The Psycho Legacy

2010
6.8| 1h27m| NR| en
Details

The cast and crew of all four Psycho films recall their time working on the influential horror series, and modern masters of horror reminisce on what the movies stirred in them.

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BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment
Lumsdal Good , But It Is Overrated By Some
BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.
Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.
Sober-Friend Universal has always ignored the sequels to "Psycho". While the Hitchcock original has always had great DVD releases the sequels were treated poorly by the studio. No special editions were ever done for those releases.Thankfully I am not the only fan of "Psycho II". Rob Galluzzo has produced this amazing documentary about the "Psycho Films". Primarily it sticks to the sequels because the original has had many books and DVD devoted to it. This documentary does what Universal failed to do. It gave us a documentary chronicling everything you would want to know about the sequels. Cast and crew interviews talk about everything you would want to know. From casting to shooting to reactions that both the cast and public felt about each sequel. Made with such love and care that you hope Rob Galluzzo will make another documentary about another horror franchise! Please note after this documentary was made Shout Factory ended licensing the "Psycho Sequels" for Special Editions on Home Video. If you love these films then watch this documentary!
Michael_Elliott Psycho Legacy, The (2010) *** 1/2 (out of 4) It took quite a while but fans of the PSYCHO series finally have a documentary that covers all four films. Although the end result isn't as great as one might hope, there are still enough original cast members and nice stories being told to make this a must-see. Jeff Fahey, Lee Garlington, Mick Garris, Stuart Gordon, Adam Green, Tom Holland, Olivia Hussey, Robert Loggia, Diane Scarwid, Brinke Stevens and Henry Thomas are just a few of the faces who give interviews and it's good to see that so many of the supporting players from the three sequels are on hand. Again, this documentary is certainly a mixed blessing but it's also the only thing out there that really covers the sequels. I think a little too much detail is given in regards to the original movie and it's nothing we haven't heard before. I mean, there's the brilliant THE MAKING OF PSYCHO already out there plus countless books and magazines so I think less could have been said here. Things really pick up when we start to discuss the three very good sequels starting with a few notes on PSYCHO II including one story involving Perkins and Meg Tilly not getting along. Hearing Holland discuss the fears of trying to do a sequel was certainly interesting. PSYCHO III gets most of the main cast members back and both Fahey and Scarwid tell some great stories about working with Perkins who not only acted in the film but directed it. Director Garris doesn't shy away from saying Perkins was very difficult to work with on PSYCHO IV and some of this might have been due to the actor wanting to direct the film himself. Thomas and Hussey also share some very good stories about what they were trying to do with their roles. All three sequels are given equal playing time but one wishes that they had gone a bit further in the discussion of them. The DVD features plenty of bonus features that go into more detail but this documentary, I think, would have been better with more stories we haven't heard instead of going back over countless stories we've heard about the original. It's also worth noting that both BATES MOTEL and the remake are never mentioned. Still, even with the few minor issues, THE PSYCHO LEGACY is the only way to really hear about the sequels and there's no question that fans will enjoy seeing some of their favorite characters again.
Woodyanders Writer/director Robert V. Galluzzo delivers a very informative and engrossing documentary that scrupulously covers Alfred Hitchcock's landmark 1960 classic and its three sequels, with the best and most intriguing segments digging up plenty of fascinating dirt on said sequels. Starting naturally with the influential original, which broke all the rules for its time, was slightly inspired by notorious serial killer Ed Gein, pushed the envelope with the shocking shower murder set piece, and, most importantly, introduced us to strangely sympathetic boy-next-door psycho Norman Bates and proved to be Anthony Perkins' signature role that he would forever be associated with. The makers of "Psycho II" knew from the get go that making a follow-up to such a well-respected film was a daunting challenge (screenwriter Tom Holland openly fesses up to this in the documentary), but the project had the right director with devout Hitchhock aficionado Richard Franklin. Surprisingly, Perkins and Meg Tilly didn't get along. We get some good info on how the surprise ending was kept secret from the cast and favorable comments on Jerry Goldsmith's terrific score. "Psycho III" was Perkins' directorial debut and everyone involved with the movie notes that he was an extremely warm, funny, and easygoing guy who was totally prepared for the job of helming a motion picture. Moreover, the love story aspect of the story and the off-kilter tone are both addressed along with the startling phone booth murder set piece and the fact that the third sequel reinstates the mythology from the original. "Psycho IV" benefits greatly from the ingenious casting of Henry Thomas as Norman (it was Thomas' first big lead part as an adult actor) and Olivia Hussey as Norman's beautiful, but abusive mother (Hussey confesses that she had a really hard time doing in the scene in which both Norman and his mother roll around on the floor). Director Mick Garris provides the most interesting anecdote when he admits that Perkins was very tough to work with. Featuring a wealth of fun, lively, and compelling interviews not only with direct participants in the movies (writers Holland and Charles Edward Pogue, thespians Jeff Fahey, Diana Scarwid, Robert Loggia, Katt Shea, Juliette Cummins, Donovan Scott, and Lee Garlington), but also such hardcore buffs as novelist David J. Schow and horror directors like Adam Green and Stuart Gordon, this documentary is absolutely essential viewing for fans of the "Psycho" films.
Anonymous Andy (Minus_The_Beer) Fifty years ago, Anthony Perkins stabbed and slashed his way into the hearts of audiences in Alfred Hitchcock's classic horror epic, "Psycho." Aside from being a landmark for cinema, "Psycho" is notorious for having quite possibly the most consistent and most respectable set of sequels, a fact often overlooked throughout the years. "The Psycho Legacy," an in-depth documentary from the same folks who brought you "His Name Was Jason" and "Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy", attempts to shed some light on this fact. By compiling interviews old and new with assorted cast and crew (as well as some long-time fans who have carved their own niche in the horror genre) "The Psycho Legacy" paints a colorful and informative picture of a franchise that deserves more respect beyond the usual praise garnered for its first installment.The meat and potatoes of the feature-length documentary are broken down into five parts. Opening with a surprisingly brief (and somewhat shallow) piece on Hitchcock's original, the documentary spends equal time on each of the three sequels, wrapping up with thoughts on Norman Bates himself, Anthony Perkins. Incidentally, the documentary skips over the 1998 shot-for-shot remake, which is a bit of a shame as even if the film itself was a futile experiment in cinema, it is still rather note-worthy as a rarity in its own genre. While the bigger names such as Dennis Franz and Meg Tilly don't appear in the documentary, other key players such as Robert Loggia, Jeff Fahey, Olivia Hussey and Henry Thomas appear to be more than happy to show some love and support for their somewhat forgotten roles. Archive footage from Perkins, Janet Leigh, director Richard Franklin and others are intercut with the newer footage, while the documentary itself rejects the typical narration. Really, "The Psycho Legacy" is pretty much just a series of interviews pieced together to tell a story.Since none of the releases for the three sequels were accompanied by any bonus material, it's quite a treat to finally have some light shed on these severely under-rated films. Those seeking the goods on Hitch's original would do better to look elsewhere, but for the rest of us, this documentary does the series justice. The 2-DVD set is rounded out with hours of deleted and extended material, which is actually just as informative as the main documentary itself, if not moreso. While one can't help but feel like more could have been done with this documentary (such as reaching out to bigger names or covering much more ground) it is a satisfying venture regardless. The bonus material is certainly worth a watch and even if you've seen the films multiple times and have read up on them as much as possible, you'll likely learn something new here. In essence, "The Psycho Legacy" is something us Norman Bates fans can go a little mad for.

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