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Analytic take on psycho alfred hitchcock
Essays on alfred hitchcocks psycho
Analytic take on psycho alfred hitchcock
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“Poor decisions and bad luck are contingencies of most horror films” (Wesley Morris). The 1960’s thriller, Psycho, is no exception. It has been acclaimed as one of Alfred Hitchcock’s best films because of its use of psychopathic elements to create what has come to be known as a “slasher films”, a subcategory of horror films. It evolved the horror genre from monsters and the supernatural to the human condition and the monster living inside. The motion picture Psycho tells the story of a Marion Crane, a secretary who flees Phoenix, Arizona with $40,000 she steals from her boss. Days later she arrives to the Bates Motel in Oregon. At the isolated, vacant motel, she meets the owner Norman Bates who shows her hospitality. Later, however, we find
out that he has a mental illness called disassociate identity disorder, which causes him to kill Marion in the famed shower scene while acting the part of his dead mother. While watching Psycho, I enjoyed studying the development of the characters, the technical aspect of film editing used, and the ways in which Hitchcock’s intentions for making the film were portrayed in the movie.
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.
Hitchcock employs the notion of the capability of isolation to create conflict and fear. Isolation is apparent in the crop dusting scene due to the lack of people and buildings which juxtaposes to the busy streets of New York City earlier in the film. An establishing shot of the empty desert and Thornhill standing on the road alone, implies that Thornhill is insignificant and isolated as the scene is predominantly the landscape. A long shot of Thornhill and an unknown character in a “typical standoff” scene creates tension and fear for the audience. As the two men speak, non-diegetic sounds of a plane becomes prevalent. When the man says “I’ve seen worse” in response to Rodgers question, this is a foreshadowing of the crop dusting plane attack
killed off so early in the film. As well as this, (later on in the
When watching the Hitchcock film Psycho through the lens of this quote, the viewer begins to notice more of the bird motif throughout the film. This even includes the things that seem so slight and insignificant but help to draw a parallel between Marion and Norman. There are several instances in this film where the birds motif appears.
bank. Marion went home there was a close up shot on the money then on
The famous Hitchcock film Psycho depicts an encounter between a travelling secretary, Marion Crane, and troubled motel owner Norman Bates. Crane, frustrated with her life and prevented from marrying her lover due to financial issues, seeks refuge at the isolated motel after embezzling money from her employer. Tired after a long night’s drive, she pulls off the main highway and into the Bates Motel. Bates, a shy, reserved young man whose life is dominated by his worthless mother, welcomes Crane to the hotel.
Alfred Hitchcock is known for his masters of works in the film industry. The film he is most famous for is Psycho. Alfred Hitchcock`s Psycho was critically acclaimed not only in the horror genre but within the entire film scene. It encompasses several key themes, which are portrayed through cinematic devices such as camera movement and sound, sound, lighting and costume and set design. The subject of madness becomes increasingly evident as the film progresses, centering on the peculiar character that is Norman Bates.
Throughout the years, many directors have been making movies that seem to "scare the hell out of people". From thrilling to just suspenseful scenes, Alfred Hitchcock explores different techniques to ensure that he captures the audience's attention.
The genre of horror films is one that is vast and continually growing. So many different elements have been known to appear in horror films that it is often times difficult to define what is explicitly a horror film and what is not. Due to this ambiguous definition of horror the genre is often times divided into subgenres. Each subgenre of horror has a more readily identifiable list of classifications that make it easier to cast a film to a subgenre, rather than the entire horror genre. One such subgenre that is particularly interesting is that of the stalker film. The stalker film can be categorized as a member of the horror genre in two ways. First, the stalker film can be identified within the horror genre due to its connection with the easily recognizable subgenre of horror, the slasher film. Though many elements of the stalker film differ from those of the slasher film, the use of non-mechanical weapons and obvious sexual plot points can be used to categorize the stalker film as a subgenre of the slasher film. Secondly, the stalker film can be considered a member of the horror genre using Robin Wood’s discussion regarding horror as that which society represses. The films Fatal Attraction, The Fan, and The Crush will be discussed in support of this argument. (Need some connector sentence here to finish out the intro)
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.
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
In Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho women are represented inferior to men. Throughout the movie men symbolize power and control, where on the other hand women are symbolized as weak victims, homemakers, or a sensual sex symbol. The movie portrays a false image of women; they are shown as vulnerable victim, or a sex symbol to the audience. From the very first scene of the movie it is clear women are represented as a sex symbol and not an influential or an authoritative character. In the first scene Marion is shown in provocative and sensual lingerie revealing her skin. In her lingerie Marion is shown lying on the bed and talking to Sam. While Marion was talking about their marriage, and her uneasiness with their relationship, Sam was shown kissing her and playing with her body. Sam's actions indicated he did not give much importance to what Marion was saying, instead he was interested in her body and only cared for the sexual pleasure Marion offered. In Psycho woman are shown coward, vulnerable, and always-in need of support. They are constantly shown scared of the society and the men, and that was also noticeable from the first conversation between Marion and Sam. In their first conversation Marion showed her discomfort with meeting Sam secretly, the tension in her voice and face was clear on the other hand Sam didn't care about the society, and was satisfied with their relationship. Sam's reaction shows how Sam doesn't fear the society because of the power and advantage he has over a female. The partial representation of women makes the audience believe women are inferior to men and should be treated differently than men.
The movie Psycho, is one of the most influential movie in Cinema history to date. The director Alfred Hitchcock, wanted to test many of the conventions of movie making that was common at that time. Alfred Hitchcock movie broke many cultural taboos and challenged the censors. Alfred Hitchcock showed a whole bunch of at the time absurd scene, for example: Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) dying naked while taking a shower, Norman Bates with split personality disorder, and the first ever flushing toilet shown in a movie. Because from the late 1920's to the late 1950's, movies were made usually go around the story, and usually with a lot dialogue. This movie gives the audience an experience that was much more emotional and intuitive. The viewers were caught up in a roller coaster of shock, surprise and suspense based on image, editing and sound.
Psychopathy; the trait that truly distinguishes humans from ¨machines¨, emotionful to emotionless. Within the novel American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, one may logically assume that the protagonist, Patrick Bateman is indeed implied to be a psycho as the title suggests. However upon further analyzation, Bateman is revealed to be an unreliable narrator, he does not captivate the reader with all of his emotions verbally, for they are revealed through his actions. Bateman certainly does murder people, however, clinically murder doesn´t rule somebody to be a psychopath. Bateman feels no visible remorse for the victims he kills, because Bateman lives in an artificial hyperbole of a yuppie world where no love is shown, all relationships superficial.
Besides Hitchcock’s amazing ability in creating suspense the film is full of his unique and recognizable touch. At the very start of the film, he appears in a cameo as a bystander who arrives a second too late to catch the bus. Hitchcock is famous for always making at least one cameo in all of his films, and it is said that at the height of his career he had to place his cameo at the beginning of the film or the audience would spend the rest of the film looking for him. (Truffaut, F., Hitchcock, A., & Scott, H. G. (1967). Hitchcock). Eva’s character also perfectly fits Hitchcock’s criteria: blond, beautiful and in distress. The director is also famous for the morbidity with which he directed his female leads. She was instructed by Hitchcock