Greetings! The first (and best) part of the holiday season is upon us (Halloween) and we'll soon be ramping up for the dreaded battles at the malls and on the gridiron (not to mention with the families of origin!) What's my cure for pre-holiday season anxiety? Friday Night Movies! So following up on my {ahem} award-winning costume at Miles and Anthony's spectacular Halloween party, I submit for your approval.... ********************************************************************** The next presentation at Kevin's Friday Night Movies: *** P S Y C H O *** (on Collector's Edition DVD!) Friday, November 19th, cartoon shorts to start promptly @ 8:00pm A special prize to the first person who spots the director's cameo! Please RSVP by Nov 15th!!! ********************************************************************** (USA, 1960) Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Starring Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, Martin Balsam and Janet Leigh. "Don't give away the ending - it's the only one we have!" --Original 1960 tag line ***Awards*** Nominated for Oscars for Best Director, Best Actress - Janet Leigh, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White and Best Cinematography, Black-and-White. Won Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best Picture. Won Golden Globe for Best Actress - Janet Leigh,. ***Memorable Quotes*** Norman Bates: I think I must have one of those faces you can't help believing. Norman: She just goes a little mad sometimes. We all go a little mad sometimes. Haven't you? Norman: Uh-uh, Mother-m-mother, uh, what is the phrase? She isn't quite herself today. Norman: A boy's best friend is his mother. ***Trivia*** The Bates mansion is straight out of the painting "House by the Railroad" (1925) by the American artist Edward Hopper. The actual house used for the design construction of the house used in Psycho still stands in Kent, Ohio. The film only cost $800,000 to make yet has earned more than $40 million. Hitchcock used the crew from his TV series to save time and money. Hitchcock bought the rights to the novel anonymously from author Robert Bloch for just $9,000. He then bought up as many copies of the novel as he could to keep the ending a secret. The zoom-out shot of Marion Crane's eye is not a still photo. As the camera pulls away from the eye, a mobile and highly visible water drop falls from her hair to the floor, just right of camera center. This is also substantiated by Janet Leigh in a book. There is a rumor that the this film was not passed for release because it was claimed that Janet Leigh's nipple was visible during the shower scene. Hitchcock didn't edit it out, but merely sent it back, assuming that they either wouldn't bother to watch it, or miss it the second time. Hitchcock insisted that audiences should only be allowed to see the film from the start and hired Brinks security guards to enforce this. This was unheard of back then as people were used to just coming in at any point during a movie. The film features many references to birds, which would be the subject of Hitchcock's next feature film. The sound that the knife makes penetrating the flesh is actually the sound of a knife stabbing a casaba melon. The blood in the shower scene is actually chocolate sauce. The shot of Marion flushing the toilet is the first such shot in American cinema history. ***Goofs*** Crew or equipment visible: Shadow of camera crew on the bed when Marion prepares to leave town with the money. Continuity: In all shots of Marion driving from Arizona to California, the gear selector lever is in "Park". Continuity: Watch the bedside table as Norman is cleaning the room after the shower scene. Continuity: During the scene in the Bates Motel drawing room with Marion and Norman, Marion tears the same piece of bread three times down the middle. More at http://us.imdb.com/Title?0054215 ********************************************************************** Vote for the next Friday Night Movie in December: A) North by Northwest (1959) B) The Last Emperor, Director's Cut (1987) C) Rebel Without a Cause (1955) D) Viewer's Choice _______________________ Suggestions for future movie nights always welcome. Mrs. Bates and I will see you there! Kevin