Looking For The Perfect Halloween Getaway?
Well, if you choose the Bates Motel, you can expect some unexpected surprises to be sure!
Oops! Someone got surprised in the shower! OK, enough joking around: my Halloween is going to be the best ever because my wife Alex and I will be seeing this classic shocker this way!
Check this out:
“Psycho” In Concert!
That’s right! This Halloween, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra is making Alfred Hitchcock’s classic thriller all the more spine-tingling with the soundtrack performed live!
The Orchestra will be performing Composer Bernard Herrmann’s haunting music live as the film plays on a giant screen!
The “Psycho” soundtrack was ranked by the American Film Institute as one of the Top 5 Greatest Film Scores of All Time.
We cannot wait, because the film is also one of the great horror films of all time as well!
“Psycho!”
Director Alfred Hitchcock meant what he says on this poster: once the film started playing NO ONE was allowed in!
Hitchcock broke so many rules when he released this low budget 1960 shocker – a film that was so controversial at the time of release! Audiences were not ready for its horrific violence – even though most of it is never seen on the screen!
Here’s the simple plot: a Phoenix secretary embezzles forty thousand dollars from her employer’s client, goes on the run, and checks into a remote motel run by a young man named Norman Bates, who has a very domineering mother, as you can see in the infamous “shower scene” above!
Here is the original movie trailer, in which the Director takes you on a tour of the set – and some shocking teases to come:
Here is some great trivia courtesy of IMDB – let’s begin with the shocking shower scene:
Director Hitchcock originally envisioned the shower sequence as completely silent, but Bernard Herrmann went ahead and scored it anyway, and upon hearing it, Hitchcock immediately changed his mind!
That movie score is one of the greatest of all time, and no better utilized than in that moment. It was also unheard of for a lead character to be killed off in a film’s first half hour!
Anthony Perkins is brilliant as the troubled Norman Bates, AKA “Mother”.
When the cast and crew began work on the first day, they had to raise their right hands and promise not to divulge one word of the story. Sir Alfred Hitchcock also withheld the ending part of the script from his cast until he needed to shoot it.
That moment the film still shocks today!
The Bates Motel is now iconic, and still lives on the Universal Studio backlot tour!
“Psycho” was part of my “Hitch Hiking” series, where my wife and I go on a great hike and then we watch a Hitchcock thriller like this…see where we hiked, and see how close we got to a Rattlesnake by checking out our story here:
For those who have been following along, here are the some of my favorite hikes I have posted so far, as well as the classic Hitchcock thrillers I talk about:
Hitch Hiking #6: London! “Frenzy!”
I was surprised how shocking this 1971 thriller was – so when I was in London I retraced a few of Hitchcock’s steps from his thriller “Frenzy” – you can see more of that film here:
And let’s not forget the other shocker from Hitchcock’s career:
Take a trip with me to Bodega Bay, where “The Birds” took up residence….see it all here:
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Categories: Cult Movies, Exploitation films, Film Fight Club, Great Films, Halloween, Hollywood, Horror films, Movies, Music, Pop Culture, Talent/Celebrities, True Hollywood Mystery
johnrieber 
Psycho still terrifies me.
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Yep, it’s a very well done thriller that builds and delivers!
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Very much so!
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I have to laugh at myself! In spite of having no time for anything even resembling ‘horror’ I must admit I am mightily jealous of your planned evening . . . loving orchestral music as much as I do . . . methinks an evening to remember . . . and, yes, I saw ‘Psycho’ when it was first released and I may just have let a little scream into the air . . . God, Perkins was scary . . . saw ‘The Birds’ also . . .
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No way. That is the scariest movie I ever saw!!! 😦
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Yes, they will play some of Bernard Herrman’s greatest movie music then will play live as the film runs…they do this at the Hollywood Bowl as well, they can strip the music off the film and do it live…it’s going to be amazing!
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That music from the shower scene is so intense. I heard that Janet Leigh only took baths after filming that movie!
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Yes, I think that is true!
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Sounds like a magical Night….enjoy chuq
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what an amazing presentation of this! enjoy!
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How cool to see a “Psycho” concert!
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I listened to a sample of the film’s musical score and it’s stunning..cannot wait to hear it and I think they start with some other orchestral movie music first…we are really looking forward to it! thanks for the comment!
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I’m not a big fan of ‘Psycho’, but I am jealous of you being able to see it accompanied by a live orchestra. That will be a great experience!
Best wishes, Pete.
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Pete, it’s literally right across the street as well…Alex films all day tomorrow then we pop over for the movie and concert, then grab a quick late night bite and drink.great way to kick off the weekend – cheers!
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Thank you for this interesting post.
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