that Franklin was a Hitchcock nut (and friend) wouldn't have harmed the project.
Putting an ambiguous spin on the tale and a very, very dark undercurrent of humour helps the story and performances no end. Meg Tilly is splendid and brings her own physical and acting qualities to the role as Janet Leigh did in the original.
There's plenty of examples of homage to Hitch's classic, but Franklin (whose Roadgames is one of my fave Oz movies and features Jamie Lee Curtis - daughter of Janet of course) stamps his own style on proceedings giving the film a fresh and contemporary feel.
The only sore point I have really is the opening, which replays the shower scene from the original. It seems utterly pointless and redundant and adds nothing to the film whatsoever. I guess it was probably a producer who insisted on the use of this iconic footage, but I think it detracts from what turns out to be a wonderfully twisted and 'original' spin on a classic.
I'd say that Franklin's film whilst undoubtedly indebted to the original, has more in common with the likes of Argento's Tenebre - stylish, modern, twisty and wickedly subversive with its use of black comedy - all which can be applied to the original Psychoto some degree, but the flashes of gore and colour really instil it with the spirit of the times.
The Hound Of The Baskervilles
Got the Rathbone definitive collection the other day and I'm gonna spend the next few weeks working my way through these childhood favourites.
Nigel Bruce and Basil Rathbone are up there with any of the greatest duos in cinematic history for me; charming, witty and endlessly watchable.
Ironic that Holmes spends half of the film off screen, but it's still a classic and his reveal to Watson still has me howling with laughter.
Creaky, studio bound and absolutely of their time - I can't get enough of these.
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