An alternative film is a film produced out of a major film studio. Alternative films are often divergent by their movement and style and the way in which the director vision is understood. More than often, an alternative film is made with a low budget.
“Psycho” is a 1960 American psychological thriller-horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The film follows a secretary by the name of Marion Crane who, after embezzling money, finds herself at an isolated motel with the motel 's troubled owner/manager, Norman Bates.
Most of the film was shot with 50mm lenses on 35 mm cameras. This technique carefully lets the audience see the film as though watching a ‘live scene’. This has the effect of drawing the audience closer into the action.
The famous
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Hollywood 's classical film noir period is normally known as the years spanning the early 1940’s to the late 1950’s. Film noir of this age is linked with a serious black-and-white graphic style that originated in German cinema. The term film noir, which is French for "black film", was unrecognised by most American film makers of that time. Though film noir was first associated with American productions, films now labelled as such have been made around the …show more content…
The past is dominant in this film, with the main characters struggling to understand and resolve their destructive personal histories, and ultimately fail.
Light and dark is featured prominently in “Psycho”. The first shot after the title is the sunlit scenery of Phoenix. The scene where Sam and Marion appear as happy figures is in a shadowy hotel room. Marion is led by her shadow as she re-enters the office to steal the money and is almost instantly engulfed in darkness as she enters her bedroom. When she flees from Phoenix, darkness descends on her as she drives. In the following bright morning we see a vigilant police officer with black shades (again the focus on eyes and circles) until finally, Marion arrives at the Bates Motel in almost complete darkness.
Bright lights are “the ironic equivalent of darkness” in this film, blinding instead of revealing. Examples of this are the opening window shades in Sam 's and Marion 's hotel room, vehicle headlights at night, the neon sign at the Bates Motel, the glaring white of the bathroom tiles where Marion dies, and the cellar 's visible light bulb shining on the dead body of Norman 's mother. Such bright lights naturally describe hazards and viciousness in Hitchcock 's
‘Psycho’ is a 1960’s thriller that has been voted as one of the top 15
Film Analysis of Psycho When ‘Psycho’ was first screened in New York on 16th June 1960, it was
Without the proper atmosphere that the plot needs, the thematic ideas such as greed has its consequences, will become meaningless. The foundation of Psycho was the climatic atmosphere that brought on the movie’s rise of fame to be the classic thriller. The shadow of the killer that repeatedly stabs Marion and the screeching violins that play throughout this scene immersed the audience into the movie so that they were in the Cabin number One. Even Marion's death was foreshadowed by her drive to Fairvale, the irony of ending up at Bates Motel and the setting foreshadow her tragic end. In Gothic literature, storms frequently accompany large events and they are metaphor of horr...
In Alfred Hitchcock’s famous “slasher” movie, Psycho, the audience is introduced to Norman Bates. Like many ot...
The term film noir means, “black film” and was originally coined by French critic Nino Frank in 1946.. The author of “Film Noir”, Bruce Crowther, points out that “in some cases, the movies were based upon the work of such novelists and short-story writes as James M. Cain, Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. The work of these and other American writers of the tough-guy and hard-boiled schools were published in France…The prevailing atmosphere of pessimism and doom in these new romans noire translated with ease to the medium of film and prompted the coinage of the term film noir.
Film noir (literally 'black film,' from French critics who noticed how dark and black the looks and themes were of these films) is a style of American films which evolved in the 1940s. " The Internet Movie Database LTD. Film noir typically contains melancholy, and not so moral themes. Another characteristic of film noir is just because the main character has the title hero, that does not mean that he will always be alive at the end of the book, or that the hero is always "good." Marlowe in The Big Sleep is a prime example of this concept.
Inspired by the life of the demented, cannibalistic Wisconsin killer Ed Gein (whose heinous acts would also inspire THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, 1974 and DERANGED, 1974), PSYCHO is probably Hitchcock's most gruesome and dark film. Its importance to its genre cannot be overestimated. PSYCHO's enduring influence comes not only from the Norman Bates character (who has since been reincarnated in a staggering variety of forms), but also from the psychological themes Hitchcock develops.
First and foremost, film noir refers to the visual style of a picture. The imagery of film noir was influenced by early 20th century German expressionism, featuring distorted, sinister shapes and shadows. These precursors to film noir used abstract figures and looming shadows for bizarre, emotionally stirring results. Techniques such as chiaroscuro were used to give a dark and minimalistic feeling. In many cases lighting is limited to a single harsh light source, which obscures the image, and even throws shadows across actors’ faces. These elements ensure that an audience regards the actors and the setting with equal importance. Oblique angled shots permeate many film noirs, naturally provoking anxiousness and apprehension in the viewer. In Sun...
The film Psycho, details the story of a woman by the name of Marion Crane, as played by Janet Leigh. The film starts of a with a bedroom scene where Marion starts to discuss her future with her lover Sam. After her brief encounter with Sam, she returns to her work where she comes into contact with $40,000 in cash. With possession of such a large sum of money, Marion runs off with the money; it's implied that she wishes to run away with Sam and the money so they can start fresh. While on the road, she stops at a motel which becomes the scene of her murder and also the scene that will be explored in greater deal. However, after running away with the money, private investigators are hired to track her down to avoid having to involve police. The investigators find her far too late and find and arrest a psychotic man who lives as the memory of his controlling mother.
Norman Bates is arguably the most unforgettable character in the horror genre. His movements, voice and aura at first radiate a shy young man but transform into something more sinister as the movie Psycho (Hitchcock, USA, 1960) progresses. How has the director, Alfred Hitchcock, achieved this? Norman Bates was a careful construct: the casting, body language, lighting and even the subtle use of sound and mise-en-scène created the character.
Horror, crime and thriller movies are three entirely different genres, but they share some similarities. Crime movies typically focus on a hero and the pursuit of a criminal. In the end, the protagonist solves the crime. On the other hand, horror movies usually focus on the dark side of life. Evil spirits or supernatural powers often creates destruction, but the protagonist defeats them. The end of the film, however, suggests that such forces will likely come back. The horror films are designed to get frightened and give panic attacks to the viewers. Again, the thriller is a genre that revolves expectation and suspension. Marion Crane and Norman Bates crimes, guessing
Darkness is meant to conceal, light is meant to expose, and there is power intrinsically imbued in both of these. Murderers hide in the dark, waiting for their victims, and the atrocities of different countries are hidden in history and official memos and propaganda. At the same time, light exerts power because it illuminates, it discovers, it creates vulnerability on all it touches. These powers, however, do not simply exist; they are forged within every aspect of life, even the very structures that people live in. Low-income tenement apartments are built so that they are not seen, colored in a drab shade of gray or brick, build alongside one another so that they blend into the background. They have small lawns and even smaller windows so that people walking by cannot get a glimpse of the life inside; darkness is used to hide their sad reality. Victorian mansions, however, do not need to shroud themselves in darkness. Their almost treeless lawns, small front gardens, and large picture windows are meant to illuminate their wealth, showing it off for the entire world to see.
The two films Psycho and The Birds, both directed by Alfred Hitchcock, share similar themes and elements. These recurring themes and elements are often prevalent in many of Hitchcock’s works. In Psycho and The Birds, Hitchcock uses thematic elements like the ideal blonde woman, “the motherly figure”, birds, and unusual factors that often leave the viewer thinking. Hitchcock’s works consist of melodramatic films, while also using pure cinema to help convey messages throughout the film.
The lighting was also very effectively used to show the coming and going of cars on the set. The reflection of lights on the front door of the house were used resemble those of an automobile. Even the final scene had just enough absence of light that the shadows of the characters could be seen sitting around the dinner table and praying by candlelight. At the very end of the performance the candles were extinguished consuming the set in blackness in turn signifying the end of the production.
In both productions, fear was a critical element in the story line and subtle techniques were used to convey this. In ‘Psycho’, Alfred Hitchcock used strategic camera angles and shots throughout the film to position the viewer to understand the relationships between the characters. An example of an effective camera angle is the notorious parlor scene where Norman Bates invited Marion Crane in to converse. As they are speaking, the tension between them is high and while the focus was purely on the two, the surrounding environment of the parlor portrays a much deeper and more disturbing scene. By this stage in the film, Norman was categorised as an awkward yet polite young man and