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Techniques Used by Hitchcock in Psycho
The plot for the film 'Psycho' was unlike any horror movie that had
gone before it. It is at first about a woman who steals money from her
boss, and then tries to run away to her lover. This would have
deceived the audience easily, because in 1960 (when the film was
released) there was no one to reveal the plot over the Internet or by
any other means.
Around a quarter the way through the film, though, there is a dramatic
twist in the plot. Before she reaches her lover's house though, the
main character stops at a deserted motel off the main road. There is
no-one else staying there. The manager of the motel (Norman) seems
very friendly with her, but he seems to have a strange relationship
with his mother, who lives in the old house near the motel. Later that
night, when she is having a shower, she is stabbed to death by a
figure that looks like Norman's mother. This would have been a great
shock to the audience at the time, because of the main character being
killed off so early in the film. As well as this, (later on in the
film) the fact that the killer could be such a normal person as Norman
would be surprising. Before only monsters had been seen in horror
movies. Also the murder scene was very violent by the standards of the
day and would have shocked viewers who thought that the film would
develop into a love story.
In 'Psycho' Hitchcock used a variety of techniques to build up fear
and suspense. For example in the famous shower scene the music builds
up very slowly to a crescendo when the killer begins to strike, and
each time the dagger descends there is a quick sharp sound of stringed
instruments. This adds to the atmosphere and seems to add momentum to
each strike. The fast cuts as the knife strikes builds up a sense of
the knife stabbing. The camera angles are slightly skewed and they do
The Lady sells her body during the darkness. She loses parts of herself, such as her inhibitions, her ties to a normal
The film is at first glance a story about a woman, Marion, on the run
Jurgis disappears on a drinking binge. With the help of a wealthy woman who takes and
taxi, and when they stop for her to eat food, she gets "stranded" by the taxi driver. She sees two
All directors of major motion pictures have specific styles or signatures that they add in their work. Alfred Hitchcock, one of the greatest directors of all time, has a particularly unique style in the way he creates his films. Film analyzers classify his distinctive style as the “Alfred Hitchcock signature”. Hitchcock’s signatures vary from his cameo appearances to his portrayal of a specific character. Two perfect examples of how Hitchcock implements his infamous “signatures” are in the movies, A Shadow of a Doubt and Vertigo. In these movies, numerous examples show how Hitchcock exclusively develops his imagination in his films.
And last but not least is the villain in these movies. Most of the killers in these films are portrayed as mentally deranged and/or has some type of facial or bodily deformation and who have been traumatized at an early age. Even though these characters terrorized and murder people they have taken on the persona of anti-heroes in pop culture. Characters like Halloween’s Michael Myers, A Nightmare on Elm Street’s Freddy Krueger and Friday the 13th’s Jason Voorhees have become the reason to go see these movies. However, over time,”their familiarity and the audience’s ability to identify and sympathize with them over the protagonist made these villains less threatening (Slasher Film (5))”.
bank. Marion went home there was a close up shot on the money then on
At this point in the film, she has stolen the money and is driving to an undisclosed location, we
In 1926, Hitchcock directed The Lodger; which is considered his first real film; he reflects his technical abilities in addition to his capacity to manage narration and symbolism. This style transformed in his signature for the subsequent films. The Lodger is the template of Hitchcock´s films because in he established a certain formula as well as certain theme to develop and explore in his next films. According to Spoto one of the iconic elements that Hitchcock incorporate in this film was a revealing and full with important information opening scene, which he would use in all of his films. Also the couple formation, symbols and underlying ideas that would be treated in the films, start with the production of The Lodger. It would be appropriate
forced to kill. It ended up that he was the last one left on the island except
and taken out, to make the film shorter. In the 2002 film a lot more
Sound is an incredibly relevant part of filmmaking. Although often misunderstood, it helps to generate a more realistic episode by recreating the sonic experience the scene needs. Its main goal is to enhance the emotions that each section is trying to convey by adding music and effects alongside moving images. Psycho (Hitchcock, 1960), is one of the most popular films of the XX Century (Thomson, 2009). Commonly recognised as a masterpiece for its cinematographic, editing and musical values, it changed cinema forever by “playing with darker prospects (…) of humanity such as sex and violence (Thomson, 2009)”. This paper will analyse the sound effects used in the shower scene and its repercussions
Eventually Kumalo goes home with his new daughter-in-law, and Jarvis gets involved helping him keep his village together; he helps with agricultural techniques and offers to build the congregation a new church. The novel ends as Kumalo weeps over his son’s death on the valley, awaiting his execution.
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
her husband is dead, she overcomes this news and tells herself she’s free, but when she finds