Psycho Yo Mind!
Today is Friday the 13th so you know we need a real classic for today's lesson. Thats why this week we are watching one of the most iconic horror films ever, Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho! It is probably the best known film from the master of suspense himself and it makes for a perfect film for this week. Before that though we need to discuss this week's film, the original Little Shop of Horrors.
Little Shop of Horrors
If you had never seen the original and were only familiar with the Rick Moranis version then this was very surprising. Not only was there no singing, but a lot of the plot points were different. The plant was truly some sort of Hybrid, Audrey was never dating the dentist, the dentist was no where near as crazy as Steve Martin's version and the plant hypnotized Seymour as opposed to manipulating him. I could go on and on about the differences but you get the idea, this and the 1968 version are very different. One of the key differences that I appreciate in this version is the character Mushnik played by Mel Welles. He is much more sympathetic in this version and doesn't turn into a lunatic like he does in the musical. He just wants to get rid of the plant as soon as the press dies down.One thing I did find interesting was the cops. This was about 10 years after the original show Dragnet was on and both stories take place in Los Angeles. For whatever reason the writer/director made the choice to portray the main detective Joe Fink (sounds similar to Joe Friday) as a trigger happy incompetent fool. I can't find any connection between the show, but clearly this character is spoof of the Detective from Dragnet.
This Week's Homework
This week we are watching Psycho, do I really need to say anymore? This movie has had a number of sequels and currently has a prequel show, Bates Motel, on TV. It has been spoofed in more shows and films than can be counted, and it did receive a tragic reboot starring Vince Vaughn. Like I said, an amazing film by one of the most amazing directors of all time Alfred Hitchcock.I am not putting a streaming link this time, since this is a film everyone needs in their collection. Here are some options for watching it:
Amazon Prime Rental or Digital Purchase
Buy the DVD for your Home Collection
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