Psycho (1960)

• Psycho was a thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It was orginally a novel written by Joseph Stefano (screenplay), and Robert Bloch (novel).

• It started some of the most famous actors of the time. This includes; Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh and Vera Miles

Hitchcock Thoughts

• In “Psycho” the audience initially think the

film is about $40,000 and the murder becomes a shock. This shock makes the audience apprehensive for the rest of the film – anything could happen / anyone could be killed.

Hitchcock Thoughts

• The audience know there is a murderer in the house. They don’t know when s/he will strike again but to be suspenseful they must know it could happen any minute.

• Hitchcock stressed that as the apprehension increases there is less and less violence on screen.

“Psycho” (1960)

However in psycho the external threat is from a mad delusional man, who had a dark side along with a dangerous mind.

“Psycho” (1960)• “Thrillers are characterized by fast pacing, frequent action,”

examples of this in “Psycho” are the shower, car and staircase scene.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xd_OolN34eA

In this scene the fast pacing starts from the very beginning of the scene. This is because we see her going into the shower, normally people are felt to seem very vulnerable and unprotected while in a shower because of the fact that they are naked. This creates fast pacing as the audience are currently at edge, having some suspicious of what is going to happen next. As the audience watch more and more seconds of Miss. Crane in the shower, we slowly see a dark shadow approaching the shower curtain behind her, this then follows the fast pacing music as we are aware of what is going to happen next.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bieIiX5KLQ In the murder scene Hitchcock creates fast pacing as Arobogast slowly walks up the stairs through the frightening, mysterious house. Hitchcock continues to create the fast pacing as he uses creepy music and has close ups on the bedroom door opening slowly. In thriller films, doors opening slowly suggest something bad is about to happen and builds the tension along with the suspense and fast pacing.

“Psycho” (1960)

• “resourceful heroes who must thwart the plans of more powerful and better equipped villains.” In psycho the villain is Norman who is portrayed as the psychopathic murder. Whereas the hero is Sam Loomis who comes to the rescue and saves Lila Crane. However Sam would have never known about the motel or Marion's whereabouts without Milton Arbogast. All though he is murdered, he moves the plot forward and is able to bring Marion and Sam to the rescue.

Norman Bates

• Hitchcock said it is important to avoid cliché and repetition – particularly with regard to character – eg murderers can be charming and the heroes flawed.

• In his films Hitchcock often placed evil in the most banal of settings.

“Devices such as suspense, red herrings and cliffhangers are used extensively.”

Story-wise, Psycho is not extraordinary; its true brilliance lies in its construction.

Hitchcock has developed the film in such a way that it consistently flouts audience expectations. There are two major surprises: 1. the shower scene murder2. the final revelation about Mother.

“Devices such as suspense, red herrings and cliffhangers are used extensively.”

• A viewer who sees the film for the first time without knowing about either will experience the full impact of what Hitchcock intended.

• The greatest shock for the uninitiated is the early exit of Janet Leigh.

• This is doubly unexpected because, to this point, the screenplay had tricked us into accepting Marion as the main character.

“Devices such as suspense, red herrings and cliffhangers are used extensively.”

• When she dies and the point-of-view shifts to Norman Bates', the audience is puzzled.

• In order to keep this crucial aspect of the film secret when Psycho opened in 1960, there were no advance screenings and no one was admitted to a showing after the feature had started.

“Psycho” (1960) and Thriller Conventions.

• “Devices such as suspense, red herrings and cliffhangers are used extensively.”

• Find examples of this in “Psycho” Be specific!• Suspense – how built up? What part does the music play in building the suspense?

“Psycho” (1960) and Thriller Conventions.

• “A thriller is a villain driven plot, whereby he presents obstacles the hero must overcome.”

• Is this true of “Psycho” ?• Who is the villain?

“”The McGuffin”

• Hitchcock said the McGuffin is the plot device that causes the action to happen.

• The McGuffin usually comes in the first part of the film and sometimes returns at the end.

• In his thrillers the audience don’t really care about the McGuffin.

• In this film the McGuffin is Marion stealing the money.

“Psycho”

• Hitchcock said thrillers allow the audience, "to put their toe in the cold water of fear to see what it's like”

Has he succeeded in this film?

“Psycho is a brilliant excursion into fear that pushes many of our primal buttons”

Do these narrative theories apply to this film?Where? When? Be specific!

• Explain why narrative is so important to this thriller – what conventions does it follow? Does it follow?:

1. Classic Hollywood narratives – linear (chronological), few, if any, sub-plots, tendency towards closure at end of film.

2. Vladimir Propp – character types – analysed traditional folk stories – 8 key character roles e.g. Hero/Villain/Helper/Donor(Provider)/Father/Dispatcher/Princess/False Hero - N.B. one character can perform more than one role – how many in your thriller?

3. Todorov – equilibrium – disruption – resolution – new equilibrium

Do these narrative theories apply to this film?Where? When? Be specific!

4. Roland Barthes: all texts are ‘complex’ bundles of meaning.• Enigma codes (problems introduced) – usually

in ‘disruption’ stage.• Open – not resolved at end• Closed texts – resolved at end• Polysemic texts – lots of different meanings

5. Levi Strauss – Binary Opposition – narratives can be organised through binary opposition - two things opposed – often dominant vs subordinate - e.g. male/female, hero/villain

6.Linear narrative – no sub plots

7. Three Act Structure = the typical Hollywood narrative = set up (25% time) /confrontation (50%) /climax (Final 25% of film time)

Did you know?

When “Psycho” was initially released in 1960, it was a huge box office hit (there are stories of 3-mile long lines at drive-in entrances

The Shower Scene

• .Whenever anyone speaks about Psycho, the first images that come to mind are those of Janet Leigh being hacked to death in the shower. The scene is so famous that even people who have not seen the film are aware of it.

Do you agree?

The shower scene alone stands as one of the greatest single examples of execution and editing in the history of cinema.

The Shower Scene

Bernard Herrmann's strident, discordant music has been used in countless other movies to denote the appearance of a “Psycho."

Genius!

• The brilliance of the scene lies in the editing.

• A frame-by-frame analysis reveals that Hitchcock left a lot to the audience’s imagination.

The Shower Scene

We actually see: • a knife • blood (actually chocolate syrup), • water,• a woman's naked body (with certain parts

strategically concealed from the camera),• Only a brief showing of the blade penetrating

the flesh.

The Shower Scene

• The full horror of the murder is only hinted at on-screen.

• It takes the power of the viewer's imagination to fill in the blanks

Analyse the shower scene in terms of media language.

• Camera work: angle, shot, movement, position; high or low tilt; long, medium or close up; wide shot, over the shoulder, zoom, reverse shot, point of view, tracking, pan, steadycam, rolling, hand held, deep focus etc.

• Editing: speed (long or short take); Style – straight cut, dissolve, fade, wipe, jump cut; shot/reverse shot, Eyeline match, Action match, Montage, Slow motion, Graphic match, Ellipsis (showing what happens before and after – audience fill in the middle).

Analyse a key scene in terms of media language (continued).

• Sound: diegetic/non-diegetic, parallel/contrapuntal, on screen/off screen, sound effects, sound bridges, pace, dialogue and music.

• Mise en Scene: setting/location, props; hair/make up/costume; positioning of characters in frame (deep focus); body language/facial expression; colour – denotation/connotation; lighting – high

• key/low key; SFX.

Representation in “Psycho”

• How are different groups are represented in

“Psycho”? • Men/Women,• Ethnic Minorities, • Gay/Straight, • Old/Young, • Able/Disabled, upper/middle/lower Class,• Regional Identity- North/South, country/town• Disabled/Able bodied

Representation of different groups in “Psycho”.

• Link to Levi Strauss’ idea of binary opposition with dominant and a subordinate groups.

• Is the Representation positive or negative? • Does it challenge/reinforce stereotypes?• Are they archetypes (typical examples) or

generic types (only found in Thriller genre)?• What is conventional representation within

the Thriller genre?

Representation of Women in “Psycho”

• Consider apply Laura Mulvey’s theory of The Male Gaze.

• Laura Mulvey – “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” (1975). She said:

The Representation of Women in “Psycho”.

The male gaze =• women viewed as the objects of male erotic desire – in film

and audience• men active / women passive.• Women do not have agency – they do not move the plot

forward.• The audience is forced to identify with male gaze.• Cinema reflects patriarchal (male dominated) society