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Presentational Devices and Visual Images in Hitchcock's Psycho
"Hitchcock stunned the world in 1960 with the horror film that pushed
back the boundaries of acceptability. He wanted a reaction, and he got
one. Audiences fainted, walked out and boycotted screenings but they
wouldn't forget the horror that was Psycho."
We have been studying the acclaimed thriller 'Psycho' produced and
directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
In this essay I will be analysing the two murder scenes and how visual
images, (images seen on screen that stick in the mind of the audience
or have some greater significance), and careful presentational
devices, (camera shots, sound, lighting etrc) have created this
filming masterpiece.
The film was released on June 16th 1960 and premiered in New York.
Audiences across the world were shocked and disturbed about the
graphic content of the film. The film had a number of issues that
would change censorship laws forever. For example, then the film was
certified 18 but now it is 15, which proves there has been a huge
change in the way films are perceived by the present generation of
people.
In the film we see sex out of marriage, nudity, murder and hints of
transvestism. The film proved to be a landmark in cinematography. And
the mise en scene (put into the scene) is brilliantly produced to give
the film several different levels of meaning.
The traditional Hollywood film would have a beginning, middle and an
end but in Psycho the audience can't follow the film because Hitchcock
broke all the traditional film making rules. If you start with the
leading lady you end with the leading lady but he doesn't. Instead
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...e importance of these two murders relies on what we think and not
what we see. In the end the truth is revealed. Bates acts as his
mother due to the fact that he killed her and her lover and committed
both murders without any motives just his love of mother to blame.
The loose ends are left loose, and the narrative can not be brought to
a stop.
Psycho's influence has shown a clear impact on how films are made and
distributed. Without the innovations of Alfred Hitchcock, the sound,
editing, mise en scene and cinematography, Psycho would not be, it's
thanks to Alfred's deep roots into traditional film making that the
audiences are shocked, disturbed, surprised and confounded by the
sheer brilliance of one of the greatest films ever made. There is no
closure with Psycho this imaginative creation has yet to be matched.
The first thing about this film that caught my eye from a sociological perspective is that the society in the film is not depicted as a “perfect society” as most films do, instead it shows the real conflicts that society had back then with certain subjects. The film shows us the prejudices, and misconceptions that people had about things like sex, and homosexuality at the time.
to the film. Psycho is a fifteen in England to buy on video these days
us enquiring such as who lives is in the house or is the house owned
killed off so early in the film. As well as this, (later on in the
shots in the film was the extreme close up of Bates eye when he was
is true, because all of the terror and surprise in the film is due to
Alfred Hitchcock's idea of horror involves human suspense and teh realistic aspect of scary situations. Hitchcocks masterful directing leads the audience to be the frist to understand what is going on. The characters are left in the dark until the suspense reaches its climax. As the impending danger builds, the viewer is allowed to wtiness the situation before the character. This raises the level of suspense making it more realistic. Hitchcock takes normal situations and adds a terffiying twist. The twist is always something that has never happened, but is definetely possible. Hitchcocks The Birds is an excellent example of this. He takes normal situation with normal birds and turns them into killers. As the birds gather behind one unsuspecting victim, only the audience is allowed to see the impending danger. The woman is calm and collected as she waits on the bench. Hitchcock adds a little scare music and the woman suddenly realizes she is being watched. She whips around in horror and the birds are there ready to attack. This scfene is not a common occurance, but to an overactive imagination it could become a very real possibility.
One scene that really stands out is the scene where Bruno strangles to death Guy’s wife. David Spoto describes as, “the most unexpected, aesthetically justified moments in the film”. We see Hitchcock’s talent in place as we see part of the strangling the dead collapse of the body from the reflection of the glasses on the floor. Giving the audience a grislier scene. Also, the use of the shadows was used well. Especially when Bruno calls for Guy from the other side of the street underneath a blanket of shadows only being able to see half of his face. This gives the audience suspicion, worry, and an unsettling vibe, making the film suspenseful.
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.
When watching the Hitchcock film Psycho through the lens of this quote, the viewer begins to notice more of the bird motif throughout the film. This even includes the things that seem so slight and insignificant but help to draw a parallel between Marion and Norman. There are several instances in this film where the birds motif appears.
How the Opening Sequence of Halloween Captures the Attention of the Audience ' 'Halloween' was made in 1978 and is a good example of the 'Slasher' movies from that time and this is an interesting piece of cinema as it can be related to the German expressionism of the late 1920's which used jerky camera shots and high contrast lighting to enthrall the viewer .In this essay I will discuss how the opening to Halloween captures the audiences attention and how codes and conventions create suspense and tension for the audience.
The character of Norman Bates deviated from the book's original character, a forty year old pervert, to Anthony Perkins' character 'a tender vulnerable young man' one could almost feel sorry for. Perkins plays Norman Bates as if the role were written for him, with his nervous voice used throughout the movie and his awkward appearance and actions. A distinct part of Norman's character is his subtle lapses in which he shows signs of the ever present 'Mother'. The parlour scene is an excellent example of these lapses. The lines 'a boy's best friend is his mother' and 'we all go a little mad sometimes' are e...
so that he can peep into the room of Marion a guest at the Bates
to cash at the bank, but she decides to steal the money and run away.
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.