Psycho: Part 2 (Remaking Movies)

Independent film director Gus Van Sant attempts a first in American film history: a shot-by-shot remake of the classic 1960 Alfred Hitchcock film Psycho. With a few minor, modern-day changes (including filming it in color), his version is essentially the same film with a different cast and the same Bernard Hermann music.

Someone has posted on YouTube a compilation of the shots that make up Hitchcock's and Van Sant's shower scenes. After you watch the video concoction, post your reaction

-- first, to the idea of remaking Hitchcock's Psycho, a film that has been analyzed over and over by film scholars for nearly 50 years now. Should a filmmaker even attempt to recreate such a classic film?

-- and second, to the notion of remaking films altogether. In other words, what is your opinion regarding Hollywood's film-to-film remakes (e.g., 3:10 to Yuma, Cheaper by the Dozen, 101 Dalmatians, Bad News Bears, Cape Fear, superhero films)? Is this a form of plagiarism, or is merely someone paying homage to earlier works? (Or perhaps it's just an easy way to make more money)?





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Here is the trailer of Van Sant's film, if you're interested in exploring it further.