That's Jamie Lee Curtis' Mum! | Psycho (1960) | Movie Reaction

Cinobite - First time watching Alfred Hitchcocks infamous suspense horror thriller "Psycho" (1960) with Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh.
Reaction, Discussion and general thoughts.
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This video is for commentary and criticism only and is not a replacement for watching the film
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[@TangentOmega]

In 1960, you needed a good reason to kill a character. Making her a thief makes her murder easier to justify. Hitchcock chose to film in B&W because he wanted to show the blood. The Hays Code wouldn't allow it, in color. He used chocolate syrup to give the "blood" extra contrast against the water. The Hays Code was a big influence on movies from the 30s to the late 60s.

[@magic8ball1982]

Fun fact - the novel this was based on was inspired by real life murderer Ed Gein. They actually made a fairly decent movie about him in 2000. I believe the British title is In the Light of the Moon. I highly recommend it.

[@TTM9691]

I'm only a minute and a half in and I'm subscribing just because you recognized the name of Saul Bass.

[@haleydubas2119]

The little toggle things they wear in the south are called Bolo ties, they are just an alternative to regular neck ties ;)

[@CinobiteReacts]

hah, that's pretty cool. I bet it helps a bit with the heat in the South as well

[@wrigleyville]

@@CinobiteReacts Fun facts: The blood for the shower scene was Bosco chocolate syrup. The stabbing sounds were a butcher knife being plunged into a casaba melon. When Hitchcock was on location for the film, he referred to Anthony Perkins as Master Bates. Check out Mel Brooks' "High Anxiety", it's a comedic parody of several Hitchcock films including "Psycho", "The Birds", "Vertigo", "North By Northwest" and many more. Hitchcock actually saw and loved the film and sent Brooks a Magnum of chanpagne with a note wishing the film success. Stay safe and well.

[@Scary__fun]

This movie was the start of the end of the studio system and it's code of not showing anything objectionable. Due to Hitchcock's clout as being one of the most popular directors he pushed the boundaries of what was allowable. They wouldn't show two unmarried people on the same bed until this movie. Once this film became a huge hit, there was a flood of imitators and the rise of independent film making outside of the studio system that could show more gruesome and sexual material. Eventually, the studios had to dismantle their censorship system to compete.

[@phoenixfire124]

Fun fact... Janet Lee, the actress who stole the money, is Jamie Lee Curtis ' Mom. Her dad is Tony Curtis another great actor. You can see him in "Some Like It Hot".

[@garylee3685]

Not much central air conditioning in 1960. Phoenix isn't hot all year round by the way, and the entire state isn't hot in the summer, either.

[@CinobiteReacts]

Even less aircon in the UK in 2021 :P But we only get it super hot for about a week each year. Phoenix sounds really hot :P

[@sprayarm]

Arbogast actor is also in 12 Angry Men as the jury foreman.

[@Scotdod24]

John Carpenter was a huge Hitchcock fan and took inspiration from his films. Dr Loomis in Halloween is named after Sam Loomis from Psycho. This was the first time a flushing toilet was portrayed on film. Great reaction vid fella.

[@Scotdod24]

Ps I'm guessing the mis gendering comment was an unfortunate misunderstanding on your part. Norman is an clinically insane psychopath and completely unrelated to anyone trans or non binary 👍

[@CinobiteReacts]

Thanks!

[@wrigleyville]

@@CinobiteReacts If you're considering a Comedy, I strongly suggest "AIRPLANE". Ridiculous, dark and just plain goofy. Definitely worth a watch. You won't be disappointed. Stay safe and be well. Cheers!

[@glennwisniewski9536]

Not scary? How desensitized to violence can you get? - Regarding all the bird references, it's sort of a teaser from Hitchcock giving the audience clues as to what is really going on. Norman knows what to do with dead things. He has essentially taxidermied his mum as if she were a dead bird. Marion's a Crane and she eats like well, you know. She's going to end up dead like the stuffed birds. When she's killed, the bird portrait symbolically falls to the ground like a dead bird. And who knocked it over (killed it)? Norman, not the mother we think exists. Hint, hint, hint. Lila is another potential dead bird. See her tail feathers (an array of rakes fanned out behind her) in the hardware store. She dodges a bullet at the end.

[@CinobiteReacts]

Hitchcock must have really had a thing for birds! :)

[@encrypter46]

Don't miss "The Bad Seed" , the original from 1956.

[@sKennTX]

Over the years I've grown to appreciate this movie more for it's film-making and for how the events of the story are motivated by the irrational. It's now my favorite Hitchcock film and definitely to me one of the top 100 films of movie making history.

[@charleneraymond4036]

I know I'm not the only one getting the Micky Flanagan references 😂

[@starrkitty1]

Ahahaha, the Grease clip made me laugh out loud 😂 I’ve just recently found your channel and I’m really enjoying your editing

[@CinobiteReacts]

Thank you!! 😊

[@jimilemons3437]

One of the things that modern reactors seem to be confused by, yourself included, is the ‘affair’ that Marion and Sam are having. He is divorced, paying alimony to a wife that has left the country “half way around the world” and he is in massive debt. That’s why he is living in the back of a hardware store. They are having sex out of wedlock and in 1960 that was something that one had to hide in polite society. She steals the money for noble reasons - so that they can pay off his debts, which will allow them to get married and stop hiding their relationship. Lastly, you seem to be confused about the location of the film. Once she steals the money everything transfers to California - the cop, the car sale, the murders - all California so it’s not very hot.

[@CinobiteReacts]

You're absolutely right, I picked up on it during editing more. I did the same with Candyman, had to cut out soooo many comments :P Also I'm British, so anything south of NY is too hot :P

[@archaeologyfornon-archaeol1014]

@@CinobiteReacts LOL...California and Arizona are two different kind of Hots! Arizona is heavily arid, desert. California has a long very long coast, which ameliorates some of the warmth. It is a Mediterranean climate.

[@scarletibis3158]

They used chocolate syrup for the blood. red doesn't work in black and white films. also, his daughter played the mogul's secretary. also, Mrs. hitchcock was reading the book in bed and woke hitch up and said you have to do this film the girl dies in the first 30 minutes. hitch couldn't get financing so he put his home up for the financing.

[@CinobiteReacts]

I would have eaten all of the chocolate syrup :P

[@rickardroach9075]

3:05 Yeah, that’s the first thing I noticed too. 😜

[@randall-king]

You asked why they were hiding at the beginning. I’m pretty sure the film states that the man was still married, so both of them were accurately feeling shame before God and society to be committing adultery. The moral values were much higher back then.

[@jimilemons3437]

They were not still married, he was divorced and paying alimony to his ex-wife who had moved far away. His financial circumstance (living in the back of the hardware store) did not allow him to take care of Marion so they couldn’t get married. In 1960 having sex out of wedlock was taboo.

[@TTM9691]

This was great, man!!!! Please keep hitting the classics! I'd love for you to do "Citizen Kane"! Not just anyone can react to that! And hey, there are lots of fantastic movies that are an hour and a half, don't get burn yourself out on 3 hour spectaculars! But definitely keep mixing it up with time periods. .There's tons of stuff from the 70s and the 60s and the 80s and 90s that's great, but definitely keep reaching back because a great movie has no expiration date, and there are truly great movies that have held up across the century (and longer), going right back to the early 1900s. I'm really looking forward to checking out more of your channel!

[@CinobiteReacts]

Thanks! (and for the sub!)

[@nikecoro2606]

I watched this for my theater class and it was my first time which I enjoyed minus small conversations around me from classmates. But yeah I also love the extreme amount of work symbols are used in this movie like the amount of mirrors, and especially in the scene when Marian and Norman have lunch in his office with the taxidermy birds in the background. You can see in Marion's shots there's a raven which symbolizes that she will die later (the shower), and in Norman's shots you see a raptor positioned mid flight ready to kill and snatch it's prey. Also the film was more of a kind of surreal message that serial killers are often the people we don't suspect as Norman seemed as far from usual serial killers stereotypes that come to mind. He just seems really introverted and normal, and at times friendly.

[@CinobiteReacts]

Symbolism in films is sooooo good. Having "normal" killers is always way scarier than "scary" killers, that's the problem with so many horror films these days, they make the scary thing unrealistic so people can't identify with it.

[@nikecoro2606]

@@CinobiteReacts of course scary killers can work, it was a big success with slasher movies especially in the case of Michael Meyers and even Chainsaw Massacre. But yeah, after that period I can't really think of any kind of horror movie that uses a Norman kind of killer. Normal and not really expected. It went from slasher, ghosts and supernatural and then for stereotypical evil people. Like I get more understanding when it's a ghost or alien then the latter.

[@starrynight1657]

Matricide is someone murdering their own mother. The 39 Steps is his most popular British film.

[@seledia]

There is a very funny clip on YT with a cat "watching Psycho". Worths watching for a good laugh

[@tubekulose]

"No, let him stab somebody!" 🤣🤣🤣

[@barrywerdell2614]

A fun fact about this movie; when it premiered Hitchcock used his clout (and his marketing skills) to make a rule that nobody could enter late after the movie began. Before that, people used to wander in and out all day.

[@randall-king]

I’m old enough to have used a rotary phone many times. I had no idea about the trick you mentioned. Thanks for passing it along. May I ask where that brief clip is from?

[@CinobiteReacts]

No worries! The clip is from Hackers (1995) with Johnny Lee Miller and Angelina Jolie. Phones used what was called "pulse dialling", basically, it sent each number as a series of pulses, 3 pulses was number 3, 4 was 4 etc (10 was 0), you can hear it on a rotary phone. Later on with digital handsets you could emulate the pulses by tapping the hangup hook :)

[@randall-king]

@@CinobiteReacts thanks!

[@donatogressbautista4843]

Very good video Cinobite, BTW, did you know there's a "Psycho 2" and "Psycho 3"? You should react to them one day, since they're underrated films, ESPECIALLY in the horror genre, please.

[@CinobiteReacts]

Thanks. No I wasn't aware that there is a 2 and 3! I only knew about the remake, I'll have to look into it

[@donatogressbautista4843]

@@CinobiteReacts Well, do look into them instead of the remake, TRUST ME, that one's not worth making a reaction video about it, nor any type of video in general.

[@Jim_Jam]

@@CinobiteReacts There's also a Psycho 4. The 3rd and 4th are decent but the 2nd is really good.

[@rnw2739]

Just here to echo that 'Psycho II' is absolutely brilliant and you should definitely react to it.

[@rickardroach9075]

8:30 I wished you’d revealed this nugget before we started. Even though it’s technically still a first time watch, we now know you won’t be surprised by the twist. Still, I supposed you could’ve lied, which would be worse. 🙄

[@CinobiteReacts]

Yeah, it's kind of a hard secret to keep that one, these days!

[@bruceheckerman7343]

Man, if you're liking Hitchcock, you MUST see The Birds! It's great. Trivia: Hitch only used blondes!

[@henryivan6858]

"Pepe" 😂😂😂

[@seledia]

Subscribed automatically for the cute cat in thumbsnail (before starting the watching) (now, reward me please with a reaction to "The Constant Gardener", or "The Others" , or "Gattaca", or "Twelve Monkeyes", or "Some Like It Hot", or "Irma La Douce", or "The Man Who Knew Too Much", or "Life Of Brian", or "Full Monty", or "True Lies", or "A Fish Called Wanda", or "Amistad", or "Apocalypto", or "Stutter Island", or "Calamity Jane" .. :-)) )

[@CinobiteReacts]

Stevenson thanks for you the sub :)

[@seledia]

@@CinobiteReacts :-) .."Malena", "Foolproof", "Quigley Down Under", "Point Break", "Vertical Limit", "King Of The Hill" (1993), "Fiddler On The Roof" .. :-)

[@FrancisXLord]

I've seen a lot of Psycho reactions where the reactor knows about Norman and his mother. It's a shame really. I think I've only seen one reaction where the reactor was entirely oblivious - and the film entirely blew his mind. If you are looking to react to a film where you're unlikely to know what happens in the twist watch Psycho II. This is the best suspense film that Hitchcock never made and, in my humble opinion, more entertaining than the original.

[@RJAnime]

many people overlook the sequels a shame really they are all good imo

[@bunpeishiratori5849]

Hitchcock had nothing to do with Psycho II. He might have even been dead by the time that movie was made.

[@FrancisXLord]

@@bunpeishiratori5849 Spot on, he died in 1980. I did state he didn't make it in m y comment btw.

[@R._Thornhill]

Sorry you watched it before the reaction video.

[@billywilton-jordan7981]

Looking forward to seeing you're reaction to 'Psycho II' from 1983. And if you enjoy that, I can't wait to see you react to 'Psycho III' from 1986 and finally Psycho IV: The Beginning, from 1990.

[@CinobiteReacts]

Added!

[@bunpeishiratori5849]

Incidentally, the reason the movie starts out with a specific date and time is actually funny. It wasn't planned. But, if I remember the story correctly, they noticed that in the shot of the city, there was something in the background that gave the impression that it was Christmas season. Like maybe a Christmas tree or decoration or something. So rather than reshoot it some other time, they just figured they'd explain it away by giving it a December date.

[@ccbsnyc]

When Marion is driving on the Phoenix streets, you can see Christmas decorations on the light poles.

[@susanhicks2300]

How about you actually watch the movie before you opine? Just a suggestion.

[@anthonymunn8633]

Would you rather he do the same fake bug-eyed "Oh my GOD!!" schtick most reactors do??

[@scaramoochscaramooch]

Ugh you talk too much.......

[@joeking5310]

I like the way (not) that you keep saying Jamie curtis's mum, when Janet Leigh is a much better known actress, and a far bigger actress than Jamie ever was. Far too many comments, and I would hardly call it a first time watching when you seem to know the whole plot. Plus you ruined it for everyone who was watching this for the first time here. This is the one film in cinema history that you need to watch without knowing anything about it. When that does happen it is the greatest film ever, and luckily i saw it before knowing anything about it. And they have remade psycho several times.

[@philipholder5600]

When you assume, you make an ass put of u and me.

[@vertiniman4692]

You have seen this before there is no way you figure it out so why you lied?

[@CinobiteReacts]

It's 61 years old an one of the most famous films ever made - EVERYONE knows he dresses as his mum and he's he killer :P

[@vertiniman4692]

Not everyone this was lame reaction.

[@Sidistic_Atheist]

You should look up *Matricide And Patricide* and all the other definitions for murdering family members. We don't seem to use them much, these days. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_types_of_killing