Adam Stone

Psycho!
By Alfred Hitchcock!

A Review on Sound and Script!

!
Psycho Review

By Adam Stone!

"1

Adam Stone Alfred Hitchcocks Psycho from the year 1960 is a wonderful lm that fools the viewer, betraying their trust at almost every turn. Its a crossroads of plot twists that keeps you guessing and questioning if what youve seen has actually happened. Psycho is full of subtle details that wow the observant watchers. Hitchcock plays around with your sympathies, letting you believe some people to be the main characters, only to end them abruptly and in a shocking manner. It seems that the purpose of this lm is to exploit vulnerability in almost every way possible. Tim Dirks from lmsite.com explains The nightmarish, disturbing lm's themes of corruptibility, confused identities, voyeurism, human vulnerabilities and victimisation, the deadly effects of money, Oedipal murder, and dark past histories are realistically revealed. (Dirks, T. N/A) This helps prove that this lm succeeded so well because of its concentration on human vulnerabilities as well as some excellent directing from Alfred Hitchcock.!

We begin the lm by seeing a very strong woman named Marion Crane fall to the temptations of a large sum of money, trusted to her by her manager. She betrays the trust of her manager and decides to take the money and run. Its almost as if the script turns against her when she steals the money. Even her own outt seems to turn against her; after she takes the money for herself, her white bra turns to black. Even her clothes and handbag turns change to a darker colours. However, We see her packing white clothes, this could be a sign that she will change her mind about the money later, which she does, just before she is horrically murdered in the famous shower scene.!

Fig.2. Before and After the Money

Before she is murdered, she encounters a seemingly nice man at the motel she stays at on her way to the city. Granted, the main house on the hill seems very creepy and gothic, but everything else seems rather normal. She meets a man named Norman Bates who comes to greet her. At rst he seems nice and sweet, but it seems strange that Norman hesitates to give Marion a room. It later becomes clear why he puts her into room 1, so that he could watch her through the peep-hole in the ofce and watch her undress.!

Shortly after this we can see the horric, yet famous, shower scene. Marion steps into the shower after deciding that shell give the money back in the morning. She is interrupted by a terrifying attacker that comes into view behind the shower curtain. This scene is Psycho Review "2

Adam Stone memorable and famous for a number of reasons; the rst has to be the iconic music of screeching violins, the suspense and terror that is created when you see the shadow approach the shower curtain, the sense of vulnerability as someone sees her in the shower, let-alone murders her in the shower. Another reason that this scene is so iconic is because we see the character that weve built a connection with die. A whole 47 minutes of the lm is spent with Marion and her struggle with the money. Only to be killed off so suddenly. The shower scene want just thrown together though, Ben Cosgrove from Time Entertainment explains; Consider the suddenness of the attack; composer Bernard Herrmanns violins and cellos screeching along with Marions shrieks of shock and fear; the seemingly manic but, in fact, meticulously plotted editing; Marions literally naked, and thus profoundly unnerving, vulnerability. (Cosgrove, B. 2012) Its a tragic but thrilling experience to the viewer. Its also meant to feel frustrating in a number of ways; rst you feel frustrated and unnerved when you see the shadow approach the curtain, secondly any sane viewer will be frustrated and angry in some way that their main character is being killed off and some people might get frustrated at the fact that Marion is completely naked, yet you dont see anything.!

Fig.3. The Shower

Then, we are left with a sympathy for Norman, as he attempts to conceal the murder for his crazed, jealous and controlling mum. However, its hard not to notice that hes very calm in the way that he deals with the murder, its almost like hes done it many times before. Leaving the audience spectacle as to if hes really as innocent as he seems. Its also the point in the lm where the MacGufn (the money) is lost to the swamp as Norman pushes Marions car into the swamp with her and all of her belongings. Leaving the mystery of Normans mother as the motivation behind the rest of the lm.!

It all becomes very tense again when the detective investigates Norman. Its obvious to the viewer that Norman gets progressively more nervous and emotionally unstable as the conversation goes on, especially when Normans mother is mentioned. Knowing full well what could happen to the detective at any time. We are scared for the detective, expecting his imminent demise. Causing the audience to almost shout at the screen to warn the detective of the peril that hes in.!

Psycho Review

"3

Adam Stone Overall, this lm is a big tension fest leaving the viewer wanting to cover their eyes on a frequent basis. there is a heap of character development in Psycho, so its hard not to feel anything as Marion, Sam (Marions boyfriend), Lila (Marions sister) and the Detective Milton Arbogast come close to danger. After Marion is brutally murdered it becomes clear to the viewer what Norman mother is the villan in the story and that well see her get punished for what shes done. However, in a wonderful plot twist we are shown who the true criminal is: its Norman. There was no mother in the rst place, it was just a lie that Norman had fabricated to shield him from his wrong-doings. This ending is incredibly satisfying to the viewer because it answers all the questions that you might have had during the lm. It was clear that there was something emotionally wrong with Norman, but its hard to ever assume that anyone could become as bad as Norman. The inspector at the very end explains Normans emotional vulnerability and why these evil thoughts have taken place inside Normans head. Thus clearing up any questions that any viewer might have about the plot of the lm, its for this reason that this lm feels so complete and nished compared to most of the lms of today. In a quote from Mark Kermodes article; Psycho: the best horror lm of all time:Dispute still rages as to the provenance and power of Psycho's notorious shower sequence, which has become perhaps the most iconic murder scene in the history of cinema. This lets us know that its a notorious lm that would give most modern horrors a run for their money.!

! !

Psycho Review

"4

Adam Stone

Bibliography!

Illustration List!

! ! !

(Fig. 1.) - Psycho, Film Poster Art (1960) [Poster]! http://uk.movieposter.com/poster/b70-5617/Psycho.html! (Fig. 2.) - Before and After the Money - Psycho (1960) Produced by Shamley Productions. Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock. [Film Still]! (Fig. 3.) - The Shower - Psycho (1960) Produced by Shamley Productions. Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock. [Film Still]!

! ! Source List! ! ! ! !

Dirks, T. (N/A) Psycho (1960). At: ! http://www.lmsite.org/psyc.html! Cosgrove, B. (2012) Nail-Biting Allowed: Alfred Hitchcocks 10 Most Memorable Scenes. At:! http://entertainment.time.com/2012/11/19/spellbinder-hitchcocks-10-most-memorablescenes/slide/the-shower-scene-in-psycho/! Kermode, M. (2010) Psycho: the best horror lm of all time. At:! http://www.theguardian.com/lm/2010/oct/22/psycho-horror-hitchcock!

Psycho Review

"5