The Analysis of the Film 'Psycho' by Alfred Hitchcock
Write a magazine article in which you discuss Psycho’s Enduring appeal
as one of the great films of cinema. Discuss some specific techniques
used by Hitchcock which create tension and suspense for the audience.
With lower budgets, very basic special effects and black and white
picture, Alfred Hitchcock’s psycho still manages to grind out the
suspense to compete with today’s blockbuster hits. With some of the
most memorable scenes in cinema history, it makes you wonder, will
this unique psychological thriller ever die out? The film cost one
million dollars to make, and amazingly made over fifteen times that
value within just one year of its release and with one million pounds
being so much back in 1960, Psycho was an outstanding hit and an
incredible achievement for British director Alfred Hitchcock. There is
no doubt that Hitchcock’s directory used the such basic equipment and
limited special effects to their full tension creating potential. Even
today when we have the choice of many up to date pragmatic movies to
choose from at the local film rental shop, Psycho still remains a
popular choice on the shelf. It is also a favourite for media courses
as it is packed with clever directory techniques, twists and memorable
scenes to comment on. Psycho is a prime example that a classic never
dies.
Psycho’s uniqueness and popularity is mostly down to the number of
genres it represents. This creates a vast target market of viewers to
enjoy this visual masterpiece. The film opens with a sexual frisson
where a couple appear to have secretly just had some kind of sexual
action in the m...
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...how the
lasting image of her dead body on the floor. The shocking thing about
it is the unexpectation of it. Norman seemed to like Marion and showed
no signs and had no reason to harm her, but as we find out, it is the
mother side of him which drove him to commit this murder. His mother
would not have been happy with him having another woman other than her
in his life so through sheer jealousy; the mother side of him forced
him to murder her.
I personally follow the opinion of most others in that psycho is a
classic film and really do give credit to Alfred Hitchcock for using
the bare basics of cinematic tools to create one of the greatest ever
films. My opinion suggests that Hitchcock’s directing was the
difference between this version of Psycho and the newer version that
was made and was what made it a success.
Analytical Essay on the Score of Psycho The man behind the low woodwinds that opens Citizen Kane and the 'high pitched violins' of Psycho (1960). Bernard Herrmann was one of the most original and distinctive composers ever to work in film. He started early, winning a composition prize at 13 and founding his own orchestra at 20. After writing scores for Orson Welles' radio shows in the 1930s (including the notorious 1938 'War of the Worlds' broadcast), he was the obvious choice to score Welles' film debut, Citizen Kane (1941), and subsequently Magnificent Ambersons, The (1942), though he removed his name from the latter after additional music was added without his (or Welles') consent when the film was mutilated by a panic-stricken studio. Herrmann was a prolific film composer, producing his most memorable work for Alfred Hitchcock, for whom he wrote nine scores.
‘Psycho’ is a 1960’s thriller that has been voted as one of the top 15
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.
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.
Coming from a wealthy family, being molested, and the death of his brother are all factors that have played a role in Holden Caulfield becoming the young man he has become. Psychoanalysis is the method of explaining and treating mental and emotional problems by talking about dreams, feelings, and memories. Throughout the novel, A Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, Holden, the narrator, relives many of his experiences, both negative and positive, that have brought him to where he is now. He is hospitalized in a sanitarium due to his depression.
Hitchcock's Film Psycho Ever since the first horror movies were produced they have attracted huge audiences seeking to be scared, chilled and thrilled. Horror movies are so popular because the audience can get the adrenaline rush of being scared without actually putting themselves in danger, and also the audience ultimately get a rush of relief at the end of the film when the killer is killed. This is the same reason why people go on roller coasters because you get the adrenaline rush and then the relief when you get off. Also often horror movies are highly sexual films, and what's more it's a great excuse to hug your girlfriend! Horror movies started in the 1920's with German masterpieces of the silent era such as the ''Nosferatu'' directed by F.W Murneau (1922).
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
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.
Everybody knows Alfred Hitchcock is the master of suspense and is known for inciting fear in the hearts of his audience. His multiple, fast cuts directs his audience to what he wants them to see and feel. Close-ups of the actors faces clearly shows what the characters are feeling and forces the audience to feel the same emotions. With all his expert directing skills, is there any meaning behind what he chooses to portray in his films or is it all for show? Could there be a deeper meaning to his films? The answer to these questions is a firm yes. Hitchcock’s past experiences guided him to be the director he was. The inadequateness of the police, control of all details in his films, and long stretches of no dialogue all portrayed in his films are all directly correlated to Hitchcock’s early life and early professional life.
The film Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960) is an interesting film with many small details that help shape the film in to award winning masterpiece it is. The mise-en-scène is something that can go overlooked, but is very vital in understanding the meaning of the film. According to the book Film Art, mise-en-scène is all of the elements in front of the camera to be photographed, and because of that, this film technique is one that viewers notice most (p. 112). So this includes things like characters, props, nature and even behavior. Motifs and symbolism are prominent throughout the entire movie. They both help develop the plot either by continuously appearing throughout the film or by having a specific meaning that is a lot deeper than what it looks like on the surface. The mise-en-scène, especially motifs and symbolism, of Psycho plays a huge role in helping convey the meaning of the film.
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
Alfred Hitchcock’s film Shadow of a Doubt is a true masterpiece. Hitchcock brings the perfect mix of horror, suspense, and drama to a small American town. One of the scenes that exemplifies his masterful style takes place in a bar between the two main characters, Charlie Newton and her uncle Charlie. Hitchcock was quoted as saying that Shadow of a Doubt, “brought murder and violence back in the home, where it rightly belongs.” This quote, although humorous, reaffirms the main theme of the film: we find evil in the places we least expect it. Through careful analysis of the bar scene, we see how Hitchcock underlies and reinforces this theme through the setting, camera angles, and lighting.
According to psychologist, Sigmund Freud, there are three main parts that make up a human’s personality: the id, ego, and superego. In the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey, the narrator of the story, Chief Bromden, represents each of these traits. In the beginning, Bromden only thinks of himself as any other crazy man, who no one pays attention to, but throughout the story Bromden develops mentally through all three stages of Freud’s personality analysis, maybe not in Freud’s preferred order, but he still represents them all.
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.
Fifty years ago, a person breaking the law would either be called crazy or a criminal. Today, the mental health community has much more specific diagnoses. However, the explanation of certain behaviors may be difficult because there is much overlap among mental conditions. In Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho, the protagonist, Patrick Bateman, is apparently simply a psychopath. However, Bateman can be diagnosed with other mental illnesses such as Asperger’s syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, narcissism, and antisocial personality disorder. In both the book and film adaptation, Bateman’s actions can be understood more accurately when analyzed in light of modern psychology.