How Alfred Hitchcock Makes the Viewing of Psycho a Frightening and Worrying Experience
I am currently studying Alfred Hitchcock Psycho. Psycho is such an
important film because it redefined the genres of thrillers and
established the genre used by many film writers today such as Wes
Craven (Scream 1/2/3) of stalk and slash movies, using camera angles
and other techniques. Hitchcock creates tension in a variety of ways
using specific camera angles and high and low pitched music. Although
the film proved a big box office success, only gradually did this
macabre experiment in black humour become the object of closer
scrutiny and more intense analysis. The consensus today is that Psycho
is a classic of cinematic art and admiration worldwide. Hitchcock
tested the "fear factor" of Mother's corpse by placing it in Leigh's
dressing room and listening to how loud she screamed when she
discovered it.
[IMAGE]An introduction to the film’s beginnings, it was a terrifying
film even before it opened; Hitchcock was building tension before the
film had started, as film posters depicted a woman screaming. The
colours of red and black which are connotations of the gothic genre
are used. Even the poster with the bates motel played a part as this
also has connotations of the gothic genre as it is black, old designed
house in a desolate area surrounded by fog and dark trees. (High roof
and gothic architecture).
However, we are desensitised now thanks to the films that have
exploded onto the scene since Psycho that terrify us and make us fear
our own mortality just like Psycho has done. “White Noise”, “Creep”,
these films are way beyond Psycho, but ...
... middle of paper ...
...nds are constantly
thinking about the protagonists and antagonists next moves/motives. We
are almost sub – consciously put in the position of the Detectives but
with some extra information (as if we are a fly on the walls) but
still we struggle to decipher why and what is happening.
To conclude, the audience is persistently guessing until the end of
the film and the ending in itself is a disappointment as it leaves a
lot of questions in our minds. Was justice prevailed? Did Norman get
killed/punished? But this is a good effect as when the movie ends you
feel angry that nothing has happened and your mind completes the film
in your head and you have your own version. In my opinion Alfred
Hitchcock is exceptional at manipulating the minds of the audience and
creates his first ever horror film as a cinematic masterpiece.
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.
Alfred Hitchcock’s films not only permanently scar the brains of his viewers but also addict them to his suspense. Hitchcock’s films lure you in like a trap, he tells the audience what the characters don’t know and tortures them with the anticipation of what’s going to happen.
Development of Suspense by Hitchcock in Psycho 'Psycho,' the somewhat infamous film by Alfred Hitchcock was produced in 1961, a time when the American censors, The Hays Office, still dominated the film industry with their strict rules and principles. It earned its notoriety by defying the traditional cinematic convections of that time and pushing the boundaries of what could be shown in mainstream cinema. The rules implemented by The Hays Office were far stricter than they are today, and Hitchcock uses all available means to reach and go slightly beyond the set limit. Using clever and different camera angles, he implies things that are not shown. He proves that innuendoes can portray the same image and retract the same audience responses as blatant actions and pictures.
And last but not least is the villain in these movies. Most of the killers in these films are portrayed as mentally deranged and/or has some type of facial or bodily deformation and who have been traumatized at an early age. Even though these characters terrorized and murder people they have taken on the persona of anti-heroes in pop culture. Characters like Halloween’s Michael Myers, A Nightmare on Elm Street’s Freddy Krueger and Friday the 13th’s Jason Voorhees have become the reason to go see these movies. However, over time,”their familiarity and the audience’s ability to identify and sympathize with them over the protagonist made these villains less threatening (Slasher Film (5))”.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo is a thrilling film filled with mystery and suspense. However, Hitchcock left many unsolved issues at the end of this film. In contrast, when comparing Vertigo to more recent films of similar genre’, mysteries are usually always solved and thoroughly explained by the end of the film. Ironically, Hitchcock’s failure to explain everything to the audience in Vertigo is one of the film’s best attributes. This lack of knowledge allows the viewer to use their own imagination and speculate as to what might or might not have become of certain characters.
Psycho is an American horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1960 based on a 1959 novel with the same name. Alfred Hitchcock typically uses certain elements in almost all of his films. In Psycho the following elements appear; blonde woman, conversation that is not important to the story, alcohol, Hitchcock appearance, Mcguffin, pursuit, the camera looks around, a P.O.V., creating suspense by letting the audience in on a secret, mother figure, birds, stairs, and a narrow escape.
The medium of film, while relatively new and unexplored compared to other visual arts, has proven itself time and time again to be extremely versatile and fascinating with regard to aesthetic properties. At times, film can be used to enhance or respond to another piece of art—for instance, the adaptation of novels or other works that inspire or serve as the basis for a film. An adapter by nature, Alfred Hitchcock often used other works as inspirations for his films. Hitchcock’s filmography contains predominantly adapted works, though these adaptations are usually loose and edited to fit Hitchcock’s aesthetic and common themes. For his acclaimed film Vertigo, Hitchcock drew from Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac’s novel D’entre les morts (or
Perhaps no other film changed so drastically Hollywood's perception of the horror film as did PSYCHO. More surprising is the fact that this still unnerving horror classic was directed by Alfred Hitchcock, a filmmaker who never relied upon shock values until this film. Here Hitchcock indulged in nudity, bloodbaths, necrophilia, transvestism, schizophrenia, and a host of other taboos and got away with it, simply because he was Hitchcock.
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
Modern day horror films are very different from the first horror films which date back to the late nineteenth century, but the goal of shocking the audience is still the same. Over the course of its existence, the horror industry has had to innovate new ways to keep its viewers on the edge of their seats. Horror films are frightening films created solely to ignite anxiety and panic within the viewers. Dread and alarm summon deep fears by captivating the audience with a shocking, terrifying, and unpredictable finale that leaves the viewer stunned. (Horror Films)
One major attribute in Hitchcock films is how creatively Hitchcock tricks the audience about the fate of the characters and the sequence of events. Many people argue that it is a tactic by Hitchcock to surprise his audience in order to increase the suspense of the movie. For example, in Shadow of a Doubt, the audience assumes that young Charlie is an innocent young girl who loves her uncle dearly. However as the movie progresses, Young Charlie is not as innocent as the audience suspects. Young Charlie, once a guiltless child, ends up killing her evil uncle. In Vertigo, the same Hitchcock trickery takes place. In the beginning, the audience has the impression that the Blond women is possessed by another woman who is trying to kill her. The audience also has the notion that the detective is a happy man who will solve the murder case correctly. Just before the movie ends, the audience realizes that the detective was specifically hired by a man to kill his wife. The detective, in the end, seems to be the hopeless, sad victim.
...and changed the horror genre forever. Alfred Hitchcock's use of actor, lighting, sound, scripting and mise-en-scène kept the audience on the edge of their seats and second guessing themselves. Hitchcock's idea of Norman cconnected with the audience and, even today, his character continues to deceive many. From Norman's nervous ticks to his murderous side 'Mother', it was planned flawlessly. Norman Bates was a combination of an author, director and actor, perfectly adapted to screen and perfectly portrayed.
In the world of cinema, there’s almost always a discussion regarding what scenes would be suitable for the grasping imagination of any audience, young or old. Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 film, Psycho, sparked a plug for the movie industry as it was the first movie of its kind to display such graphic scenes of sex and violence to a worldwide audience.
Hitchcock has characteristics as an auteur that is apparent in most of his films, as well as this one.
Alfred Hitchcock’s unique sense of filmmaking and directing has allowed him to become a very famous and well known film maker of his time. He uses similar recurring themes, elements, and techniques in many of his films to engage the viewers in more than just the film, but the meaning and focus behind the story.