Alfred Hitchcock and Psycho

Occupation - Film Director and Producer.

Born - 13th August 1899 - Leytonstone, London, England.

Died - 29th April 1890 (aged 80) - Bel Air, Los Angeles, California.

Other Names - Hitch, The Master Of Suspense.

Years Active - 1921-76

Hitchcock was a British film producer and director He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in his native United Kingdom in both silent films and early talking movies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood. In 1956 he became an American citizen, while remaining a British subject.

Over a career spanning more than half a century, Hitchcock fashioned for himself a distinctive and recognisable directorial style. He pioneered the use of a camera made to move in a way that mimics a person's gaze, forcing viewers to engage in a form of voyeurism. He framed shots to maximise anxiety, fear, or empathy, and used innovative film editing and this is where he got the name 'The Master of Suspense'.

Psycho

Psycho is a 1960 American horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins.

Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) absconds with $40,000 of stolen cash from a Phoenix bank and drives toward California, where she plans to start a new life with her paramour. Before reaching her destination, however, fate delivers her to the Bates motel, which is run by the seemingly harmless mama’s boy, Norman (Anthony Perkins). Following Marion’s mysterious disappearance her sister and her boyfriend team up with a private investigator to find out what happened to her. Clues can be found in the shower of room #1 of the Bates motel.

Psycho is now considered one of Hitchcock's best films and is highly praised as a work of cinematic art by international critics.

 

NOTES ON PSYCHO

Mise En Scene – Location, Props, Costume, Lighting	Camera Angles, Shots & Movements	Editing	Sounds
- Credits very sharp, violent/unpredictable – represent the stabbing motion. - Blinds close when Marion and Sam are in the room, intimate and secrecy. - Phoenix, Arizona, Time and Date – use of anchorage. - Window half open – Hitchcock likes to hide as much as he can from the audience. - Sam opens the blind – dramatic lighting shot – very bright. - When the policeman pulls her over his glasses cover/hide his identity. - Mention of trouble at the car dealers – darkness on the horizon. - She looks confident then it rains which could symbolise things to come before she gets to the hotel. - Long shot of house. - Over the shoulder shot – goes to room key number 3, then 2, then 1. This could symbolise a countdown and that time is nearly run out. - When she is eating, he is in the dark and he is in the light. The juxtaposition shows that he is the evil one and she is the good one. - No panic on his face – controlled – he knows what he is doing. - His room – birds of prey. - Her room pictures of smaller less harmful birds. - Power struggle between Norman and the detective. - Questioning – verbal sparing – detective is seemed to be winning. - When he enters low angle shot of the owl again which suggests that he may be the next prey. - Although Sam’s talking to Norman you still get the feeling she is in danger.	- Establishing shot. - Two shot – shows intimacy. - Wide open aerial shot of the town, pan across. - Zoom into the hotel room window. - Not there point of view shot but someone else’s, seems like someone is watching them. - Power of money, when Sam has the money he is standing up, then when Marion has the money she is the dominant one. - Long shot of two cars. - The shot through the glass when the policeman stops her could represent that she is trapped. - Low angle point of view shot of the policeman shows that he is the dominant one although she has the money. - Over the shoulder shot of the car dealer shows her with barriers and darkness behind her. This again could show that she is trapped. - Over the should and point of view shots in the car shows that it is clear in front of her but because of the car in the rear view window it shows that she is always being followed. - Low angle shot of Norman with the bird behind him in the background could represent that she is his prey. - High angle looking down on her represents that she isn’t in control of what is going to happen. - Midway through her talking about her mum (negative) he moves forward in his chair with the eagle in the background shows something has unnerved him. - Pictures of naked woman on the walls – takes them off to then view Marion getting changed through a hole in the wall. - Extreme close up of detective – knows they have the money. - Low angle – nervous about being found out. - Medium shot of Norman smiling – shows he may have given away information but he is actually in control. - High angle shot looking down on the detective from the stairs again suggests he is next. - Birds eye view of him coming out the door of his mother’s room and attacking the detective. - High angle of them in the bathroom where her sister was murdered – shows they could be prey for Norman.	- Cross cutting from her to the money – audience on her side – she has her mind on the money. - Long pauses between shots – comfortable /intimate. - Shot reverse shot – cutting between characters – both on their own – cuts are shorter which makes it tenser. - Jump cuts – forward in time – day travelling in city to night travelling in the suburbs. - Transitions between scenes – Norman taking his mum somewhere and Marion and Sam coming out the church.	- Non diagetic – shaper music, reinforcing the genre – stabbing motion – represents what is going to be the death of Marion. - Sam opening the blind – creates a sharp dramatic diagetic sound. - Non Diagetic sound of people talking in her head. - Diagetic sound of rain – heavy/harsh. - ‘As harmless as one of those stuffed birds’- Norman says this when talking to Marion – shows something bad is on the horizon because although they are stuffed they are birds of prey and were dangerous. - The sound mirrors the way in which Norman is feeling. - Sharp/Harsh high pitch music when stabbing. - High pitch noise when she’s dieing. - Diagetic – Harsh.