Alfred Hitchcock’s: Psycho Kristina Franklin & Carter Emory

Introduction/Background Released in 1960, Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho is well renowned as one of the most notable and suspenseful horror films in film history. The overall production took a mere 30 days.

Style/Composition: Within Hitchcock’s film team, Saul Bass simply perfected the title sequence using line swipes and jagged lettering (seen in next slide)

Above shows multiple examples of Saul’s opening sequence. The idea of the rough lines, or the swipes is to give in the sense of stress, mystery, and horror. Is also personified almost perfectly with the orchestra music of Bernard Herman. The two combined creates an atmosphere of shock and terror. Opening Scene

Style/Composition: We are later presented with excellent angular shots that are rather unusual, yet powerful to the eye when action takes place.

Style/Composition: Great source of lighting and shadow fixtures. Camera is angled to give you the overview perspective. The music timing and speed when Bates enters the shot shocks the audience perfectly.

Marion’s reoccurring follower: Within the first moments after Marion steals the $40,000, we are presented with music from the title, and forced to constantly guess who the killer is prior to reaching the Bates Motel.

Marion’s suspects: Highway Patrolman Audience members are left suspicious (as well as Marion) with the police as the killer (before the Bates Motel). We only presume he is the killer in the beginning because he leaves her, but then comes back to follow her.

Marion’s Occurring: Thinking about the sequence with the patrolman, what is especially unusual on how he is presented to us? If you can recall where was the “watching” or “following” reused in the film?

Taxidermy Shock: The biggest clue that gave away Bates being the possible killer before the murder was the shot focusing on him in his study room, with his hobby of taxidermy birds on the walls.

Taxidermy Shock: Angle of the shot gives Bates a sinister vibe. The lighting and shadows played a factor in the sense of him being the psycho.

Taxidermy Shock: What is, or are, the significance(s) of Norman’s fascination with stuffed birds and his hobby of taxidermy? Before the murder took place, were their any certain “ticks” or “habits” that stood out to Norman Bates’s character?

Soundtrack: Composed by Bernard Herman, the movie stylized specifically around the frightening, eerie atmosphere, and the sense of unease or hectic theme. In other words, the soundtrack made the viewer feel tension throughout the film, no matter what scene it was, because the music still gave a feeling of unrest or foreshadowing.

Soundtrack: Here, we will play the shower scene from the movie so you have a clear example of the distraught and tension of this scene (questions as well!). However, the video will then play the scene with not music, so you can get an idea of how important and how much the soundtrack impacted the movie for scenes like this: Video: Psycho: Shower ScenePsycho: Shower Scene

Soundtrack: As you can tell, this movie heavily relied on music to keep the blood running in our veins, and sweat running down our backs. If it was your first time seeing this scene, was it shocking to you? Why/why not? How did the music play and editing effect the sense of terror in the shower sequence?

Discussion Time! Were there certain shots that made you extremely uncomfortable? If so, what scene and why? Comparing this movie to a modern genre of “Horror”, what distinct points holds this one higher on the scale (or if not, lower on the scale)? What scene(s) most portrayed foreshadow for an upcoming event? What made it so compelling? No Texting in class during discussion time!

THANK YOU! AND REMEMBER! “A boy’s best friend is his mother.” ~ Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins)