Psycho (1960)

                                                  Psycho ( 1960 )

DIRECTOR: 
Alfred Hitchcock

WRITERS:
Joseph Stefano (screenplay)
Robert Bloch ( novel )

STARS:
Anthony Perkins
Janet Leigh
Vera Miles 





                                             

HITCHCOCK'S THOUGHTS

The audience know there is a murderer in the house.They don’t know when she/he will strike again but to be suspenseful they must know it could happen any minute.

  Hitchcock stressed that as the apprehension increases there is less and less violence on screen.

                                             

Fast Pacing Action

"thrillers are characterised by fast pacing frequent action. "

This is true in "Psycho" because in the shower scene when the killer is stabbing Marion Crane in the shower all the action is happening very quickly and the camera movement is also very fast.

                                             

                  

NORMAN BATES

Hitchcock said that it is important to avoid cliché and repetition - particularly with regard to character - e.g murderers can be charming and the heroes flawed.

In Hitchcock's films he often placed evil in the most banal of settings. Like a place you would see in everyday life.

                                             

Suspense, Red Herrings and Cliff-Hangers

Story-wise,"Psycho"is not extraordinary; it's true brilliance lies in it's construction.

Hitchcock has developed the film in such a way that it consistently flouts audience expectation.

There are two major surprises.

1. The shower scene murder

2. The final revelation about mother.

A viewer who sees the film for the first time without knowing about either will experience the full impact of what Hitchock intended.

The greatest shock for the uninitiated is the early exit of Janet Leigh.

This is doubly unexpected because, to this point, the screenplay had tricked us into accepting Marion as the main character.

When she dies and the point-of-view shifts to Norman Bates, the audience are puzzled.

In order to keep this crucial aspect of the film secret when Psycho opened in 1960, there were no advanced screenings and no one was admitted to a showing after the feature had started.

                                             

"The McGuffin"

Hitchcock said that the McGuffin is the plot device that causes the action to happen. The McGuffin usually comes in the first part of the film and sometimes returns at the end. In his thrillers the audience don't really care about the McGuffin. In Psycho the money that Marion stole is the McGuffin.

                                             

WHEN "PSYCHO" WAS INITIALLY RELEASED IN 1960, IT WAS A HUGE BOX OFFICE HIT, THERE ARE STORIES OF 3-MILE LONG LINES AT DRIVE-IN ENTRANCES.

                                             

The Shower Scene

Whenever anyone speaks about Psycho, the first images that come to mind are those of Janet Leigh as Marion Crane, being hacked in the shower. The scene is so famous that people who have not seen the film are aware of that particular scene.

What we actually see in this scene: 

- A knife

- blood(chocolate syrup)

- water

- woman's naked body(certain parts hidden)

- only a brief showing of the blade penetrating the flesh.

The full horror of the murder is only hinted at on-screen.

It takes the power of the viewer's imagination  to fill in the blanks.