Jason Fraley, WTOP film critic
WASHINGTON – Upon its 1960 release, the audience screams were so loud you couldn’t hear its legendary soundtrack!
Monday night, you can feel what it must have been like to see it on the big screen with the final part of the Screen on the Green summer movie series on the National Mall.
The free screening of “Psycho” (1960) begins at sunset just off the Smithsonian Metro stop. Guests usually show up hours ahead of time, between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., to get prime real estate on the Mall.
The film features a power performance from Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates, the slashing strings of Bernard Herrmann’s violins, the splitting opening credits of Saul Bass and one of the greatest twists in movie history, all tied together with the visionary director of Alfred Hitchcock.
This summer’s outdoor movie series included “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” (1969), “It Happened One Night” (1934) and “From Here to Eternity” (1953).
This is the 14th year of the series, which kicked off in 1999 with “Casablanca” (1942), “The Wizard of Oz” (1939), “Citizen Kane” (1941), “King Kong” (1933) and “Rebel Without a Cause” (1955).
Click here for more on Screen on the Green.
Read more from WTOP Film Critic Jason Fraley by clicking “Fraley on Film” under the “Living” tab above, following @JasonFraleyWTOP on Twitter, and checking out his blog, The Film Spectrum.
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