The Master Of Suspense In Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho

Another scene that’s important to dissect is the infamous shower scene where Marion is murdered by Norman’s “mother.” This scene is important because it again shows how Hitchcock is able to manipulate his audience. This one short scene has over 30 cuts that move in rapid succession from various angles. These tricks

The lighting there is much darker than outside without any light. There is a medium shot from low angle facing the cellar door. Then, Lila opens the door and slowly walks down the stairs and proceeds to another basement room. The scene of walking steps from the door down into the room generates a mysterious mood and it symbolizes that Lila is going deeper into the hidden secrets. The shot then edited to another brighter room with lights on and a worn out setting continues with Lila opens the door producing a creaking noise. Then, it shows a medium shot of a back of a woman sitting on a chair with her hair-tied in a bun. Lila then walks closer to the woman and call Mrs. Bates. When she is walking, the camera is constantly stay and Lila is getting closer and the focus point changes from the hanging light bulb to her face. Her facial expression shows that she is curious about the appearance of Mrs. Bates in the cellar. She taps on the right shoulder of the woman and the body of the woman slowly jiggles back and turns over. There is still medium shot when she taps on her shoulder and audience can see the shadow of the woman reflected on the wall behind. Then, the shot is cut to a close-up shot with the skeletal of the woman’s corpse with empty eye

In this essay I will be doing a close analysis on the famous shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, 1960. I will be looking at the mise-en-scène, performance, cinematography, editing, and the manipulation of sound. I will also be looking at themes that are explored in the film and what messages they convey to the audience. I will be using some theories to help analyze this particular sequence.

Development of Suspense by Hitchcock in Psycho 'Psycho,' the somewhat infamous film by Alfred Hitchcock was produced in 1961, a time when the American censors, The Hays Office, still dominated the film industry with their strict rules and principles. It earned its notoriety by defying the traditional cinematic convections of that time and pushing the boundaries of what could be shown in mainstream cinema. The rules implemented by The Hays Office were far stricter than they are today, and Hitchcock uses all available means to reach and go slightly beyond the set limit. Using clever and different camera angles, he implies things that are not shown. He proves that innuendoes can portray the

This hugely increased the despair and shock, the feeling of loss even when a character is brutally murdered. Straight away Hitchcock begins to build our sympathies for Marion Crane. He uses several cinematic techniques to create a mise-en-scene. Mise-en-scene is everything a viewer can see within a certain frame and consists of many aspects. For instance, Hitchcock uses a high-angle, mid range establishing shot to put Marion in her context, and highlight her vulnerability.

The first half of this course focused on Alfred Hitchcock and how his techniques are now recognized as iconic. From class discussions and film screenings, it is clear that Hitchcock pays every attention to detail when he crafts a scene. Many Hitchcock films we have seen this semester highlight how he builds suspense through cinematic elements such as shadow, dialogue, and composition. While many of his suspenseful scenes stir feelings of intensity and uncertainty, Alfred Hitchcock builds a more romantic suspense in his 1955 film To Catch a Thief in the fireworks scene (1:06:35-1:11:00).

High angle shot makes Marion seem small and exaggerates vulnerability Shadow of antagonist in view. By giving the audience more knowledge that Marion, creates suspense, tension and anticipation. The sound of the curtain opening synchronised with sudden harsh, high pitched strings.

The director of the movie(Frances Ford Copolla) has a very good use of montage, and long shots. Capolla starts off the movie with an extrodonary shot of an undertaker saying "this is America." Which gives a glimpse of how haunting the film is going to be? A good use of long shots is perfect when the camera pans around the long shot as Mikey takes on the responsibility of getting revenge for his fathers shooting. Also a good example of Copolla’s long shots is when the film is about to end and there is a shot of Diane Keaton looking so innocent and really knowing nothing of the family business. In the film, montage is used in the baptism scene. The shots cut when all the highly religious questions are asked of Mike, and then the shots start cutting back in forth from the killings of the head’s of the other top five family’s and the baptism, portraying mike as a changing person(a god man to an evil one.)

This film was made by the man who people call “the master of suspense”, Alfred Hitchcock. This film is one of the many of the suspenseful films he made and is in with the British classic categories for his film. This was made in 1935 but

In addition to being a master of suspense, Hitchcock's surprises in Psycho shocked audiences. No one expected Marion to be killed so unpredictably. Nobody could have foreseen an unrecognized character coming out of nowhere to kill the protagonist in the middle of the film. It shocked the audience leaving them confused and unaware of what to

Throughout the film industry, Alfred Hitchcock’s film Psycho has revolutionized the horror genre with his ways of merging the obvious with the mysterious. Alfred Hitchcock, ‘Master of Suspense,’ is known for his filming techniques which made his film stand out compared to other horror films during his period. One of the most important scenes, where Hitchcock used several of his techniques, is the shower scene. The shot-by-shot analysis of the shower scene is characterized by various of camera shots, sound, and lighting. These techniques throw the viewer into chaos and confusion leaving the viewer lost on what is going on in such a daunting scene where Marion Crane, our main character, is brutally murdered halfway through the film.

The author of Alfred Hitchcock and The Making of “Psycho” decided to talk about the impact of the film on society, and the difficulty to get funding for the movie. The article begins by mentioning how many of the movies from the 1970s and 1980s were imitations and paid homage to Hitchcock's film. Considering the effect “Psycho” had on the general public it is no surprise. Before any of that could happen though the article mentions how Paramount studios did not want to fund the film because of Hitchcock's “earlier attempts at something different (Shadow of a Doubt, The Wrong Man, The Trouble with Harry, Vertigo) had not done well at the box office” (54). Hitchcock then decided that he would fund the film himself, and shoot the movie at a lower

The film starts out with a scene of chaos. Pieces of furniture torn apart and twitching animals lay all around a flooded room. Only the sound of a cell phone buzzing to accompany the images and as we see a person come to pick up the phone, the scene cuts to Ruben waking up. Even in dreams, the possibility of ruin haunts him. The anatomy of the dream scene is just confusing enough to invite the viewer to lean in for a closer look. Although short, what the viewer sees in the dream will inform the rest of the short film. Overlaid on

Horror films are movies that aim to elicit a strong physiological reaction in the viewer, such as raised heartbeat and fear. Three horror films by the names of Psycho, Scream and The Messengers will be analysed and compared to an episode of the popular children’s show Shaun the Sheep. Five elements will be addressed in this analysis, those being camera techniques, Mise-en-scene, Editing, Lighting and Sound.

Alfred Hitchcock (1899 – 1980), the “Master of Suspense”, was a English film director, who was well known for his use of suspense and psychological elements to shock and surprise his audience. Hitchcock was known for his use of recurring themes, motifs and plot devices, such as the use of birds, hand motifs, the audience as a voyeur, mothers, blonde women, and sexuality. He was also very technical in his editing, using filming techniques such as deep focus, point of view, close up and wide, tracking shots. Montage was also a technique he used frequently in his films. He believed that by using visuals, he could convey thoughts and emotions just as well as dialogue could.