Martin Balsam

Psycho

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Psycho. Paramount Pictures 1960.

Before watching the movie:

I recently saw it argued that it’s impossible to see this movie the way it was intended, and that’s a pretty easy argument to make. All the big twists are pretty much the only aspects that survive in the public consciousness. The big star lead dies graphically early on and it becomes a different movie entirely. We all know the scene, and maybe we know about the casting making it more unexpected, and we know who did it and some amount of why.

I’m actually worried that with all that foreknowledge, maybe it won’t hold up. If it completely changes gear partway through, does it still all gel? Or is the purported greatness all in the shock and the music?

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Twelve Angry Men

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12 Angry Men. Orion-Nova Productions 1957.

Before watching the movie:

I’m often going into these movies wishing I knew more, but I never really felt like I needed to know more than “heated jury debate”. Everyone is frustrated because they’re locked in the room until they’re unanimous and they can’t come to an agreement.

This doesn’t seem like the kind of idea that came to life as a movie script, but much more like a play. The characters are literally locked in one room and have to talk until they come to a resolution. So I’m a little surprised to find that it was not based on a stageplay, but on a television play. That’s a format that doesn’t really exist anymore, and I’m sure if this movie didn’t already cast a long shadow, it wouldn’t gain traction today.

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