Psycho – The Roger Ebert Cut
by StomachwormRoger Ebert once wrote…
“If I were bold enough to reedit Hitchcock’s film, I would include only the doctor’s first explanation of Norman’s dual personality: “Norman Bates no longer exists. He only half existed to begin with. And now, the other half has taken over, probably for all time.” Then I would cut out everything else the psychiatrist says, and cut to the shots of Norman wrapped in the blanket while his mother’s voice speaks (“It’s sad when a mother has to speak the words that condemn her own son…”). Those edits, I submit, would have made “Psycho” very nearly perfect. I have never encountered a single convincing defense of the psychiatric blather.”
member ratings:
(5 votes, average: 7.40 out of 10, rated)
Loading ...
tagline: What would Roger Cut?
original film name: Psycho
new film name: Psycho (The Roger Ebert Cut)
edition: Psycho (Special Edition) (Universal Legacy Series)
film studio name: Universal
edit crew name: stomachworm
Date Original Film Was Released: 1960
Date Edit Was Released: Feb. 6, 2009
Original Runtime: 109 minutes
New Runtime: 104 minutes
Amount of time Cut/Added: approximately 5 minutes
Cuts removed/added/extended: Cut 1 scene
Fanedit details: SL NTSC DVD
Intention for this fanedit: To do a fanedit based on film critic Roger Ebert’s idea:
Roger Ebert once wrote…
“For thoughtful viewers, however, an equal surprise is still waiting. That is the mystery of why Hitchcock marred the ending of a masterpiece with a sequence that is grotesquely out of place. After the murders have been solved, there is an inexplicable scene during which a long-winded psychiatrist (Simon Oakland) lectures the assembled survivors on the causes of Norman’s psychopathic behavior. This is an anticlimax taken almost to the point of parody.
If I were bold enough to reedit Hitchcock’s film, I would include only the doctor’s first explanation of Norman’s dual personality: “Norman Bates no longer exists. He only half existed to begin with. And now, the other half has taken over, probably for all time.” Then I would cut out everything else the psychiatrist says, and cut to the shots of Norman wrapped in the blanket while his mother’s voice speaks (“It’s sad when a mother has to speak the words that condemn her own son…”). Those edits, I submit, would have made “Psycho” very nearly perfect. I have never encountered a single convincing defense of the psychiatric blather.”
Way to achieve the intention: Cut the scene that Ebert spoke of.
Time needed for the edition: 1 hour
persons involved: stomachworm
Additional information links:
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbc … 10353/1023
Buy the original DVD and support FANEDIT.ORG by shopping via one of the Amazon links:
IMAGES:
cover art by boon23 (DOWNLOAD HERE):
Disclaimer: You must own the original movie before downloading any FanEdited movie. We here at FanEdit.org respect the company’s copyrights, and don’t want to infringe on any company’s rights. Thank you, FE!
Maybe downloadable from Fanedit.info through Rapidshare (enter and download at your own risk and responsibility)
I think Roger Ebert is right. There is really no loss at all with the psychiatrist’s babbling removed, actually the tension is improved by this.
Now this is of course not a very creative fanedit, but the concept is just cool. Thank you, stomachworm, for just doing it and really being bold enough to make this see the light of the day.
As for the cut: the transition used feels a tiny bit out of place. A hard cut would have worked better IMO. Still, nice job. The new title was included ok, but not fittingly to the intro style. It works though.
No menus, just some intro scenes before the movie starts is a bit weak for presentation. Since it is a full DVD, I would have loved some more.
Ratings:
concept: 5 stars
editing job: 3 stars
entertainment: 5 stars
presentation: 2 stars
overall: a solid 4 from me.
Review by boon23 — February 7, 2009 @ 11:59 am
Yeah, I guess. Why not?
Good idea.
Review by Kirkafur — February 7, 2009 @ 5:06 pm
A very slight edit, but a good one. The original ending scenes were chilling, but even more so now. Ebert was right.
Thanks for a fun edit. I give this edit 8/10.
Review by Ripplin — October 30, 2009 @ 8:27 am
Too slight of edit to really count, good idea though.
Review by flyboy707 — December 14, 2009 @ 9:07 pm