The 1960 horror film Psycho, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, explores the idea of duality and conflicting sides of human nature. The characters are conflicted in several ways and as the narrative unfolds are faced with decisions which ultimately uncover the predominant side to their contrasting personalities. Immediately, the opening credits and scene foreshadows the idea of duality, presenting Marion Crane as the first conflicted character. Hitchcock cleverly utilizes images and mirrors, to explore the characters dualities - establishing a difference between their moral and immoral behaviour. Furthermore, showing the audience two sides of the characters, perhaps the most obvious is the character Norman Bates. This duality is achieved through …show more content…
As they walk into the Parlour, the audience discover the room is very small and the furniture barely fits inside. Foreshadowing that Norman's dualities of 'good' and 'bad' don't fit together. The continuous use of close ups further establishes this contrast, zooming in on Norman's facials to display the stark changes in his personality; quickly and abruptly changing from kind and friendly, to dark and sinister. Furthermore, hinting at his split personality, and the battle between his good and bad side. The camera shots are intentionally shot in profile, only one side of Norman (the nice side), is visible to the audience, however, the reflection in the glass suggests that there is another 'Norman' that is hidden away. The lighting emphasises this contrast, compared to Marion - Norman is placed further away from the light source, consequently dividing his face in two types of lighting, half in shadow; half in light. The low-lit surroundings also emphasise this divide between his split personality of courteousness and anger, by casting powerful shadows onto the walls. The contrast of light and shadow across his entire body hints at his duality of immoral and moral behaviour. Therefore, when the agitated Norman lets out his hostility towards his Mother, he is shot at a low angle and is framed by two intimidating birds; one of an owl and another of an eagle in predator mode. The low angle creates Norman to appear as threatening, which contrasts with his previous welcoming behaviour. While, the sinister looking birds characterises him as a predator. Hitchcock achieves his goal of portraying duality of human nature by incorporating mis-en-scene and cinematography, consequently Marion appears as an innocent victim and Norman as the evil hunter - engaging the audience by adding tension to the
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.
Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho"-the movie the world recognised-was first premiered in the home town of New York on the 16th June 1960.The film follows the life and strife of a young beautiful woman Marion Crane, played by the Janet Leigh, who is on the run from the police after stealing $40.000, she manages to find refuge at the Bates motel where she makes her worst mistake possible. During and after the film production of "Psycho" Alfred Hitchcock had his aids buy as many copies as possible of the novel "Psycho"-written by Robert Bloch. Why? To conceal the ending form the public's eye so when the film was shown in cinemas the audience would'nt know the ending. When people found out the title of the movie Hitchcock said it was based on a greek love story "Psyche".
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
Alfred Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt utilizes dualism to express the juxtaposition of good and evil. The dualism expressed throughout the film is not only done through the use of juxtaposing characters, it is also accomplished through the use of dualism within a character, as well as the literal duality of people as being placed in shots as two’s. This element allows the audience to be drawn in, creating intrigue and mystery around the plot and the characters, because the audience now wants to figure out the strange behavior that is being exhibited. Having the dualism of the two Charlie’s allows the idea of them being two sides of one person to come out. Young Charlie is an innocent young woman, while Uncle Charlie is a murderer. The two seem to have a connection that’s deeper than the average niece and uncle relationship. This connection allows the dualism of the two Charlie’s to take on a life of its own and create a game of cat and mouse or the struggle between “hate and love” of oneself. The dualism that Hitchcock wants to create with the two Charlie’s is similar with the way he juxtaposes the all-American small town family with the “Merry-Widow Murderer” Uncle Charlie. It’s as though Hitchcock is making a social commentary on the nature of human beings, that we all have good and evil within us, the idea is choosing the part that will be expressed in your daily life.
bank. Marion went home there was a close up shot on the money then on
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.
Psycho is an American horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1960 based on a 1959 novel with the same name. Alfred Hitchcock typically uses certain elements in almost all of his films. In Psycho the following elements appear; blonde woman, conversation that is not important to the story, alcohol, Hitchcock appearance, Mcguffin, pursuit, the camera looks around, a P.O.V., creating suspense by letting the audience in on a secret, mother figure, birds, stairs, and a narrow escape.
For this paper I chose to explore Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho because it has remained the only horror movie I’ve seen to date. I went into a couple others but immediately left; let’s just say horror is not my favorite genre of film. People may or may not always call Psycho a horror film, it may be more of a thriller to people nowadays, but I still believe the correct genre analysis is horror because it should always refer to the genre at the time the film was created and released. I chose Psycho because I spent multiple weeks in high school studying Hitchcock, and Psycho specifically, so I feel comfortable writing on it. I also thoroughly enjoy the film, its backstory, and the character development. Plus, it’s been roughly adapted into one of my favorite shows: Bates Motel, which I will also briefly explore.
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.
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.
Given that Norman Bates takes on the identity of his mother in response to a strange attachment that he has to her, as Norman himself says, “a boy’s best friend is his mother,” and that his mother is his “trap” that he “was born into,” it appears that Hitchcock’s lifelong interest in Freudian psychology is very intense in that Norman Bates had an Oedipus complex. If this is true, Psycho contains the emasculation of Norman at the hands of a woman, who happens to be his mother. The idea that Norman Bates remained in love with his mother and that Marion has the power to provoke this pathology, Psycho is another example of a female having power over a man, or a “boy”—in the case of Norman Bates.
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.
Through the use of irony, mis en scene and recurring symbols, Hitchcock has reinforced the fundamental idea of duality throughout his film, Psycho. Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960’s American psychological horror thriller, was one of the most awarded films of its time, proposing contrasting connections between characters, Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh, and cinematic/film techniques to develop this idea. Irony identifies contrasts between the dual personalities of Marion Crane and Norman Bates, often foreshadowing the future events of the film. Mis en scene is particularly influential to enforcing the idea of duality, evidently shown through the music and diegetic sounds used. The recurring symbols including the mirrors and specifically the birds, underpin a representation of the character’s dual personalities. Hitchcock’s use of devices reinforces the dual personalities of characters Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh.
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.
The audience grew fear of the killer after seeing the blood go down the shower drain. Many individuals considered that part of the scene to be bloody and gruesome. Also, Alfred Hitchcock made the audience feel horrified in the scene where Mrs.Bates finally shows up. The audience can only see Mrs. Bates’ back until her face is revealed. In this scene, Hitchcock builds up suspense by zooming the camera into Mrs. Bates’ horrifying dead