60's: Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho

So for today's ppst I'm going back in time a bit, to the 60's, which incidentally, I've been studying in history for this first semester.
My reason for this spur-of-the-moment-time-travel would be the fact that I took a look at my blog today and thought 'wow'.

I couldn't even tell what it was about! So I've decided to re-vamp it a bit. Have it make some actual sense and stick to my idea of actually reviewing books/films and current pop culture I'm into. Except for today. Today I'm actually posting a 'trying' piece of english literature. That is to say I wrote an essay on Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho' for my film class and thought 'why not post it here? It is a film review after all'

So here goes:

Alfred Hitcock was born in England. As a teenager he became more interested in films he began to visit the cinema frequently. The first film he directed was ‘Always Tell Your Wife’ a short comedy he but it was when he created ‘The Pleasure Garden’ a crime and romance film, that his career really began. ‘Rear Window’, ‘Strangers On A Train’ and ‘Rich and Strange’ were some of the many suspenseful action thrillers that Hitchcock created in his career. Alfred Hitchcock became famous for his thrilling films and was hence forth nicknamed ‘The Master of Suspense’ In 1960 Hitchcock created Psycho, one of cinema’s most infamous thrillers, made famous by the now iconic ‘Shower Scene’ 

Psycho is a film that really breaks with the classical film conventions, its created expertly by Hitchcock, utilising sound, mise en scene and camera angles. One of the most famous parts of the film psycho would have to be its soundtrack, its ability to set the atmosphere of a scene and its uniqueness to the film is quite extraordinary. We first expirience the effect of the music and its ability to tell a story and add to the plot in one of the earlier scenes; Marion, the protagonist, is packing her bags. As the camera pans away from a close up of the forty thousand dollars music that can only be described as ‘suspicious’ or ‘sneaky’ is played, this tells the audience, without being blatantly obvious, that Marion is planning to steal the money. The music is played once more as Marion is driving away, the music puts us on edge, the atmosphere is one of urgency and the music is played almost like a metaphor to Marion’s thoughts, scattered and conflicted, worrying but persisting with her plan. The soundtrack is utilized further to emphasize Anthony Perkin’s (Norman Bates) acting. While conversing with Marion, Norman begins to become agitated while talking about his mother, this is highlighted by some heightened and tense music, then immediately after some contrasting, softer, more wary music begins to play as Normans reverts to calmly talking about mad people, it really sets the tone of the scene, as if its not Marion sitting in the parlor, but you and you get the feeling that its not a comfortable place to be. Perhaps the most recognizable music of the film is the strings from the murder scene, its intense almost ear-piercing noise always comes as a shock. Hitchcock creates this suspense by, in the moments before the scene, gradually tuning out all background sound so that when the music does arrive, its big, loud and frightening. Hitchcock uses this technique throughout the film, every time Norman Bates attempts murder. Its as though the audience subconsciously recognizes that tune-out of sound and realizes what is about to unfold, raking up the suspense until the screeching of the violins bursts around the corner and breaks the suspense.

Much more subtle, at least to the occasional movie-goers eye, is the use of mise en scene.  In the Bates Motel Parlor scenes there are a number of stuffed birds. At first the initial purpose of the birds seems to be to show the audience how odd Norman is but they hold a deeper meaning. Each get a close up as Marion and Norman enter, the birds are positioned as predators, making those in the parlor seem like prey. The birds cast imposing shadows across the room, giving a creepy sense, which adds to the atmosphere of Marion and Normans conversation, as well as during the scene when Norman is watching her through the peep-hole. There are many other moments of deeper meaning and significance through-out the film. At the end of the murder scene we see Marion’s blood washing away with the water and down the drain. This could be simply interpreted as how easily the evidence was slipping away. But through Hitchcocks editing the drain is given deeper meaning. The camera fades from a views of the bloody water circling the drain, to an image of Marion’s eye, dead and watching, the gurgling drain now a symbol of Marion’s life, spiraling away and finally disappearing. During the murder scene there was a great use of close ups, often of the shower head and Marion’s face, the camera didn’t linger on these shots long and moved in quick succession between them all, giving a sense of urgency to the scene. Together with the violins, the acting of Janet Leigh and just the entire unexpectedness of the plot made this scene one of the most iconic from films today.

It was the murder of Marion, the main character, that broke from many of the classic ‘hollywood’ film story conventions, of that time and of today. It’s an extremely unusual and risky move to kill off the main character so early on in the film. In common story conventions you as the audience expect the main character to make it through to the end and succeed despite all odds. So this change was shocking and refreshing, it gave the movie an edge that really made it unique. As did the black and white film stock, another break from conventional films of the time. In the 1960’s directors were moving into the new medium of coloured footage. Hitchcock purposely decided to make the film in black and white. This decision ultimately enhanced the film, making the Bates House and Motel seem grimmer, even in broad daylight, which would have assisted with the production of the film greatly. They could film in such a way that everything was visible and the buildings did not seem out of place, as they may have if the film was created in colour.

Psycho is a film that is completely balanced, the appropriate mixing of sound, acting, mise en scene, camera, editing, lighting and pure shocks. Not one of these elements could be effective on their own, but Alfred Hitchcock had a way of making all these elements come together, like a perfectly fitted jigsaw. Giving the world a movie that put a tension in their stomachs, had them on the edge of their seat, fearing what would come next but overwhelmed with curiosity, like a true master of suspense.

So hopefully you enjoyed that insight. I actually got a great mark for it, and yeah, I know this is  a really technical take on the film.