10 Movies SIGNIFICANTLY Better Than The Book
1. Psycho
Just in case there is someone reading this who doesn't know the twist, we won't discuss it here, though if that is the case - well done on getting through life to this point without finding out!
Robert Block's Psycho was discovered by Alfred Hitchcock, who decided quickly that he needed to make a film adaptation. To that end, he commissioned his assistant to find and purchase as many copies of the novel as possible to bury the surprise in the plot, keeping it safe for audiences to enjoy.
And enjoy it they did. Psycho earned $50 million against a budget of just over $800,000 dollars, becoming so successful and beloved that it has been preserved in the National Film Registry. There are many, many tales to be told from the set of the film that add to its success, though one must single out the performance given by Anthony Perkins as the quiet and mild mannered Norman Bates.
Perkins is just a normal, if slightly odd, attractive young man, the very last person one would expect to get mixed up in anything out of the ordinary. Janet Leigh's Marion Crane thinks him pleasant enough to have supper with after she arrives at the hotel. Before taking her shower.
The novel is largely the same as the film, though Norman is older and far less pleasant in the book. Where Perkins seems like someone who would have helped you get out of a bother, Bloch's Norman is very much the man who would have put you there.
If you haven't seen the film - watch it now. Leave the lights on.