A video with only the description, “This post comes from a place of ‘total affection, openness, and honey bought directly from a beekeeper'” and the title Psychos appeared on Steven Soderbergh’s blog Extension 765 today. The site hosts all sorts of unusual content, including Soderbergh’s viewing lists and his approved booze, but this mysterious selection certainly stood out.
So, what has a retired-but-still-busy Soderbergh been up to? He’s mashed up Alfred Hitchcock‘s Psycho and Gus Van Sant‘s 1998 remake to create a Psycho super-cut that runs an hour and a half. Side-by-side comparisons of Van Sant and Hitchcock’s versions exist but Soderbergh’s journey through the two Psychos jumps boldly between both versions of the film. The shift sometimes occurs within scenes, so that, in establishing shots, we’re watching Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh interact in the lobby of the Bates Motel, while close-ups follow Anne Heche.
It’s not the spastic viewing experience you would imagine, however. Soderbergh helps unify the footage by tinting the footage from the ’98 color remake in black and white. He’s also a notoriously skilled editor — according to Spike Jonze, Soderbergh cut a version of Her over one weekend — and is able to find unobtrusive moments to jump backwards and forwards in time.
What does all this amount to? Is it merely an eccentric art piece or the logical culmination of Van Sant’s vision to remake Psycho shot by shot? The answer may lay in Soderbergh’s construction of the infamous shower scene. Here he allows the ’98 footage to play in color and layers images from the classic Hitchcock’s sequence on top. It’s a frenzied depiction of cinema’s most iconic sequences that Soderbergh has turned into something entirely new.
Watch on his official site or by clicking the video below.
What do you think of Soderbergh’s version?