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. He ignored the directors instructions -
like Hitchcock's suggestion that Psycho (1960) have a jazz score and
no music in the shower scene). He ended his partnership with Hitchcock
after the latter rejected his score for Torn Curtain (1966) on studio
advice. His last score was for Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver (1976),
and he died just hours after recording it.
Bernard Herrmann is one of the most important film composers of the
20th century. He was one of the key figures in creating the genre of
film music. He developed a musical language that was ideally suited to
easily fitting to varying lengths of scene.
On the other hand, made strong use of short repeated rhythmic phrases
and ostinati. These could be readily repeated to fit the length of a
scene and provided a feeli...
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...avid
Duchovny
* Journey to the Centre of the Earth
* North by Northwest - instantly recognisable and very atmospheric
* Psycho - famous for the screaming strings in the shower scene, but
the tension really mounts during the car journey through the rain
* The Three Worlds of Gulliver
* Mysterious Island
* CapeFear- the original and the remake as used by Elmer Bernstein.
* The Birds - Herrmann is a musical consultant on this, the bird
noises described as "sound construction" created using an early
electronic instrument
* Jason and the Argonauts
* Marnie
* Fahrenheit 451- strings and tuned percussion and a wonderfully
surreal fire-engine sequence
* It's Alive 1, 2, 3 (posthumously)
* Taxi Driver- his last score and highly recommended
Psycho is a suspense-horror film written by Joseph Stefano and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. This film was loosely adapted from Robert Bloch’s 1959 suspense novel, Psycho. A majority of the movie was filmed in 1960 at Universal Studios in Los Angeles. Psycho is about Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), a secretary from Arizona who steals $40,000 from her employer’s client. She takes that money and drives off to California to meet her lover Sam Loomis (John Gavin) in order to start a new life. After a long drive, she pulls off the main highway and ends up taking refuge at an isolated motel owned and managed by a deranged Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins). In Alfred Hitchcock’s film, Psycho, symbols, character and point of view are three literary aspects used in the film to manipulate the audience’s emotions and to build suspense in the film.
...ormation of novel to film, sees Hitchcock’s responsibility as auteur. Suggesting Hitchcock as ‘creator’, attributes to Vertigo’s “perfection” (Wood, p.129) as Wood argues. Stylistic features known classically to Alfred Hitchcock movies is also what defines Hitchcock as a classic auteur, his style generates a cinematic effect which mixes effectively with his use of suspense. In returning to Cook’s discussion, she references Andrew Sarris, who argues that the “history of American cinema could be written in terms of its great directors,” (Cook, p. 411) showing the legitimacy of authorship in popular American cinema. Ultimately Cook goes on to address the changes in authorship from the 1950’s until today, featuring developments in authorship within Cinema. Overall, both Cook and Wood presented a balanced discussion on the legitimacy of Alfred Hitchcock’s auteur status.
As a boy Johannes worked and studied with his father and learnt lessons from books with his mother, with whom he would play ?four-hands? at the piano, ?just for fun.? There were never any doubts as to his becoming a musician. From early childhood he learn everything his father could teach him, read everything he could lay hands on, practiced with undeviating enthusiasm, and filled reams of paper with exercises and variations. The soul of the child went out in music. He played scales long before he knew the notes, and great was his joy when at the age of six he discovered the possibility of making a melody visible by placing black dots on lines at different intervals, inventing a system of notation of his own before he had been made acquainted with the method which the musical world had been using for some centuries.
To fully understand the relationship between a filmmaker and a composer, it is helpful to take a closer look at the filmmaker’s position towards music in film in general; these can of course differ substantially from one director to another. It seems, one must think, that the complete narrative and emotive potential of film music is not yet fully recognized and appreciated in many film produc...
The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry is a book by Jon Ronson, where he investigates the idea of psychopathy and the many individuals involved. Psychopathy is defined as “a person who is mentally ill, who does not care about other people, and who is usually dangerous or violent.” Ronson visited mental health professionals and psychopaths in order to determine the right way to control the diagnosis of mental health disorders. Throughout the novel, Ronson focuses on three main themes, which are the definition of madness, unnecessary mental diagnoses and the problem with confirmation bias.
Suspense is only one of Hitchcock’s many techniques and themes. His themes range from the obvious violence, to the depths of human interaction and sex. From Rear Window to Psycho, Hitchcock’s unique themes are present and evident. Rear Window starts with something we all do at times, which is nosing in and stalking on others business, and turns it into a mysterious investigation leaving the viewer second guessing their neighbors at home. Psycho on the other hand, drags
...nd rhythmic tone in his music. He also added eight-note melody in the violin resulted in the more up and down in the pulse of the music. The orchestra is much more repetitive than the violin, John Adam used to play it with the eighth and the sixteenth note with alternate repetition. (Heisinger)
At work, Joshua Boren was a well-respected law enforcement officer, often referred to as a big "teddy bear."
Cinematography of Hitchcocks Psycho Alfred Hitchcock is renown as a master cinematographer (and editor), notwithstanding his overall brilliance in the craft of film. His choice of black and white film for 1960 was regarded within the film industry as unconventional since color was perhaps at least five years the new standard. But this worked tremendously well. After all, despite the typical filmgoer’s dislike for black and white film, Psycho is popularly heralded among film buffs as his finest cinematic achievement; so much so, that the man, a big
Millions of people make up humanity, coloring the world with their unique personalities, and while they are sometimes labeled as eccentric or even strange, no one goes beyond the surface to see what makes them who they are. What if the people seen every day as professors, students, or geniuses, become someone else? What if their reality is no longer the one shared amongst others in the world?
Coined by Eugen Bleuler in 1950, the term ‘Schizophrenia’ refers to a group of mental disorders with heterogeneous outcomes. The most prevalent subtype of schizophrenia is the paranoid subtype. Typically, this disorder is characterized by psychosis, in which the patient suffers from altered perceptions of reality. According to the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM – V), the typical subtypes – paranoid, catatonic and disorganized, among others have been eliminated, although the general definition of the disorder remains unchanged. These changes were made due to the clinically diverse prognosis, pathophysiology and etiology of the disorder, which add to its heterogeneity1, 2. In addition, sex of the patient and age of onset of the disorder also contribute to schizophrenia’s diverse effects. The age of onset and sex of the patient heavily influence the demographics and course of paranoid schizophrenia, and in turn are also affected by the patients ethnicity and any premorbid conditions the patient may have suffered1, 3...
Bob and Dr. Marvin throughout the movie showed how they are different not only in positions in life but how they handle different situations. Both individuals are put into situations outside their comfort zone.
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.
Psychoanalysis is a science that deals with the interaction between conscious and unconscious processes and laws of mental functions of an individual. Psychoanalysis is used to understand subjects of semiotics. Psychoanalysis is also used to understand the unconscious development that comes into play in society and how that shapes us as humans and as a society. Sigmund Freud did not discover the unconscious mind set, rather he developed the concept the most thorough. Structural hypothesis is part of Freud 's mental functioning of id, ego, and superego. Id is the psychic drive, impulsive, that is the source of energy, yet lacks direction. Ego consists of functions that relate to an individuals environment, the mediator between id and superego, the reality checker. The superego consists of moral perceptions and aspirations of an individual. The superego is mostly an unconscious psyche.
The film Psycho, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, is a psychological thriller that was created in 1960. The main theme of this film revolves around psychological illnesses. The film focuses on the main character, Norman Bates, and his psychological problems which include a split personality, voyeurism, sadism, guilt and self-punishment, and anal fixation. Throughout the movie you can see Bates exhibit these traits at different points; however, some traits are not as clearly evident as others. This film takes an in-depth look at how someone who possesses a mental illness might behave or think.