Firstly Psycho is the most written about and analyzed film of all time. Hitchcock used the film to tap into the American psyche exploring themes and obsessions of loneliness, loss of identity, sexual ambiguity, passivity, voyeurism, the triumph of evil, and the oppressive weight of a dead past. In all of Hitchcock’s films randomness and the occurrence of random events play a large role in the developments of the narrative. Hitchcock, uses randomness from the start in Psycho to portray his belief that the world is indifferent to our suffering.
The random movement of the camera at the beginning of Psycho where it passes past the window where Marian Crane and Sam Loomis are having their affair is consistent through to later in the film by the random movement of Norman Bates hand as he reaches for Marion’s room key. As he has chosen the key for cabin one, Norman dooms Marion to death, because he will spy on her, therefore becoming aroused, consequently leading to his guilt or the mother side of his personality killing her. Hitchcock uses these two random movements in connection, as if the camera had not passed that window, then we would not have endured the suffering that occurs from watching psycho. Techniques such as this help build up the narrative of the film, and are touches which make Psycho so effective.
The manner in which we are made to empathise with the protagonist in the story ( Marion ) also contributes to why Psycho is so highly redeemed. We are first placed on Marion’s side in the scene when she gets back to her office. She is sat at her desk when the staggering bully Cassidy sits on he desk and is waving his $40 000 . This character is shown as immensely unlikeable. The angle the camera takes here right behind Marion , shows us how unpleasant it is to have a person stare right at you, and be able to do nothing about it. Especially this arrogant and rude bully ( Cassidy). The technique that Hitchcock employs here is to make Marion’s decision to steal the $40 000 seem as little her choice as possible to disguise the fact she herself is a villain in the story, and increase the empathy of the audience towards her.
Audience understanding to Marion’s emotions is cleverly increased by Hitchcock. In the first driving sequence Marion’s inner confusion and discomfort are made manifest in her reactions to the harsh lights of cars. The increasing stress Marion is feeling Hitchcock then mimics in the camera moves closer and closer to her darkened, back lit face, as well as the rain ( holding symbolic values of tension also) and slashing wiper blades ( a deliberate hint at the later slashing of Marion with a knife ). This use of shots along with developing reactions acted by Marion heighten audience understanding.
Overall I think Psycho is so highly revered, is because it twist audience expectations, which makes it more suspenseful and captivating. The film is so effective as a thriller due to the protagonist who we are very early on cleverly endeared to is killed half way through the film, which is shocking for the audience and challenges their expectations.
So Why is The Shower Scene so effective and a thriller icon ?
Firstly the shots types themselves make the scene so effective.
The sequence starts with a frame within a frame from the POV of Norman Bates , as he spies on Marion undressing. This shot makes the audience feel uncomfortable with what they are watching, unnerved and makes the shot voyeuristic.
The actual killing itself is shot from 71-78 different angles , and includes 50 different cuts. Most of the shots are extreme close ups , except for medium shots of the shower directly before and after the killing. The camera also doesn't remain on Marion's dead body, instead cutting to the blood swirling down the plughole and the curtains ripping. This leaves the killing to the audiences imagination. The combination of the close shots with the short duration between cuts makes the sequence appear longer, and add to the subjective, they also make the event seem more controlled, and more violent than the images themselves if they were from a wide angle. The use of music, screeching violins, ( Hitchcock originally wanted the scene to be silent accompanied with no music) vastly intensifies the scene and adds to the terror. The purpose of the shower scene is shock the audience with not only the event of the murder itself but also the brutality of Mary’s murder. He dramatically switches the pace of the scene from the slow entrance of the dark figure to the quick cuts of the murder It’s as though Hitchcock’s exaggerated use of cutting was an intentional reference to the cutting of poor Mary.
What i really like about Physcho is the clever techniques that Hitchcock uses to tie completely different events togethor to overall add to the narrative of the film. In particualr the shower scene. From watching and analysing this , i am thinking of possibly using a similar technique to this in my Thriller. I would maybe like to use a lot of different shot angles with some quick cuts, and clear shocking and defining music to accompany it in someway. Although this would be very time consuming, and a possible problem for continuity, but i would like to take some inspiration from the way this scene is shot and cut into my own thriller none the less.
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