Alfred Hitchcock's Techniques in Psycho
At the time of release, 1960, psycho was a ground breaking project.
After its primary screening it was an immediate box-office success,
earning over $15,000,000 in its first year, over 15 times as much as
it cost to make. When I first saw the film, I would not of classified
it as a horror, more of a suspense thriller. But looking back I begin
to realise what a great effect this film would have had on people in
1960.
It was the first of its kind, comparing this to "Tod Brownings
Dracula" and others of such kind, would be like comparing "The
Exorcist" to "My Little Pony." Armed with its master-class cast,
consisting of Janet Leigh, Anthony Perkins and many other household
names, its most excellent story line and script and one of the best
directors of the time, Psycho stormed Hollywood and tested family
values such as motherly love.
As I have previously stated the film had a very good story line. Based
on the book written by Welles, the story of psycho influenced our
modern day "slasher" film. But unlike most horror films psycho
questioned the ultimate dichotomy of good and evil, for example making
us relate with and feel sorry for, thieves and mass murderers.
The scene after the opening sequence is set in a shabby motel in the
city of Phoenix. It revealed that Marion was sleeping with a married
man in debt named Sam. The film progresses to a point where Marion has
the opportunity to steal $40,000 very easily. Ultimately Marion leaves
Phoenix with the money and heads in the direction of Fareville where
Sam lives. Events occur that lead her to buy a new car and end up in
the Bates Mo...
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...ple of this is Norman Bates
but without realising it Marion herself is somewhat of a
schizophrenic. We first meet a respectable person, we are led to know
her as a good person. But she is ultimately a thief. But the audience
does not see it that way and they are made to sympathise with her.
This also leads to another main theme of mirrors throughout the film.
Symbolic of similarity or resemblance, but who between? When we think
about it the two main characters in the film, Bates and Marion are
almost identical in their situation. Both have secrets, both are
criminals and both are very lonely.
So with all of the films audience traps, quirky camera angles,
marvellous soundtrack and groundbreaking narrative, I conclude that
Alfred Hitchcock fully deserves his title as the Master Of Suspense.
By Harry Smith
Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho"-the movie the world recognised-was first premiered in the home town of New York on the 16th June 1960.The film follows the life and strife of a young beautiful woman Marion Crane, played by the Janet Leigh, who is on the run from the police after stealing $40.000, she manages to find refuge at the Bates motel where she makes her worst mistake possible. During and after the film production of "Psycho" Alfred Hitchcock had his aids buy as many copies as possible of the novel "Psycho"-written by Robert Bloch. Why? To conceal the ending form the public's eye so when the film was shown in cinemas the audience would'nt know the ending. When people found out the title of the movie Hitchcock said it was based on a greek love story "Psyche".
‘Psycho’ is a 1960’s thriller that has been voted as one of the top 15
Through the use of irony, mis en scene and recurring symbols, Hitchcock has reinforced the fundamental idea of duality throughout his film, Psycho. Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960’s American psychological horror thriller, was one of the most awarded films of its time, proposing contrasting connections between characters, Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh, and cinematic/film techniques to develop this idea. Irony identifies contrasts between the dual personalities of Marion Crane and Norman Bates, often foreshadowing the future events of the film. Mis en scene is particularly influential to enforcing the idea of duality, evidently shown through the music and diegetic sounds used. The recurring symbols including the mirrors and specifically the birds, underpin a representation of the character’s dual personalities. Hitchcock’s use of devices reinforces the dual personalities of characters Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh.
Hitchcock employs the notion of the capability of isolation to create conflict and fear. Isolation is apparent in the crop dusting scene due to the lack of people and buildings which juxtaposes to the busy streets of New York City earlier in the film. An establishing shot of the empty desert and Thornhill standing on the road alone, implies that Thornhill is insignificant and isolated as the scene is predominantly the landscape. A long shot of Thornhill and an unknown character in a “typical standoff” scene creates tension and fear for the audience. As the two men speak, non-diegetic sounds of a plane becomes prevalent. When the man says “I’ve seen worse” in response to Rodgers question, this is a foreshadowing of the crop dusting plane attack
bank. Marion went home there was a close up shot on the money then on
fact that it was one of the first films shown on screen that did not
PSYCHO is a unique film because it is a black and white film in the
Cinematography of Hitchcocks Psycho Alfred Hitchcock is renown as a master cinematographer (and editor), notwithstanding his overall brilliance in the craft of film. His choice of black and white film for 1960 was regarded within the film industry as unconventional since color was perhaps at least five years the new standard. But this worked tremendously well. After all, despite the typical filmgoer’s dislike for black and white film, Psycho is popularly heralded among film buffs as his finest cinematic achievement; so much so, that the man, a big
As a filmmaker, whose individual style and complete control over all elements of production, Alfred Hitchcock implied a great deal in the motion pictures that he made.
Psycho is a suspense-horror film written by Joseph Stefano and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. This film was loosely adapted from Robert Bloch’s 1959 suspense novel, Psycho. A majority of the movie was filmed in 1960 at Universal Studios in Los Angeles. Psycho is about Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), a secretary from Arizona who steals $40,000 from her employer’s client. She takes that money and drives off to California to meet her lover Sam Loomis (John Gavin) in order to start a new life. After a long drive, she pulls off the main highway and ends up taking refuge at an isolated motel owned and managed by a deranged Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins). In Alfred Hitchcock’s film, Psycho, symbols, character and point of view are three literary aspects used in the film to manipulate the audience’s emotions and to build suspense in the film.
Though complex and brilliantly written for its time, the plot of Alfred Hitchcock’s film, Vertigo, is only half of the genius behind it. Alfred Hitchcock’s unique presence as an auteur is truly what sets his films apart. There is symmetry to his shots that give the film an artistic feel, as if each frame were a painting. Many times, within this symmetry, Hitchcock places the characters in the center of the frame; or if not centered, then balanced by whatever else is adding density to the shot. For example, as Madeline sits and looks at the painting in the museum, there is a balance within the frame. To counter-act her position to the right of the painting, Hitchcock puts a chair and another painting on the left side, which is visually pleasing to the eye of the audience. The use of red and green not only adds a visual effect as well, but later serves as a clue that Madeline is not actually dead, when the women who looks like her is wearing a green dress.
Rameck didn’t have his father at home, and his mother’s choices for different partners weren’t that great. During his teenage years, Rameck made many poor decisions, and ended up in juvenile jail when he was just sixteen. He was also forced to sit around while his mother became even more addicted to drugs. They didn’t have enough money to pay the bills, and they lived without electricity. Rameck prayed, but he never saw answers to those prayers. Lessons and a caring teacher paved a path for his life. Rameck meets George and Sam when he begins college at University High.
Essay 2 Psychoanalysis is the method of psychological therapy originated by Sigmund Freud in which free association, dream interpretation, and analysis of resistance and transference are used to explore repressed or unconscious impulses, anxieties, and internal conflicts (“Psychoanalysis”). This transfers to analyzing writing in order to obtain a meaning behind the text. There are two types of people who read stories and articles. The first type attempts to understand the plot or topic while the second type reads to understand the meaning behind the text. Baldick is the second type who analyzes everything.
Sound is an incredibly relevant part of filmmaking. Although often misunderstood, it helps to generate a more realistic episode by recreating the sonic experience the scene needs. Its main goal is to enhance the emotions that each section is trying to convey by adding music and effects alongside moving images. Psycho (Hitchcock, 1960), is one of the most popular films of the XX Century (Thomson, 2009). Commonly recognised as a masterpiece for its cinematographic, editing and musical values, it changed cinema forever by “playing with darker prospects (…) of humanity such as sex and violence (Thomson, 2009)”. This paper will analyse the sound effects used in the shower scene and its repercussions