Do you like this one, or the remake?

I agree with your assessments, but I seem to recall that for the leads, it was more a matter of who they could GET, rather than who they WANTED. I could be wrong.

One thing, I'd never even heard of Vince Vaughn before, didn't even know what he looked like, but I thought that since nobody could do what Perkins did, he did OK.

The fact that Hitchcock and Bloch saw Norman in two very different ways shows that there can be different interpretations of the same basic character. You point out that Perkins’ effeminate vibe walking up the stairs as Norman is a clue to the truth about the character, but Bloch’s original version lacked this. Besides, in real life are only foppish men transvestites?

You argue that Vaughn was like Van Sant’s 20th choice (which is a serious exaggeration) but (1.) it’s irrelevant who COULD have had the part when viewing the piece and (2.) Vaughn was still one of the contenders and wouldn’t have been on Van Sant’s list if he was unworthy of the role (in the director’s estimation).

Yes, Vaughn is towering but (1.) he lacked the musculature of, say, Schwarzenegger or Ferrigno and could scarcely be described as “hulking”; and (2.) his amiable and slightly awkward disposition as Norman was hardly that of a tough guy and therefore not menacing. At the same time, his imposing physicality suggested that you wouldn’t want to tangle with him. So when he flashes a hint of indignation in the parlor you think, “Whoa, Marion, don’t piss this guy off.” She has the same thought so immediately calms him down and prudently makes a courteous exit to her room (she had already decided to stay the night because she purchased the room earlier and Norman didn’t do anything so radical to make her fear for her life; she just wrote him off as an eccentric Mama’s boy).

The fact that Heche isn’t hot like Leigh and Vaughn is a tall, handsome Norman makes Marion’s decision to join the peculiar dude for a sandwich date more believable, especially since she’s portrayed as rather man-hungry. It’s less believable in the original for hottie Marion to willingly waste time with a creepy slightly effeminate guy. That said, Perkins was handsome in his own right in 1959 and was hardly short at 6’1”. In the two sequels he lost his looks, of course, simple due to the aging process.

When Arbogast (Mace) meets Norman (Vaughn) he smells something fishy, but perceives his mild, nervous disposition and so presses him for info while wisely maintaining caution due to his daunting stature. The very fact that Norman could wipe the floor with Arbogast if it came down to it creates palpable tension in the verbal confrontation. In the original’s confrontation, by contrast, you don’t really have any worries for Arbogast.

I strongly disagree about Macy as Arbogast. Outside of Batman, detectives rely on their wit and social acuity to be effective at their craft, not physical brawn. For instance, Arbogast swiftly and easily obtains the info he requires from Norman. He was palpably shrewd and simply being 5’8” and smirking doesn’t automatically make a man a “victim.” Balsam was even shorter, btw. In any case, with Vaughn as Norman there’s more of a sense of threat for Arbogast when he enters the house to snoop around.

While it’s always possible (and inconsequential), I don’t buy that Moore’s Lila was a lesbian, keys or no keys, but simply a tenacious attractive redhead in her late 30s. If she was a known lesbian why would Sam flirt with her? And, if she were a secret lesbian, Sam would’ve picked up on it and refrained (he might’ve been a hick, but he wasn’t a dimwit). In “Psycho II” Vera Miles appears as Lila Loomis, which shows that she and Sam got married after Marion's death. Of course, “Psycho” ’98 exists in a separate universe to the original trilogy (or tetralogy).

As for Miles vs. Moore as Lila, they EACH had temerity and – while they’re both relatively short – Miles is actually a half inch taller. Although Moore’s Lila was formidable and might handle herself with lanky Perkins Norman, she was no match for the imposing Vaughn Norman; hence, there’s more of a sense of danger.

Yes, Rita Wilson is way sexier than Heche. I took her line as an innocently vain joke, but it might have been catty. We don’t know enough about her to draw a conclusion.

Perhaps Forster’s psychiatrist seemed a little bored because by ’98 the weirdos had come out of the societal woodwork en masse after the Donahue show (etc.) and he had seen it all, unlike the more innocent era of 1959 where Norman’s condition would’ve been shocking and more fascinating (for a psychiatrist, at least). In any case, Van Sant made the right decision to abridge the doctor’s analysis.

The other characters you cite are too immaterial to make any difference.

Van Sant’s version was not supposed to be an exact duplicate of Hitchcock’s “Psycho,” but rather a 90’s updating with key nuances, not to mention IN COLOR. Vaughn was not meant to impersonate Perkins. If Van Sant wanted that he would’ve cast a Perkins-type. It’s the same thing with the Marion, Arbogast, Sam and Lila characters.

The iconic 1960 version had an incredible impact when it was released and reigns supreme whereas the '98 rendition failed at the box office (and yet still made over $37 million, which ain't nothing to sneeze at), but that doesn't make it bad. It's just different... and IN COLOR. It's entirely possible to appreciate both versions for varying reasons.