Post by doomedbloodwork on Jul 15, 2004 6:03:40 GMT -5
With the number of remakes and reimaging of classic movies coming out annually these days (I am waiting to see Brad and Jen as HART TO HART and I am especially looking forward to the remake of LOGAN'S RUN), it is rare to sometimes find a sequel to a classic movie that works as well as you expect it to be.
PSYCHO II is one such movie. It is a triumph of production and performance and it just about makes you forget about the first film being in black and white. Dean Cundey's photography enhances the Bates house and motel and Jerry Goldsmith scores highly with the music in this one.
(One interesting bit of sideline trivia from this: If you listen to it very carefully, the European version of Tom Cruise's movie LEGEND had music lifted from this. US fans may recall that the film was re-scored with Tangerine Dream music for it's far-more successful US release)
I must also stress that Robert Bloch's novelization of PSYCHO II is different to Tom Holland's screenplay. In the book, Norman Bates escapes from the mental hospital posing as a nun he's killed and heads to Hollywood where his story is being adapted into a movie (what's more impressive about this is that this was written over 15 years before SCREAM 3).
In the film, Norman returns to his motel and house to find the place run by a profiteer (played by Dennis Franz, who went on to appear in the likes of DIE HARD 2 and NYPD BLUE) and takes a job at a local diner as part of his rehabilitation, but then starts getting threatening messages amongst other things, including some from his mother....!
The logistics of this film do make you think (why on earth would Norman want to return to a place with so much bad history, but then again, would there be a film?), but it is a playful sequel and a good companion to a classic original, maintaining the style and content of the original without damaging it's own virtues.
PSYCHO II is one such movie. It is a triumph of production and performance and it just about makes you forget about the first film being in black and white. Dean Cundey's photography enhances the Bates house and motel and Jerry Goldsmith scores highly with the music in this one.
(One interesting bit of sideline trivia from this: If you listen to it very carefully, the European version of Tom Cruise's movie LEGEND had music lifted from this. US fans may recall that the film was re-scored with Tangerine Dream music for it's far-more successful US release)
I must also stress that Robert Bloch's novelization of PSYCHO II is different to Tom Holland's screenplay. In the book, Norman Bates escapes from the mental hospital posing as a nun he's killed and heads to Hollywood where his story is being adapted into a movie (what's more impressive about this is that this was written over 15 years before SCREAM 3).
In the film, Norman returns to his motel and house to find the place run by a profiteer (played by Dennis Franz, who went on to appear in the likes of DIE HARD 2 and NYPD BLUE) and takes a job at a local diner as part of his rehabilitation, but then starts getting threatening messages amongst other things, including some from his mother....!
The logistics of this film do make you think (why on earth would Norman want to return to a place with so much bad history, but then again, would there be a film?), but it is a playful sequel and a good companion to a classic original, maintaining the style and content of the original without damaging it's own virtues.
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