The Analysis of the Film 'Psycho' by Alfred Hitchcock

The Analysis of the Film 'Psycho' by Alfred Hitchcock

Write a magazine article in which you discuss Psycho’s Enduring appeal

as one of the great films of cinema. Discuss some specific techniques

used by Hitchcock which create tension and suspense for the audience.

With lower budgets, very basic special effects and black and white

picture, Alfred Hitchcock’s psycho still manages to grind out the

suspense to compete with today’s blockbuster hits. With some of the

most memorable scenes in cinema history, it makes you wonder, will

this unique psychological thriller ever die out? The film cost one

million dollars to make, and amazingly made over fifteen times that

value within just one year of its release and with one million pounds

being so much back in 1960, Psycho was an outstanding hit and an

incredible achievement for British director Alfred Hitchcock. There is

no doubt that Hitchcock’s directory used the such basic equipment and

limited special effects to their full tension creating potential. Even

today when we have the choice of many up to date pragmatic movies to

choose from at the local film rental shop, Psycho still remains a

popular choice on the shelf. It is also a favourite for media courses

as it is packed with clever directory techniques, twists and memorable

scenes to comment on. Psycho is a prime example that a classic never

dies.

Psycho’s uniqueness and popularity is mostly down to the number of

genres it represents. This creates a vast target market of viewers to

enjoy this visual masterpiece. The film opens with a sexual frisson

where a couple appear to have secretly just had some kind of sexual

action in the m...

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lasting image of her dead body on the floor. The shocking thing about

it is the unexpectation of it. Norman seemed to like Marion and showed

no signs and had no reason to harm her, but as we find out, it is the

mother side of him which drove him to commit this murder. His mother

would not have been happy with him having another woman other than her

in his life so through sheer jealousy; the mother side of him forced

him to murder her.

I personally follow the opinion of most others in that psycho is a

classic film and really do give credit to Alfred Hitchcock for using

the bare basics of cinematic tools to create one of the greatest ever

films. My opinion suggests that Hitchcock’s directing was the

difference between this version of Psycho and the newer version that

was made and was what made it a success.