Sunday, May 22, 2011
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Scheduled film: JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, Study Pictures
Journey to the Center of the Earth (Henry Levin, 1959) is a fantasy film noteworthy more for its score by the legendary composer, Bernard Herrmann than for anything else. The special effects are limited but have their charm. The acting is routine; only James Mason as Professor Lindenbrook gives some conviction to his part.
Oddly, though the only reputable actor in the cast, Mason received second billing, below pop sensation of the time, Pat Boone. Boone emerged through the door opened by Elvis Presley and was considered a safe role model for teenagers, compared to Elvis, who suggested sex and rebellion.
Boone was a devout Christian and lived a family life with a wife and several children. Though he covered Rock songs he sang in a more traditional crooning style popularized by Bing Crosby earlier in the century. Most of his biggest hits were sweet ballads, such as "Love Letters in the Sand," "April Love," "Thee I Love," etc. Ironically, though most Rock critics dismissed him, Elvis can be heard on a home recording saying what a beautiful voice Boone had!
Hollywood, of course, saw dollar signs in Boone and quickly cast him in several films, including April Love, Bernardine, State Fair, and Journey to the Center of the Earth, appealing to the teenage market. Of course Boone then had to sing songs or his fans would be disappointed.
But it's difficult to sing songs with a contemporary sound if the movie is set in 1880 Scotland, as was Journey, so the options were limited. Though 4 songs were written for Boone by the Oscar-winning song team of Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn, and they were listed in the credits, only one complete song made the final cut. The other songs can be heard as underscore or whistled by Boone in the film.
The film is to this extent an interesting study in Hollywood's star system. Movies are bankrolled based on stars and their market value (star=dollars box office=dollars investment). Born on the Fourth of July was delayed for many years until Tom Cruise agreed to star, then the banks had insurance. In some cases, such as Disney, Hitchcock, or Spielberg, directors have box-office too. But even today, in this auteur conscious age, most people pay to see stars.
Such commercial pressures are not new to Hollywood. Classical artists had to paint popes, nephews of kings or wives of patrons if they received commissions from the church or nobility. Shakespeare wrote plays for known actors. Mozart wrote arias to suit singers' abilities. Vivaldi wrote music that could be played by his students and for instruments available to him. Concertos are written for specific soloists, some of whom commission (pay for) the concerto. Frederick Loewe tailored his tunes in My Fair Lady for Rex Harrison, who couldn't sing. The result was a new kind of spoken melody that has been imitated on Broadway ever since.
So however inadequate Boone may look in the film, the film probably would not have been bankrolled without him. Mason, though a far better actor, would not have been sufficient insurance (hence Mason's second billing). Thus the movie is an interesting study on that level alone.
But our focus will be on the music underscore by Bernard Herrmann. In the 1950s Herrmann found himself in a Hollywood that no longer appreciated the traditional symphonic score and required pop tunes to sell a movie. A quick glance at movies made in the 1950s shows that many of them had title songs that were hits, including Love Is a Many Splendid Thing, Three Coins in the Fountain, etc. not to mention the western, High Noon, whose famous theme song ("Do Not Forsake Me") convinced producers that pop songs helped sell a movie.
But Herrmann's strength was not melody. He could write gorgeous lyrical passages, such as in Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958), but his strength was in orchestral colors and timbres. His scores are built on sequential patterns, that is, phrases that grow by phrasal variations of pitch rather than real development.
Strictly speaking Herrmann tended to write motifs (short phrases) rather than themes. That's the main reason he was fired from Torn Curtain, because Hitchcock wanted a pop tune to sell his next film. Instead Herrmann submitted a richly textured, almost tuneless, score and was fired.
A study of Herrmann's scoring in Journey requires some concentration because there are no themes (unlike, say, Titanic, which has obvious themes, including a pop hit). The only themes are based on the Van Heusen-Cahn songs written for the movie (though most were omitted from the final edit), which Herrmann orchestrated as underscore for the romantic scenes in Scotland. A march (based on the deleted song, "Twice As Tall") was also adapted by Herrmann.
Herrmann also wittily quotes the famous church chant, the "Dies Irae" ("Day of Wrath") twice in the movie; once when the underground river is seen and another time when the pet goose is presumed dead.
To familiarize yourselves with Pat Boone's star image as a pop singer, listen to "Don't Forbid Me," "April Love", "Words," and "Love Letters in the Sand."
Oddly, though the only reputable actor in the cast, Mason received second billing, below pop sensation of the time, Pat Boone. Boone emerged through the door opened by Elvis Presley and was considered a safe role model for teenagers, compared to Elvis, who suggested sex and rebellion.
Boone was a devout Christian and lived a family life with a wife and several children. Though he covered Rock songs he sang in a more traditional crooning style popularized by Bing Crosby earlier in the century. Most of his biggest hits were sweet ballads, such as "Love Letters in the Sand," "April Love," "Thee I Love," etc. Ironically, though most Rock critics dismissed him, Elvis can be heard on a home recording saying what a beautiful voice Boone had!
Hollywood, of course, saw dollar signs in Boone and quickly cast him in several films, including April Love, Bernardine, State Fair, and Journey to the Center of the Earth, appealing to the teenage market. Of course Boone then had to sing songs or his fans would be disappointed.
But it's difficult to sing songs with a contemporary sound if the movie is set in 1880 Scotland, as was Journey, so the options were limited. Though 4 songs were written for Boone by the Oscar-winning song team of Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn, and they were listed in the credits, only one complete song made the final cut. The other songs can be heard as underscore or whistled by Boone in the film.
The film is to this extent an interesting study in Hollywood's star system. Movies are bankrolled based on stars and their market value (star=dollars box office=dollars investment). Born on the Fourth of July was delayed for many years until Tom Cruise agreed to star, then the banks had insurance. In some cases, such as Disney, Hitchcock, or Spielberg, directors have box-office too. But even today, in this auteur conscious age, most people pay to see stars.
Such commercial pressures are not new to Hollywood. Classical artists had to paint popes, nephews of kings or wives of patrons if they received commissions from the church or nobility. Shakespeare wrote plays for known actors. Mozart wrote arias to suit singers' abilities. Vivaldi wrote music that could be played by his students and for instruments available to him. Concertos are written for specific soloists, some of whom commission (pay for) the concerto. Frederick Loewe tailored his tunes in My Fair Lady for Rex Harrison, who couldn't sing. The result was a new kind of spoken melody that has been imitated on Broadway ever since.
So however inadequate Boone may look in the film, the film probably would not have been bankrolled without him. Mason, though a far better actor, would not have been sufficient insurance (hence Mason's second billing). Thus the movie is an interesting study on that level alone.
But our focus will be on the music underscore by Bernard Herrmann. In the 1950s Herrmann found himself in a Hollywood that no longer appreciated the traditional symphonic score and required pop tunes to sell a movie. A quick glance at movies made in the 1950s shows that many of them had title songs that were hits, including Love Is a Many Splendid Thing, Three Coins in the Fountain, etc. not to mention the western, High Noon, whose famous theme song ("Do Not Forsake Me") convinced producers that pop songs helped sell a movie.
But Herrmann's strength was not melody. He could write gorgeous lyrical passages, such as in Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958), but his strength was in orchestral colors and timbres. His scores are built on sequential patterns, that is, phrases that grow by phrasal variations of pitch rather than real development.
Strictly speaking Herrmann tended to write motifs (short phrases) rather than themes. That's the main reason he was fired from Torn Curtain, because Hitchcock wanted a pop tune to sell his next film. Instead Herrmann submitted a richly textured, almost tuneless, score and was fired.
A study of Herrmann's scoring in Journey requires some concentration because there are no themes (unlike, say, Titanic, which has obvious themes, including a pop hit). The only themes are based on the Van Heusen-Cahn songs written for the movie (though most were omitted from the final edit), which Herrmann orchestrated as underscore for the romantic scenes in Scotland. A march (based on the deleted song, "Twice As Tall") was also adapted by Herrmann.
Herrmann also wittily quotes the famous church chant, the "Dies Irae" ("Day of Wrath") twice in the movie; once when the underground river is seen and another time when the pet goose is presumed dead.
To familiarize yourselves with Pat Boone's star image as a pop singer, listen to "Don't Forbid Me," "April Love", "Words," and "Love Letters in the Sand."
JAWS student comments FINAL FILM OF SEMESTER, 18 June 2010
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From:
Date: Fri, Oct 1, 2010 at 11:19 AM
Subject: Re: FINAL FILM OF SEMESTER, 18 June 2010
To: rdca25@gmail.com
From:
Date: Fri, Oct 1, 2010 at 11:19 AM
Subject: Re: FINAL FILM OF SEMESTER, 18 June 2010
To: rdca25@gmail.com
2010/6/24
Candy Jiang, Cherry, Eileen, Tiger, Christopher, Charlene, Alice Huang, Joseph, Vicky Shih, Alice Wang, Mamie, Tiffany, Abby, Ivana, Ida, Jeanette, Juliet, April, Max, Carolina, John, Sophia, Tina, Anne, Karen, Hansel, Holly, Vicky Lin, Vivian Yang, Emily, Hazel, Vincent, David, Vivian Lin, Minnie, Violet, Hilary, Irving,
Candy JiangThe opening credit sequence has already told the audience the dangerous mood of the film, Jaws. In this sequence, the director uses POV shots, which I think shall be the POV of the shark, with the melody which arouse a sense of danger. All of a sudden, the image cut to the beach party with happy songs and people happily chatted. It is really a great contrast. Those people were right beside the dangerous sea; however, they were so happy and were totally unaware of the danger that was hidden just few meters away.
I found that most time the predator came out to seek meal, right before it took its bite, the director uses POV shots, letting audience see through the aggressive shark's eyes. In this way, we feel more nervous and anxious to the poor people who were about to be the delicious meat of the shark. Despite the POV shot, whenever the shark appeared, the cue for shark can be heard as well. Thus, although for most time we can't see the image of shark, we know it is that shark coming out to attack.
I like the scene in which poor girl Chrissie was swallowed by the shark. In that scene, after she was beaten by the shark, she yelled and screamed and cried for help. After she yelled out her last word "NO," she was immediately dragged into the deep blue water. The sequence become almost silent with only few sounds of bell ringing that are almost hardly heard. I like this sequence not only because the sound makes a great difference before and after the dragging of poor Chrissie, but also because the silence did not mean safety at all. It means the temporary ending of the attack; however, the shark is still out there, waiting to have another one.
CherryThe score which gives us creepy feeling is heard in the precredit. It is mostly made up by bass instruments, together with the scene in deep water, which I think gives us the coming of shark and mysterious feeling deep in the ocean. If not judged wrong, I find there are not few graphic match cuts. For example, when the girl was killed at night, after the billowing the surface then became calm and this was somewhat emerged in the ocean scene again. Though look like the same place, actually it is not—also this time is in morning while the first time is at night. Second, when people are setting the warning sign and the camera starts to focus on the board, the scene then changes to Brody reading books about sharks. This is because of the description shot on the white board is very like the page (also white) in the book.
In this film, to let audience feel much closer to the danger of the sea, whenever there are scenes like people playing in the water, close-ups show. Besides, to make it have turbulent feeling, sometimes camera shots half in the sea. This also shows narrower field, which make us feel not so safe. Dolly-in shots are also in this film, we see Brody sitting (and his wife standing), with close up (he is looking attentively at sea) of his face when they are at the beach. I think eye-line match is widely used in this film. For instance, when the dead boy's mother and father go to blame Brody on not noticing tourist there are sharks, we first find they stop talking and then we look at the direction which they are looking at, and we then find the couple. Here, the low angle shot of the mother (also profile) gives her kind of convincing to "wake up" Brody.
I find there is also some kind of technique, not totally like red fade-out in Cries and Whispers or red-tinted images in The Conformist, yet looks like red-tinted. (I forgot to jot down where it appears. Sorry.)Of course, the red clearly represents blood.
EileenIn the film I see the government official's selfish. The town's mayor insists on opening the beach even though there is a shark in it. He thought that money is worthier than people's life. The tragedy can be prevented but the mayor doesn't care about people's life he just think the profit of having lots of visitors in the beach. It's special that the shark in the film has its own score. When you heard the two notes music you don't have to see the shark and you will know that shark is nearby. In the film I can see not only the human angle but also the shark angle. In the beginning there were a women eaten by the shark, the music makes people nervous and terrified. In the other day the scene change to peaceful and tranquil as if there is nothing happened last night. For me this is the most impressed scene in the film.
TigerThe opening scene of Jaws is very impressive. A tracking shot under the water keep moving front in the sea weed, creating a mysterious atmosphere. Then follows a pan shot when the people sitting around the campfire. The pan shot introduces that the original peaceful and pleasant beach by showing people talking, playing, drinking and kissing. The scene of the shark's first attack is made up of contradictions. From the young people's flirting to the girl's shouting for help, there is one contrast. And then the second contrast is that the girl is attacked by the shark in the night and the scene of the sea ends in the day time with a very smooth and tranquil sea level.
When the chief is in a hurry walking through the street, there is a pan shot focus on him when he goes by a corner. I think the pan shot is well used here because there is only one shot and we can see the chief walk from one street and pass the corner and go on the other street. The editing in the part of shark chasing is complex and very exciting. The director cuts back and forth the activities of the shark and the responses of the three men. At the end of the explosion of the shark we see the shark fin with blood sink into deep water since the shark fin has always been the symbol of the shark.
ChristopherThe movie Jaws was a huge success for Steven Spielberg who already one of the most famous directors today. Jaws is the first success to launch his career, and also is the movie change people's ideas about sharks, thinking they are all threatening and aggressive, but obviously, human are the devil to the sharks, today we are excited to see a shark exploring on the surface of ocean, cause we are going to have its fin for dinner.
A keyed-up cello crescendo was using to underscore the shark had appeared, and it was dangerous. The rhythm of movie is brisk, there doesn't have too much background music and the plot is easy to follow. All the former accidents are contribute to the final climax, but it is going to query about what is the purpose of the ending, because it seems to be a rough ending for the audience who have been tautened for half hour.
CharleneThis film totally scared me to death. The plot and the underscore are matched perfect with each other. First, for the plot part, I think that the mayor really makes me feel a strong antipathy. He is so wealth-oriented and he is so blind that he can only see the profits rather than the overall situation. Citizens seem to be so impotent and helpless because once they become the target of the shark, they would never get the chance to escape from it. On the other hand, I think I am quite fond of the character, Quint. He is a rude man at first, and is also very arrogant that he doesn't believe anyone on his boat. However, I think he is funny and he has a kind of sense of humor that the director wants to express. And I believe everyone would be sympathy about what he has been through after the soliloquy about the sinking of the navy boat many years ago. It is really a pity that he doesn't make it at the end of the film.
As for the music part, the motif for cello alarming the coming of the shark makes me feel the real fright. Those muffled sound is so frightening that I had no idea where and when the shark would appear, which keeps me in continuous suspense. On the other hand, I think the contrast between the silence and the music is very good. For example, the scene when the sea is open to the crowd in the holiday, there is a moment that the shark is about to show up without any underscore music in the background, which is really frightening because it might appear in a surprise. But the music appears later, and that really makes me feel relieved at that time.
Alice HuangIn the movie, Jaws, I find that the music (though I think it's more proper to count most of them as musical cues) and sound tracks sometimes convey a feeling of ironic and the innocence of people on Amity Island. Also, in this film, the technique introduced in the textbook, silence, is often used to create a suspenseful atmosphere.
I think the function of the sounds in this movie is to present a contradictory feeling. It's a horror movie; however, in some scenes the music is unbelievably relaxing and joyful compared with the tense and horrible situation. For example, in the beginning of this film, there is a group of adolescence having a fun near the sea. The music is party like; nevertheless, it shows the innocence of people who know nothing about what is going on under the water. Another scene which also displays this kind conflict occurs at the inauguration of the National Day. The pleasant sounds coming out from tourists and the mayor's welcoming speech enhance the ironic feeling and make the audience become even more worried for them. The conflict of the sounds between people's naïveté and the potential danger caused by the shark makes the suspenseful atmosphere even stronger.
Speaking of the cue of the big white shark, though it's just a series of simple and repeated melody, which mainly consists of two low sounds with different pitches, it does make the audience feel nervous and taut. I think the director and the sound designer make a big success by applying this cue, forming the sense of verisimilitude that involves audience's emotions. The cue is originally served as a signal of the shark's appearance. Yet, sometimes the director deliberately fails the expectation of the audiences, then scaring them at the next second.
All in all, the director and the sound designer cooperate with each other successfully since they not only choose a proper sound cue for the appearance of the shark but make a good use between this cue and other cheerful music.
JosephOne of the advantages of movie is that the volume of dialogues can be adjusted during the postproduction process. Although there are many overlapped conversations in this film, the editors can easily adjust which dialogue should be the main one, and rest of them will become another background sound.
Repeated scores and contrast between music and silence are effectively used during this film. For example, the same music motif is used when the real shark appears. Also, while the scenes are underwater, the editor chooses taking another music score representing the water scene. In addition, the editor makes good use of silence, calling attention to itself, because of the great contrast between the previous noisy scenes and silent ones. One obvious example lies in that the editor likes to cut to silent sea scenes, contrasting with noisy beaches or the crowd. Besides these, I want to point out a special use of music when the trio chase after the shark in order to shoot it. The editor uses more cheerful music rather than horrible one, which also makes another contrast with previous terrifying scenes. Instead of being strange, the tempo of the score actually corresponds to the chasing process.
Vicky ShihJaws was the movie I had watched when I was just a child. But during the second view, I still deeply affected by the frightening music. This film is really a representative work by Steven Spielberg. And it also a breakthrough of the horror films! After Steven Spielberg filmed this movie, many themes of films about shark appeared. But seldom of them can do well as Steven. The main praiseworthy achievement must be attributed to the music composed by John Williams. He successfully constructs the tense atmosphere. Even when I just listen to the music without watching the film, I can still feel the horror. I think Jaws is really a classical work!
Alice WangThe movie Jaws is always considered to be one of Steven Spielberg's most well-known film, and it is even usually seen as the first major success for Spielberg as he became one of the most famous movie directors afterwards. The film is most acclaimed for its music and editing. As for the underscore in the music, it is best known for the impressive two-note cello motif. Whenever the real shark is about to make an appearance in the movie, the muffled sound is used in order to signal its arrival. Also, the use of silence plays an important part, too, and it is usually used after chaotic scenes to make effective contrasts. Another feature of the sound effect in the movie is the frequent used simultaneous dialogues. During many scenes it is obvious that several dialogues are intended to be shown at the same time, creating a sense of realism, making the scenes much more realistic. On the other hand, the sexual subtext in the film is one of the important central ideas that develop throughout the film. As the three men that were in the first place afraid of the Unconscious and the castration symbolized by the mutilation caused by the Shark gradually have the courage to face it bravely, that is, they are facing their fear toward sex. And eventually, with their triumph of killing the Shark, they at the same time defeat their sexual fears.
MamieThis film is noteworthy for its editing and music cue. In the credit sequence, the two-motif for cello suggests the arrival of the cruel shark. This music becomes an excellent motif in the film because as long as we hear this music, we immediately know a REAL shark is going to show up. I also notice that Steven Spielberg often uses low angle shot in shark scenes. It creates an exciting atmosphere as if we are chased by an unseen murderer. At first, we can only see the victim's lower half body and cannot see the shark at all. As a result, I think the music can symbolize the shark. The editor remains the mystery of shark until the climax. We finally realize how big and scared the shark is until it is going to die. I think the editor arranges the plot so well that we are actually frightened by the bloody scene.
TiffanyThis is a classic film in movie history. Steven Spielberg produced and John William scored. The two-motif sound for shark used well to attract viewers' attention. And I was not terrified when the fake shark appears because that scene's editing and score are too calm and peaceful but the "silence" sound is contrast to the girl's shriek at next shot to increase nervous atmosphere which let viewers wonder "Is that a real shark?" In addition, there are plenty of match-on-action cuts and POV cuts which hardly notice. And when trio (Quint, Hooper, and Brody) depart to kill shark, the scene is shot as they goes into or out of the shark's mouth which respectively implies the danger in their depart and their necessary success to conquer shark or their inner horror.
AbbyAt the beginning camping scene, there is one man seems different from others. He drinks alone, not kissing or chatting, and he becomes the first one spotted the missing of the girl thus the theme begins. I think the special effect of "Jaws" is quite good as long as at that time when it is produced. With the help of the special effect, it could establish the setting and cause the exciting feeling of the scenes. And I think the music cue of the movie is quite obvious. When the shark is coming, viewers can easily tell from the change of the music. There is a special method of showing the keyword in the movie. It is when the chief receives the phone call, and he types "SHARK ATTACK" instead of saying it. And the effect of the scene that when chief's wife sees the picture that the shark attacks the boat, thus immediately changes her idea to urge her son to come home, the scene is quite amusing.
IvanaBasically, I like the film. It begins with sequence of killing events, and finally reaches the climax—the shark being killed. I love the establishing shots before and after each event. Before the first victim goes into the sea, an establishing shot on the sea show the location. After the victim dies, another establishing shot and long silence close the first event, reacquainting the viewers with the location, suggesting the unpredictable danger. The second time when viewers see the establishing shot on sea and a long silence; they feel the suspense, expecting the coming of the shark.
Yet, the only thing I would criticize on the film is the display of incomplete corpses. It's an easy way to scare viewers by showing the fresh blood and the mauled wound in front of them. However, I find it barbaric to do so. Personally, I prefer Alfred Hitchcock's montage sequences on killing scenes.
IdaNo wonder Jaws can get so many money at the box office, it is really a great film full of suspense and tension. There are some popular themes in this film. First, the week masculinity showed by Brody. Second, the corrupted authority showed by the mayor as he does not want to close the beach. Spielberg does a good job to show those themes, and some shots are great too. For example, the underwater scenes are terrific and the shark looks real. To sum up, this film is great as the plot is attractive, the shotting looks real and terrific, the music suits the scenes, and the dialogues are humor. However, as this film lasts for about two hours, I somehow find it boring as they keep on chasing the shark and vice versa for the last hour.
JeanetteThe underscore is very thrilling and reasonable since the film start with shots of deep water, the audience then anticipates seeing big shark at the very beginning. It's kind of weird to stop the thrilling at a sudden and soon turn in a scene which people are partying. (I expect to see more shots under the water.) Also, the under-water shots are used effectively in this film in my opinion. When audience saw the bare legs of children and adults, we are also afraid that the shark will appear suddenly. Even sometimes there are a few false alarm, those shots look creepy, too. The shark finally "shows up" when Brody, Quint and Hooper are haunting. Before, we only see the huge fin of the creature instead of the whole body. It also makes us keep imagining how big and dangerous the shark is. The accumulated fear then can results well at the end.
JulietIn Jaws, the use of different sounds enhances different atmosphere, and sometimes even helps to present ideas. One sound that impresses me most is the cello sound which announces the approach of shark. Undoubtedly, this sound is a motif in Jaws. It not only prophesies the coming danger but also strengthens the tense mood. Moreover, this sound is only used while the real shark is coming. Hence, it is easy for us to distinguish between the real shark and the fake one. For instance, in one scene, while two boys pretend as the shark, we can find that this music cue is not used. Besides using particular cue for particular character, John Williams also makes a contrast between sounds. For example, before the shark attack, there seems silent and peaceful. Then, a kind of ominous sound is given off, and we can predict that something will happen. Of course, we hear the motif cue of the shark, and see the shark comes to attack people. Also, after the shock attack, it becomes silent again. In my opinion, the contrast between silence and the shark cue successfully differentiates the different atmosphere between "attacking" and "after attacking."
What's more, one interesting editing in Jaws impresses me. That is the scene which Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) and his wife have a friction—because of different attitudes towards their boy plays in a boat after a shock attack. In this scene, we see that Brody's wife disagrees with Brody who does not want their son to play in the sea. However, in the next cut which is an eyeline-match cut (from the wife's point of view), we see a picture showing a shark attacks a boat. Seeing this, Brody's wife immediately changes her view, and asks the boy not to play. This is an interesting editing for me. This editing indeed makes me laugh, and somehow lightens the tense atmosphere.
AprilIn the crediting sequence, the theme music score already set the tone for the film. The pattern of the composed sound makes the song intense and meaningful. The repetition of the playing of string instrument and trumpet as well as the sudden appearance of stinger-like music piece increases the impending omen.
Also, when Hooper dived into the sea to inspect the sunken boat, there is a stinger when the dead head of the woman suddenly comes into sight, which adds to the effect.
The name of the town Amity sounds like "empty" to me, which suggests that the shark will kill numbers of people.
MaxThe opening sequence of "Jaws" is very unique. The pleasant air is followed by gloomy and terrible atmosphere resulting from the shark attack. And then, it becomes silent again. The change from chaotic to tranquil actually reinforces the feeling of horror. It is very ironic that the sea returns still as if nothing happened when a lady is killed. Aother similar example is the cheerful background music occuring when the three man are threatened by the shark. Although the music is joyful, it actually makes the air scary. Finally, the classic music indicating the appearance and the point of view from the shark in the water greatly arouse viewers' tense. Whenever the tow-note sounds appear, viewers start to feel nervous because of the arrival of the killer shark.
CarolinaThis movie is really one of the greatest thrillers ever that I have seen until now. Spielberg has really done a marvelous job in the direction as the storyline is actually very simple – a shark appears in a tourist attraction and the habitants need to hunt it down in order to maintain their summer economical interest. The beginning is very scary as a woman gets killed and later, it shows the remains of the corpse. The shark does not entirely appear in the first half of the movie but the music cue conveys the idea of its existence. The audience gets really nervous whenever they listen to it like the scene when two kids have provoked a commotion on the beach because they are disguised as a shark. The shark is not there, but we assume that it is there. Our mind is just scaring ourselves with something that we presume, and this is the scariest part of this genre. Steven Spielberg is really an amazing director – shark, dinosaurs, UFO, Indiana Jones, Transformers, and so on. I noticed in IMDB that he even participated in the Twilight Zone as a producer. He directed this film when he was only 28 years old! Though I am not a thriller or sci-fi movie fan, I am still fond of this amazing director.
JohnI have watched many movies about shark, but all of them were taken in current ten years. They have used almost same way to scare spectators. The blooding screen is one of them. Sometimes I feel disgusting about that. This one gives me some different feelings. It perfectly uses music to create nervous effect. There is one part that using two sounds when shark appears to attack human. It can be easily associated with shark. The most impressive grand part is killing shark. The background music matches up the nervous screen really shake my heart.
SophiaIn Jaws, the sound is used effectively. The most noticeable instrument used in the film is the piano. The music producers create a suspenseful scene in the background of piano. Also, the producers also make good use of the clarinet and the oboe to establish a tense and nervous atmosphere. With the music mainly composed by the harp, the scene was created as a good ending. The editing of music plays an important role in the film. Also, the editing in Jaws is organized and designed. One of the successful editing is when the corpse of the girl is found the reaction of the actors. Followed by a conversation between the captain and a young man, the cut comes immediately to the police's face. With a close-up shot, the police's facial expression shows how horrible and poor the victim is. Also, another interesting editing is used when the captain watches and controls on beach. Continuously, several people come to him and talk to him. The cutting from the back of the other person is interesting. At the same time, the background music creates how tense and nervous the captain feels.
TinaObviously, the jaws motif (the music) is effectively used in this film. To me, the most effective scene is the one in which Matt Hooper dives with the cage and the poison and then encounters a shark, which is actually not the shark they are looking for. When the first shark appears, audience are shocked and thought it as the Big White Shark. But audience in aware could notice that this is not the Big White Shark because the jaws motif does not appear at all!In addition to the apparent Jaws motif, there are also other musics constantly used in the film. For example, the ballad sung by Captain Quint. The melody of this song appears when Captain Quint, Matt Hooper, and the sheriff are tracing the shark. To me this is a strange arrangement, since filmmakers usually put edgy music in this kind of nervous and suspenseful situation. Instead, Spielburg and his crew use a quite lighthearted music in this scene. Maybe the intention is to make the audience misunderstand that human are winning the game.
AnneThis is a very classical Hollywood movie, and of course I enjoy it a lot when every time I saw it . Especially , I am interesting about the music and the suspend atmosphere the director created . In the movie ,the director using the scary atmosphere to terrify us instead of describing how violent and fast the shark is . We seldom saw a scene that shot the whole shark , however most commonly we saw the fin , part of the shark . Besides , people in town all enjoy the celebration and vacation and this time is the tourism season of the town . Even though there are several shark attack events ,the police still have the pressure not to close the beach .
In the last half part of the movie , the task is to get the aggressive giant shark . I would like to put attention on the underscore cues when the men go for the shark . In that part , three men on boat going to find the shark it's a long journey ,they got peaceful ,nervous ,happy atmosphere each them have different underscored cue . On of the scene which I liked a lot is that , on of them threw the knife and cutting into the boat shows the determination of getting the shark and they were annoyed by the cunning shark .
KarenJaws is really an exciting movie. In the first sequence of the shark attack, the two-note cello music emerges, signifying the arrival of the shark, and later uses as motifs to denote the coming shark. Maybe the two-note shark motifs also give us a warning that someone is going to become the shark's meal and we will a see bloody mutilated part of one's body. Moreover, the scenes from underwater show us that the shark is approaching as well, and probably these are point-of-view shots from the shark. Both music and editing for the shark allow viewers to know what might happen in the next scene. It also increases tension for the shark attack. In this film, the shark hunter Quint may represent boldness, while the police Brody represent fear, the fear of both water and shark. Nevertheless, it is the fearful one who eventually killed the shark, and the daring and experienced one is killed by the shark. Suppose this has an ironic implication that no matter how one is brave and proficient, luck always plays a part in everything. And perhaps Quint is bound to die for he is so puffed with pride.
HanselMonster movies have always been popular, and have been improved with advanced special effects. The film Jaws was released more than thirty years ago, yet it can still beat many movies today. It is an exciting and frightening, not because we see how terrible the shark is, but because we cannot see what makes us afraid. The film is good in creating suspense. During most of the film, we do not see the shark itself. The movement of the camera makes us wonder if it is the shark. We are frightened because the underscore makes us nervous and the shots make us anticipate what is coming next. The movie does not only focus on the problem caused by the shark but also on people's different attitudes in such a situation. Righteousness and selfishness are also an important issue, and it makes the film more sophisticated.
HollyThe composer of the film scores the shots in the movie successfully. I was quite impressive by the shark's attack and the score really adds color to those attacking shots. Correct use of music will make the actors' body movement and their facial expressions vividly presented on the screen. What's more, music delights our ear while we are appreciating one shot. Lots of shots are taken in the water, which gives a sense of horror, making the scene extremely dangerous to the audience. In the film, the male characters take the main role, being put on the emphasis in most of the shots. Maybe that's because the film's topic seems to be more masculine, or easily associated with the men' bravery and boldness when confronting the unpredictable nature and terrifying creatures, such as the shark, the dinosaur or the crocodile. It would be a little frustrating that the women can hard deal with this kind of movie. Maybe the phenomenon is out of the general stereotype of female. Women are always required to be gentle and tender, waiting for men coming home. Female play the role of counselor most of the time and that's why it's hard to see the women having the tougher personality in the old movies.
Vicky LinThe movie we see this week is Jaws. I am so impressive the score of the "shark." Because it is repeated many time and is so well done to match the scene. The most interesting is that the shark score is only used when the "real" shark appears. We can observe that when there is the "fake" shark shows, the editor do not use the score for it. I also impressive when there is the second shark attack, the editor uses some close shots of Brody, the Chief. The shot of Brody become closer and closer. In the end, the editor even uses a quick zoom-in to shot Brody's face to indicate his shock when the shark appears and attack the people in the sea.
Vivian YangThe Jaws, directed by Steven Spiellberg, is a great success in its sound production. For most of the audience, the sound effect which goes with the shark is the most unforgettable part in this film. Apart from using the cello sound track, the sound editor also applies stingers to emphasize the terrifying appearance of sharks. Notice that there is one scene which children dress up like sharks, the sound effect is also scary as if the editor still wants to make believe the existence of sharks.
Another interesting theme of The Jaw is the familiar image of men, including Brody, the shark expert, and Quint. During the climax of the film, which is the wrestle between human and sharks, the conversations of thm are often related to female. For example, Quint makes fun of Brody about his wife, and keeps singing songs about a Spanish lady, and so on. The oppressed sexual desire of Quint is evident. However, in Brody, I could only see the girl-like indecisiveness and clumsiness.
All in all, after watching The Jaws, I somehow understand why it is recommanded by so many people and is repeatedly shown on movie channels. The fascination ofThe Jaw, in my opinion, would be proved by more and more viewings of the public.
EmilyI like this film so much. Its plot is so interesting. The sound in the film is used very well. The viewers can follow the film by hearing the sound. There is the specific music tract when the shark appears. The viewers may become nervous and want to know what is going to happen. The director uses the music track very well; it is combined with the plot and go with it.
HazelDuring the Jaws, the shark, actually, doesn't come out most of the time. However, the background music warns of audiences the upcoming danger. What's more, the composition makes us feel panic and fear and get into a state. That's to say, the non-diegetic music creates a kind of thriller and nervous atmosphere successfully. When the music plays, the audience may be aware of that the shark will show and they star to imagine the frightful figure of the shark. It will make the movie more horrible. Additionally, the director often takes the shark as a subject and that make the audience feels like we are hunted. Both of the music and the shots represent strong visual effect and construct a remarkable style of movies.
Vincentfilms about shark in hollywood. But Jaws is the most unique one. Most movies of this kind today are focus on the visual effect, like how furious and fast the shark is, or how bloodthirsty it is. On the contrary, Jaws is much more focus on the atmosphere. In other words, the director, Steven Spielberg makes this film an absolute thriller. It makes me think of the first movies of the Alien series. Likewise, in the Alien, people aer killed by a mysterious creature, and It hides in the shadow. The fearness to the unknown things help the movie build a perfect atmosphere of a thriller.
Jaws can't be such successful without the score, Just like the director says. I love the main theme so much. The structure of this song is simple. But it perfectly makes the audience feel the shark, the danger. At first, the shark is far away, staring at the prey. Then, it sneaks closer and closer. Finally, the deadly chasing begins, and the exciting rythm almost makes me feel the shark is just behind me, and its sharp teeth almost reach my flesh and bones.
DavidJaws (Steven Spielberg) is typical of all the horror films. Although the shark actually does not appear very often in the film, Steven Spielberg was very successful in making a horrible atmosphere. Whenever the audience hear the main theme of the Shark, they get nervous. The underscore successfully connects the shark and the music itself. We can know the shark is going to do something terrible even though we have not seen it. The framing is also worth noticing. When the chief is watch the people in the sea, people keep talking to him, and then block part of his view. The POV shot followed by a close up of the chief, trying to watch the sea, is very interesting.
Vivian LinTo be honest, I do not like the movie, although it is a kind of fun when the three guys live in the ship and face the shark. Everytime, the shark appear suddenly, I am alwasys scared. The music is great when they fight the shark. The favorite scene is that they are eating dinner and telling the story. Then, the song comes out. They all want to go home. Suddenly, the shark bumps the ship which freaks me out. I like musice because it is really impressive and sometimes it reachs its goal, such as sacre. The movie with a happy ending that make me a kind of sad because I expect the different situation.
MinnieAbout the underscore: When it compare to the Psycho, it just gives a huge fear. The music of psycho was very detail and sensitive, I think. That's why I remember that is beautiful scene rather than cruel. Jaws theme is really awesome. Actually we can hear two mainstream notes from this movie's. By controlling the volume, viewers feel nervous. When it becomes louder, it suggests jaws' approach. If I saw that movie without this music, I would be disappointed by jaw's unrealistic figure. Especially, when the jaws almost ride up to the boat, I clearly felt that it's old movie.
VioletThere are a lot of cinematographs for making audience thrilling. First, when Brody observe at the bitch, he notices that there is a strange thing, and the camera shows us Brody's face gradually zoom in again and again. Moreover there was another express. When Brody noticed that the shark coming, DP use 'zoom in-track out' method. Actually I've never noticed it before. When the shark attempt to coming, DP use 'point of view shot'. It means the view of scene was at the shark. And when the shark approaching, there wasn't shark in the frame. Instead of real shark shape, DP use image of the shape of shark under props and success to make audience feel trilling.
And also its sound was too. At this moment, when the shark quest about for his meal here and there, very famous sound was played together. I can never forget these timely scenes. When village people discuss each other, the shriek of fingernails on a blackboard by Quint was very helpful to create horrifying atmosphere.
I heard that this movie made in Steven Spielberg's young ages, I've only surprise at this masterpiece. When person in danger to death from shark, the camera take various shot of him. First, there was a boy who half drowned in the water and the camera shows us the scene in shark's view. The camera moved up and down at surface of the water. When the camera was in the water we can't hear sounds just we can hear the sound of under the sea. Also when the camera was on the upside of surface of water, we can hear any sounds. That is exactly same as normal people do.
When Brody and Hopper reconnoiter, I think this scene was most horrifying scene to me. There was only light from ship, the darkness and silent was all over sea. Gradually and unnoticeably the horrifying music was played.
In this movie, there was a scene that I like the most. When Brody and his second son sitting in the table, his son acting after the manner of his father. Father drinks his glass of alcohol and son drinks his glass of water. This scene was most impressive scene to me.
HilaryI admit that I like the commercial film. All the time there will be a hero and there will be some jokes, for example, the college student said" here is broken" with his hand pointing to his chest. This movie is really charming!
I like some editing of it. There was a frame on the police's glasses. When the pages were turned over and over, that means he study lots of pages of the book about shark. Another one is that graphic match shot. After he drank the wine, the frame changed from the bottom of the glass to a shining electric torch. I like the tempo of this movie. It is so attractive. Sometimes I may doubt whether the shark appear or not. And I will listen to the underscore music to tell apart that. Several times I was frightened, when the shark emerged or the horrible music cues. At that time the technique of model making is amazing. I almost thought the shark is a real one. This is the last film we see this semester, and I love it so much!
IrvingI love this kind of movie, especially their score, which creating nervous feeling only with two notes play alternatively .
I also like the director using similar shots that take swimmers' legs underwater to make us thought the big white shark is approaching, yet sometimes it turns out nothing happen. I think this kind of shots can enhance the nervous atmosphere in parts which are not that interest audience.
The shot the police watching the beach when his wife talks in front of him and blocks his eyesight interest me very much, because there are many funny situations which make audience think of shark attack, like the screaming from a girl, the girl was self-moving with legs unseen. Director uses POV shot to make me feel the same feel of the police. This is one reason that makes me like seeing this kind of film, because when watching movie, I can experience direct feeling of horror.
PSYCHO student comments Scheduled film for Friday 11 June 2010
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Date: Fri, Oct 1, 2010 at 11:20 AM
Subject: Re: Scheduled film for Friday 11 June 2010
To: rdca25@gmail.com
Date: Fri, Oct 1, 2010 at 11:20 AM
Subject: Re: Scheduled film for Friday 11 June 2010
To: rdca25@gmail.com
2010/6/24
Joseph, Mamie, Abby, Tiffany, Karen, Candy Jiang, Vicky Shih, Max, Anne, Christopher, Ivana, Jeanette, Charlene, April, Cherry, Vicky Lin, Alice Wang, Katherine, David, Tina, Hansel, Hazel, Minnie, Holly, Violet, Emily, Chin, Alice Huang, Vivian Yang, Sophia, Irving, Christopher, Ida, Vincent, Tiger, Vivian Lin, Carolina, John
JosephPsycho is a good example of thriller film for its plot is not too complex and the paving for the climax is quite skillful. To make viewers get involved with the characters, the director may choose close-ups. Besides that, subjective shot or eyeline match are also other possibilities. In this film, the subtle usage of subjective shot and eyeline match both contribute our involvement into the characters, scenes, and plot. Of course it raises the sense of suspense. Dissolves are used commonly in this film as well. They are a good way to save money, and makes plot become more connected, rather than redundant. Underscores also give impetus to the success of this film. We obviously hear some underscores are repeatedly used, and each of them suggests specific functions. The most impressive one may be the high violin sound, which is used right before the murderer is about to appear and kill others. It is really effective, just like another score used while Marion tries to run away. Since the main theme of this film is dual personalities, the mirror motif is constantly used, which is a general usage. In addition, when watching this movie for the first time, people would not know the reason why opening sequence is presented like that, unless they finish this film. It also stands for the concept of duality. By making this, the opening and the end echo with one another.
MamiePsycho is definitely a thiller with perfect music cue. Although it is a black and white movie, the music cue makes the whole movie worth watching and plays an important part in Psycho.For example, when Marino drives the car quickly in order to escape the police, the same music cue appears to show her anxiety. Each time when I hear the familiar music, I immedately know Marino is in danger. I think the composer not only use music to express charater’s emotion but use it as a strong and impressing background music. The film wii not be completele without the horrible music accompany. The credit sequence separates the word phycho into several parts which responds the split personality theme. Here I want to put emphasis on the famous shower scene, a series of short cuts imply that Marino is stabbed by a unknown murderer. The scene that her blood flows to the shower drain later on connecting to her eyes is extremely a perfect shot. The shot follows from Marino’s amplified eyes to her dead body to show her miserable death. To sum up, Psycho is an excellent film woth good musuc cue and fabulous editing.
AbbyIn “Psycho”, there is a “striped ” beginning, there are a lot of lines. And the music starts the movie is very impressive and repeats throughout the whole movie. It begins with a high angle shot to shot the whole city, then gradually zoom in and in, in the window of the room where Marion and Sam secretly date for the lunch time. And there is a regular pattern for the murder scenes. When there is the murder, there would be screams and the high pitch sounds appears continuously. Since “Psycho” is a thriller movie, the music helps a lot to establish the thrilling atmosphere. And I like how the movie ends. It ends with psycho Mr. Bate sitting there. With his or I should say her soliloquy, everything is clear and it is like a real ending.
TiffanyThere are plenty of mirror motifs in this film which implies the duality and separate personality―related to the word “Psycho.” The point of view shot from Marion to the money let viewers know the inner desire of Marion. And the scene when Arbogast walks upstairs to explore the house, even though the cutaway of opening door tells me the possible second murder, I was still terrified by the music ( I think it is high violins.) suddenly appearing. Moreover, when Norman goes into the second-floor room to talk with his mother, the voice-over tenses my feeling and lets me want to see his mother. However, the dizzy shot and high-angle shot did not satisfy my desire but increase my horror as well as nervous feeling. The lap-dissolve at the end responds to the title “Psycho” and gives viewers the terror of the killer, too.
Karen
I like the music in the title sequence of Psycho very much, as well as the string orchestration of the credit music. Sometimes the theme music adds tension and interest to the movie. Bernard Herrmann’s scores are really notable, not only in Psycho, but also in other films with his scores. For example, the underscore “The Peephole” adds sadness to the peeping scene and also emphasizes the constrained desire inside Norman. The shower scene is also one of the most famous sequences in cinema history, and I have also seen an American TV series that used this music. In this sequence, I especially appreciate the lap dissolve from the shower drain to Marion’s eye, and then slowly zoom out to see Marion’s whole face. After Marion’s murder, Norman’s action of cleaning up the blood and disposing of her corpse looks so calm and quick that he seems to have done such a behavior numerous times before, and thus makes us suspect that he might be the murderer. The final sequence of showing Norman’s smiling face is really creepy, and kind of successfully freaks us out.
Candy JiangThis time when I was appreciating this masterpiece in the history of film—Psycho, I put much of my emphasis on the music and found that Hitchcock match the melody with the atmosphere well.
The first perfect match that I found is in the beginning sequence. When Marion was kind of begging Sam to marry her, she said one line, “I’d make the steps.” Right after this, Sam turned and walked away, showing that he refused marriage. In this scene, Hitchcock used a close-up to Marion, representing her sense of lost. But what’s really worth mentioning is the melody that can be heard at this moment—the slowly and sad melody, which actually intensified Marion’s feeling.
Moreover, after Marion got home from her work, there’s another perfect sound-and-image match. When she was changing her clothes, there was an extremely close-up to the bag of money with $40,000, which Marion’s employer asked her to put into the bank. This extremely close-up was accompanied by a melody that aroused audience a strange feeling toward what was going on in the movie. The melody went on with a pan shot to the luggage that Marion was preparing. At this moment, audience knew right away that Marion was planning to escape with the money. She was doing something immoral, something illegal.
The last music cue that I was to mention is the cue occurring whenever Marion felt nervous. The first time the cue was heard is when Marion was driving to escape. On her way, she stopped for the red light but accidentally met her employer. When her employer turned to see her, looking confused, the cue began, showing that Marion was nervous and afraid to be discovered. Later on, the same cue occurred after Marion was checked and questioned by a police. The cue was heard after the police sequence. That means getting rid of the police does not mean a relief but a greater nervousness instead because Marion suspected that someone was following her but actually not. She was so nervous, so afraid and so guilty. The third time the cue showed is after Marion purposely changed her car. On her way leave, the cue lingered with voice-overs, which is mainly about her boss’s and her friends’ comment about what she was doing. This time, the cue has the same meaning as I mentioned before—guilt and nervousness.
Vicky ShihThis movie filmed by the famous director Alfred Hitchcock, it really shocked me and made me feel dread. Alfred Hitchcock is well-known for his horrific and doubtful films. And he was skilled in using the montage technique. In this film, the noted passage is when Marion Crane taking a bath and suddenly a person has a knife stabbing at her. This paragraph was taken apart into many close-up shots to express the whole process. After Marion Crane was murdered, the hostel manager Norman Bates immediately appeared to deal with the corpse. The story misled viewers to consider Norman Bates has an aged mother who was lunatic and she was the killer. But it until to the last, people eventually realize that there was no the old woman. The killer was Norman Bates himself and he is a psycho. After watching over this movie, my heart still fluttering with fear. I think Alfred Hitchcock is really the master for thrilling films.
MaxThe sound is greatly used in this film. When the lady is escaping in a car, viewers can hear her boss and the guest talking about the money she stole though the two characters are off-screen. The sound indicates her guess about how is everything going after she leaves. Another good example is the ending scene. When the man is sitting still, it is the voice of her mother that talks, which represents his mind at that moment is occupied by another personality.
In addition, the scence the lady is killed is classical. The intercut showing the knife penetrates her body and her screams is efficient. However, the scene does not seem real, for there is a far distance between the knife and her body. Because of the color, the blood looks just like chocolate. Finally, the woman falls down on the floor with her eye open. The scene rotates and then the shot moves to the money. It powerfully shows her grief and makes the audience feel sorry for her.
AnneI’ve heard this movie for a long time, but having no chance to watch it. I were very glad that we saw this classical movie in class. This move have wonderful music underscored. The movie in each plot made me much more be immerse in the movie and much more nervous. I love the movie gave people a feeling of suspense. In fact, when the main actress was killed during shower time , I was wondering that could be the owner of the motel . However , the director using lots of different way and shot to show that the mother of the owner still alive, so that I doubted about myself. Though the end of the movie may be what you guessed early ,you still don’t have a hundred percent sure about yourself and being led by the movie. This is quit interesting , and I was admire of the editor and director. Besides , there are some lap dissolves ,such as the eye of the woman and the drainage hole of the tub and the face of the motel owner and his mother, etc . As far as I am concerned , the first one meant that the fade away of the water such as the fade away of the life. The second one meant the same person had two personality such as two faces dissolve on him.
ChristineAt first, the underscore sequence repeatedly followed the appearance of mirrors motif which implied the doubled personalities intended to mislead us to believe that Marion is the psycho as we suspected. Even at the scene where Norman invited Marion for dinner, the mirrior appeared again to show the reflection of Marion who, however we knew that she is not the psycho after her death, later talked about madness with Norman.
The high-picth and fast beat underscores with visual shots were well-functioned where detective Arbogast walked upstairs takes us to thrilled and scared emotion when characters entered the Bate’s house. And then the music was interrupted when “Mrs. Bates” poped out and stabbed the victims with knife. Also, the montage sequence of the murder shots explicitly presented the crime scenethough we didn’t exactly see the blood pouring out from naked Marion and did not see the crimianl. Abundants of cuts were put together to create the crime spot.
Ivana
I love this film. It is taken in black and white so that the killing sequences are not so bloody. Professor told us that the “blood on the screen” is actually chocolate, which adds verisimilitude in especially a black and white movie. Also, the killing scenes are shot without real action on knife penetrating the woman. The music cue, the expression of the woman and the shot on iris tells all. But still, the film keeps the audience in suspense and leads the audiences to the climax by its good editing. One of the good examples is the way of avoiding face of the mother throughout the whole film. At first, the shadow by the window and the voice-over quarrel scenes makes me assume that the mother does not die and that the son buries the bodies for protecting his mother. And then the high angle shot of the son’s moving his mother to the basement creates suspense and climax in the following scenes. I pay a lot of compliments on the file since it is the few one among horror movies that brings horror without bloody and disgusting scenes.
JeanetteIn Psycho, Anthony Perkins’ (as Norman Bates) acting impresses me a lot. Undoubtedly, it is hard to play a dissociative identity disorder patient. For me, Anthony Perkins successfully presents the mental disorder of Norman Bates by his acting, especially his facial expression. For instance, when Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) suggests Norman to send his mentally ill old mother to a sanitarium, we can easily find that Norman’s facial expression is slightly changed—from ordinary to kinds of evil. In fact, after observing this slight changes in facial expression from a close-up, I become confused and predict that something may happened. Moreover, we even can guess that Marion may encounters something bad while seeing Norman weirdly peeps through the hole to observe her. In addition, I praise the sound which is frequently used in chase scenes. I think that the rhythm of this sound enhances the tense atmosphere of chases. When hearing this, I indeed become nervous and even worry about the character. As far as I am concerned, choosing proper sound in the right scene actually enhances the atmosphere and also helps to express that scene.
CharleneI think this film is indeed a success in 1960s. In that age, I believe there would be no such great horror film, and “Psycho” can be called the mother of the horror movie. The name of the movie gives a hint of the plot. In the opening shot, the camera tracks in on an apartment, where the couples stay. They are in love, indeed, but the atmosphere is a little bit strange about the fact that Marion is thinking about leaving Sam, like a time bomb waiting to explode. On the other hand, in the beginning of the film, I mistook the money is the motif through the entire movie, but then it proved that I was wrong. The main character is the holder of the hotel, Norman. He looks so normal and is a filial kid in our perspective. His passiveness can be seen by his attitude when Marion talks about her mother. Only when he talks with Marion about his hobby—making a bird into a specimen, I begin to feel there is something wrong with him.
Another thing I want to talk about is the music. The screeching violins are very impressive to me and it keeps playing in my brain after seeing the movie. The underscore of Bernard Herrmann’s ostinato figure becomes a repeated motif through the entire movie. It first begins along with Marion and the money, which leading a sense of urgency to her plight and also her madness. Every time when I heard the melody, I would know that something would happen, increasing my suspicion to every action of the characters.
AprilMusic and the visual graphs in the crediting sequence make the audience feel nervous. Afterwards, in the film, the director again and again tracks the specific position of the stolen money, enveloping the film with approaching punishment for Marion Crane. During Marion’s escape, she imagines all the possible dialogue happening back in Phoenix; the dissolves of images and fading voices chasing her, just like the sense of guilt following her all the way to the Bates Motel. The murder sequence in the bathroom is a classic. The murder scene is shot in every aspect and the high pitch sound of the string instrument cuts clearly with every slash by the murderer.
CherryAfter Marion steals 40,000 US dollars from her employer, whenever she is alone the suspenseful underscore starts. We know the importance of the money first in her room because she deals with all things (ex. Packing, dressing…) and finally to the money. This also shows since the camera has close-ups to the money both in her room and in Norman’s hotel room. Furthermore, when Marion was assassinated by Norman, disguised as a woman, the camera traced again to the white-enveloped money (the cause).
To have more feeling with Marion, we see with her from the car mirror that she is followed by the policeman. Continued to the voice-over scene (before she met the police) she drives to escape; we see she become more nervous after being followed. The change of surrounding also reinforces this feeling and is important. For instance, she drives from day to night; it starts to rain and it becomes heavier and heavier, at last it is no use even though with windshield wipers. I think this perfectly shows her inner mood (nervous). And the quick movement of the wipers is like her eyelids, too quick, she cannot even know what she is doing!
Our first impression of the hotel is horrible since we see the dark house high situated on the higher place with only few lights on (the clouds in the sky also float quickly). Next, since I know this film is related to sex, the first time I saw the stuffed birds high on the wall, especially many times framed with Norman, I think that he maybe have problem in this part or something yet it never reveals in the film (like what mentions in pics, the real theme has something to do with sex not money).
The shower before Marion was killed, to me, is kind of relief that she is safe, not conventional meaning (rebirth). And the following killed scene is with high pitch underscore. Finally is about the scary house. Our first “trip” inside the house is with Arbogast (a private detective). When he went up the stairs, the camera then from high angle, which I think is the omen for something. It looks like he becomes the “prey” of something unknown that spied on him (he was killed afterwards). Second time, we follow Lila (Marion’s sister) to explore the house. It adds overwhelmed feeling to us when Lila comes closer and closer to the house. The director also shows Lila’s hard to walk through the weeds (almost every step). Finally, one of most impressive and scary images is the last shot of Norman in prison. Now, he is the blend of his mom and himself. There are both voice-over of a woman (I think is his mom) and dissolve of Norman’s mom.
Vicky LinPsycho is the most famous movie of Hitchcock. It reminds me of John Carpenter’s Halloween because both of them are thriller films. In Psycho, I am so impressive the scene that Marion is driving away from Phoenix, the editor uses the voice-over and lap dissolves to contrast Marion’s anxious mood. I think it is really creative. I am also impressive of the editing that when Marion is being killed by Norman. Just like what the professor mentioned, the montages make audiences “imagine” the killing. Actually, the knife does not touch Marion’s body; however, through the montages and the underscore, audiences can imagine the killing as being real. For myself, I even hear the sound when the killer uses the knife to stab heavily into Marion’s body again and again.
Alice WangPsycho is usually said to be one of Alfred Hitchcock’s most well-known films, even one of the most famous movies of all time. The film can be seen as a real classic and is most praised for its underscore and editing. For the famous underscore in the film, it is composed by the well-known master Bernard Hermann. Hermann’s underscore adds a great amount of suspense and interest to the movie, playing a rather crucial role in the film, especially help present the development of the plot a great deal. As in most of his masterpieces, Bernard Hermann used a lot of ostinato figures, that is, repeated motifs in the underscore of Psycho, increasing the tension and interests of the crucial scenes. On the other hand, the editing of the film is also highly acclaimed. A lot of cutaway shots and dissolving shots are well-arranged and edited skillfully. George Tomasini did a great job in making good use of the shots, showing the connection or relationship between the objects shown in scenes and allows editing to play an important role in presenting the movie in an impressive way. The subject of Psycho may also be of great interest to many audiences, which is about double personalities. The subject leads the development of the plot throughout the whole movie and is especially frequently shown with the mirror motifs, finally leading to the surprising and impressive end of the masterpiece.
KatherineThis is really leave people a strong impression. Because there are so many special shots used in the film. For example, just like the teacher said in the class, when the woman was taking a shower, a person just came in and stabbed the woman, that series of movements are really classics, especially the part what the tube hole scene slowly switch to the woman’s eye. That was really good. And the sound effect really did di a good job on putting people in a tenser emotional. And in the end the camera focus on the man but with another voice, that scene did look a little bit weird. But can it leave people a strange felling.
DavidHitchcock got the inspiration from a killer, Edward Gein, and then created the character Norman Bates. in Psycho. He admires his mother and frequently disguises as her. This character is the model of others killer characters like Buffalo Bill in Silence of the lamb. The name “Psycho” stemmed from Floyd’s theory. It means the most serious level of Oedipus Complex. Hitchcock uses a lot of montages in the scene which Marion is murdered, and this sequence is considered typical. By the end, the audience know that Norman kills people, but we don’t know whether the mother’s personality or Norman’s personality kills them. The use of such open end was adopted by many suspense films
TinaI am quite interested in the bird motif of this film. The connection between birds and the psycho, Norman Bates, is showed both in its plot and the cinematography. In the scenes in which Marion has supper with Norman, he tells her his passion for birds, especially for stuffed birds, allowing the audience to notice the connection easily. Later, the constant cuts to stuffed birds enhanced the connection and thus make it a motif. Most of the bird cuts are in low-key lighting, especially for those in which Norman is framed with the birds as well. The low-key lighting creates grotesque shadows on Norman’s face. In the close-up when Norman stares after burying the detective, there is not only Norman in the frame but also some branches, implying his connection to his birds. The composition intends to express the bird motif.
HanselI think the film is a great thrill. It creates a lot of suspense from the beginning. Soon the female character Marion is murdered and it makes the audience wonder what would happen next, because the audience expects this story is about her trip of escaping her past. The music and editing are very good. The music in the beginning sets the main tone of the movie and makes people nervous about what they are going to see. The underscore in the film also creates a tension from time to time. The editing makes the actions look more intensive and exciting. The scene close to the end is somewhat dull when the psychiatrist explains to us Norman’s condition. It seems a little rash; otherwise the film is very intriguing.
HazelWhen watching a horror movie, appropriate sound effects can stimulate the audience’s psychological and physiological reaction and response. Usually, the fundamental purpose of non-diegetic sound is to make the motif manifestation and amplification. The background music of Psycho put emphasis on protagonist’s inner feeling and psychological state. In the classic murder scene, we can see how perfectly the high-pitched violin sound combines with the montage cut. It not only shows the fear of Lila but also the tense situation. Also, the suitable background music is easily to get the audience into the mood.
MinnieFew years ago, I read one mystery novel. In that book, a constructor told a police (his friend) which person is a criminal after he saw one of their house’s structures. The criminal’s house was in a deep forest. And he buried dead bodies in his front yard. In this movie, the detective told Norman that his motel is like a shelter. So I could guess he would be a criminal. However, the last scene, when he was found out that he committed murder in his mother clothes and voice, those things made me scare.
The drain scene was very impressive when it dissolved with the woman eye. Although there was no background music when the woman lied on the ground, this scene looks beautiful with sound of water. It added more miserable feeling on this scene, I think.
I can not comment about music. It was very sensitive and stimulated. But I think that the similar music flew too much in the movie.
I still wonder what the role of police officer is in this movie. He kept watching and chasing her. So I expected he would appear in the middle of the movie, but he didn’t.
When it compared to other suspense movie or novel, I find there is one different point. There is no main actor in Psycho. I believed the woman was a main actress. But she was killed too early. (To call Norman as a main actor, he appeared too late.) I don’t mean the story was awkward. Usually, the main actor leads whole movie until it is ended. Without a main actor, this movie holds audience concentration tightly until the end. That point was interesting.
HollyIn the beginning of the movie, a sequence interweaving with black and white lines gives audience sense of mystery and horror collocating with the music rippling through the shot. Music plays essential role in the movie. Indeed the composer scores the shot quite precisely. Especially in the killing sequence, the music adds color to the scene and imposes the formula on audience’s mind. When the music plays, the murder comes. The close shots in the film focus on the money to make an emphasis of its importance. Of course the money is not the main element, but it is the blasting fuse starting the whole story. The director uses many close-ups and close shots to have audience’s attention on the pack of money and highlight the existence of the money. The montage sequence is presented in shower scene. I am impressed by the application of close-ups to describe the eyes in the film. Several shots have the emphasis on the Marion’s eyes. The extreme close-ups on her eyes somehow show her tense and nervous emotion and even her strange behavior. And the close-up for the policeman’s sunglasses is the performance of his attention on Marion’s movement and her weird behavior as a young woman sleeping alone in the car, in the night, seeming to escape from somewhere. Mirror images reflect people’s face and create the double figures on the scene. Establishing shots is used to present Norman’s house. The shot first locate the big but gloomy house. Then the shot gives the house feeling of gruesome and terrifying when we see it next time. This horror film succeeds in taking the audience to feel the ghost-like atmosphere and participate in the whole story.
VioletBecause of this movie is a thriller film. There were a lot of filming method for making audience tensed, and the sound was one of that. When Marion away from her boss by car, the scene of her face and steeling wheel and the scene of car bonnet and endless road by her view was crossed each other more than 4 times. This is cross-cutting shot. This editing made me feel how Marion was frightened. In these crossing shot, we naturally know the march of time, also gradually casting Marion's shadow on her face and as time goes by there were many worries on her face.
DP wants to express the killing sequence using by short cutting and also cross-cutting too. In case of killing Marion, the camera first took Marion’s full shot and then closed into her face and extremely close up to her mouths and murderer and knife and two person in high angle and lastly her dead body. These processes were started fast but finished slowly. So we felt that killing was so tensed after killing we reminded that shocking murder by slow shots.
At the beginning part of this film, even though I don’t know Bates was “Psycho”, but I could catch there were two different personalities in his mind. When Marion seat in his office for bread and milk, they talk each other. She suggests take his mother into mental hospital to him, he was upset at first. He was on the edge of his chair to left side of frame, and there were big stuffed bird and symbolical picture. There was a woman who covering her body herself maybe that is for side of take care of himself. This time he said abusive words. And when he was in the right side of frame, his character was the reverse, he worried about his mother. Finally I found that he has dual personality in final part of this film.
EmilyThis film is kind of like a horror movie. At first, the film is very nervous because Marion steals the money and tries to escape. The director uses close shots on people’s faces to show their expressions without any words. It shows many shots but without words or speaking to establish the nervous atmosphere. At the scene that Norman’s”mother” kills Marion, the director doesn’t show the scene directly, instead, he shows the scene by many indirect shots, screaming, and blood to indicate Marion is killed and die. The end is so surprising that no one would come up that Norman’s “mother” is Norman himself. But I think the last part that the man explains what the dual personality is unnecessary and redundant.
ChinThere is one thing that confused me about this movie. There is a split personality in Norman, but how come the their speech, Norman and his mother, sounds differently? I mean Norman and the split-mother are actually the same human that differ only from psychologically. I really enjoy the montage part of the killing in the bathroom. I once try to count the total shots in that shower scene, but I failed to do so. The use of graphic match cut on the eye of Marion, who is dead, with the water and blood flow together to show Marion’s life has come to the end is one of the part I like the most. Here we can see or feel the power of editing. Underscores cues before a murder is about to happen always prepare me to expect a murder is going to happen very soon, and I would expect to see the mother’s face. However, I was disappointed every time I was looking forward to see the mother face. Finally, the movie ends up by showing us the mother and the son are the same person.
Alice HuangI think Psycho is really a very successful thriller movie no matter mentioning its cinematic techniques or the sound track. The director’s proper use of these two elements actually let the effect of suspense and terror achieve the climax.
In the sound part, most of my analyses are similar or the same as professor’s, so I won’t elaborate on the sound track used in this film too much. What makes the most terrible impression in this film is the sudden sound accompanying the appearance of “Bate’s mother” when she kills the detective.
Speaking of filming techniques, the director makes use of lots of establishing shots and eye line matches. They not only serve as the introduction of certain scenes or plots, but strengthen the power of horror. For example, in the beginning of this movie, there is a series of pan shots filming from different directions. The pan shot used here provides the viewers with the information – the story takes place at Phoenix, Arizona. Though it’s just like a scan on the landscape, it implies that there is something going to happen. Eye line match is another crucial element used in this movie, underscoring the suspenseful feeling. For instance, there is one plot in which Marion watches the envelope with lots of money repeatedly. The action of the actress is simple, but with her worried face and the repetitions of that look, the feeling of nervousness and oppression is constructed successfully.
Though this is an early-time horror movie, its effects are sometimes even greater than those filmed in modern days. The director’s decision on having this movie filmed as a black-and-white movie is a perfect choice since it also enforces the ambience of horror.
Vivian YangPsycho, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, is undoubtedly successful in editing and underscore. Before I take Film and literature class, I seldom notice the montage, which plays a paramount role in the cinema. For instance, by editting each cuts, the montage of Marion's being murdered is a huge success. Another noticeable part is the close-up shots in Hitchcock's movie. Including the greek symbol 'pie' in Torn Curtain, and Marion's eye in Psycho. I wonder why Hitchcock utilize close-up so much in his works. Has the close-up shot become one of his trademark? Or it is only a methodology to attract people's attention?
What I would also like to mention is the underscore, which has been presented perfectly in Psycho. In my opinion, the way orchestra is used is not only sufficient but also efficient during the whole movie. The underscore matches the ups and downs of the plot without any mistake. Which will, in my opinion, leaves a deep impression on audiences' hearts.
SophiaPsycho is successful in plot organization, editing, and background music. The plot organization of Psycho is well-established, for the story goes to an unpredictable result at the end. It depicts about two personalities existing in a person’s mind. The theme is quiet interesting. Psycho is successful in making the viewers believe Norman live with his mother. By mimicking his mother’s sound, Norman acts as his mother without failure. The variation of vocal sounds work very well in this part. The editing of Psycho is also remarkable. Some shots are used in an elaborated way; for example, “the money” is focused again and again. In addition, another classic part is the shots when Marion drives a car. There are some imaginary talks happened when she is driving. The viewers could notice the subtle variations on her face. The manipulation enables the viewers to know what happened while there is no need to have repeat shots. As for sounds, the use of nondiegetic sound is the best part inPsycho. When Marion takes a shower, the sound implies what will happened as following. The main sound from the violins triggers the tense atmosphere of that moment. As the pitch goes higher, Marion sees the person behind the curtain less clearly. When Marion is stricken by knife, the cutting shots shows how she reacts effectively. Also, the use of nondiegetic sound is also good when Lila, Marion’s sister, comes to the house to find Mrs. Norman. The sound makes the viewers feel nervous and expect the consequence eagerly. The result really surprises the viewers when it turned out to be a corpse.
IrvingI like horror movie,but i haven't seen an early time horror movie befor Psycho.Though it's old, but the story is not easy to expect.I like the tempo of shots when the girl took a shower and being killed. After a peaceful scene, it suddenly comes with a extremely terrible scene. The close shot on her face, hands and legs flesh fast,. And after horrible scene, there comes a peaceful but strange atmosphere, which makes me feel uncomfortable and keep thinking about what happened just few second before.I was very surprised when the girl's sister found the mother's dead body with clothe. In that moment, I finally understand who's the murder and really admire the writer of this story.After two days, when I took a shower in the evening , I couldn't help but kept thinking of the terrible scene…..
ChristopherPsycho did a great success presenting an impressive mental depiction, and keeps the secret of Sam´s dual personality till the end. A great shock is made by the revelation at the end, when the audience recalls the story line and found out how serious alienation has caused to Sam, who even divided or transformed himself into someone else.
Now, here is the question: which identity owned a greater part form Sam’s mind, “his mother” or himself? At final we have found that the story is based on the control of the “mother”, since there existed two completely different characters in one body, Sam was doing well on his own, the evil one was the mother, and shall we penalize the innocent, physical Sam as well?
IdaAt the very first of Psycho, a pair of lovers is talking about their future and at that time, I do not think that Psycho is a suspense movie though it is obviously directed by Hitchcock, and even I can never know that it is a slasher too. After that, when we realize Marion has stolen her boss’ money and is killed by someone in the small inn, (It is funny to know that the blood in this scene is actually chocolate, and the killing sequence is beautiful, especially the dolly-in to her eyes.) everything becomes different and the tone tends to be suspenseful. The other scene that I admire of is the final sequence. The director uses eye-line match to tell us the danger is coming nearer and nearer. Until the very last moment, we know that whom the murderer is and the
performance of this “mother” is remarkable too. To sum up, Psycho is a great and innovative movie, it will never be out-dated if you see it 50 years before.
VincentPsycho is probably the most famouse movie of Alfred Hichcock. The most famous scene, the shower, shows in many movies, as a tribute to the director, even though some of them looks ridiculous and funny.
As a 1960’s film, Psycho shows its extraordinary. The shots, the editing and the score makes the whole movie more intense and breathtaking. I love the music! The fast and furious sreaming enhance the horror and nervous. Basically, I think Psycho is a movie about desire. And such exciting score enhance the power of the desire.
A lot of people today says that black and white movies are hard to realize. And the power of this classic thriller, I believe, must has been doubted. But, after watching it, I learned that how the classic being classic. The Psycho montage still haunt me now. This film is now one of the best thrillers in my life.
TigerThe shower scene let me think of the murder scene in Halloween, because both of it is shot in a POV shot, we cannot see the who’s the murderer but only sees what the murderer sees. Creating a sense of suspense and making the scene scarier, this POV sequence is quite successful and popular in this kind of horror movie. The underscore for the murder scene is very effective by the repeating single high pitch sound. It makes the scene much tenser. The underscore of Bernard Herrmann’s music also supports the film a lot. It would be totally different without this underscore. Since the music is repeated but in different form, the melody is familiar but at the same time has variety. Some lap dissolves appear in this film. Some of the films do not use this technique at all. However this suits the style of the film, for example in the scene of Marion’s flight. The lap dissolve seems to bring out her mind state.
Vivian LinFirst of all, the begining of the film makes me consider it as the romantic stroy. However, it is not. The police follows her, the hotel's owner peeps at her and then she is killed by Norman's mother. The film becomes nervous and exciting because no one knows what is going on. I like the score that invents the treacherous atmosphere through the film. There sre a lot of metaphors exist in the film. Norman has many birds collection and likes to eat candy that means he nerver grow up. His name called Norman that means " no man". Actually, I guess Norman is the murder when the detective is killed because it is a kind of odd. When everytime person is killed, Norman just disappears. At the end, the truth comes out. The scene Norman speaks like the woman and acts lik his mother still in my mind.
CarolinaI saw the film twice, but still, the suspense feeling does not decrease. I still get scared and nervous when Marion is searching the “mother” in the house at the back of the motel. Whenever you think of horror-thriller movies, this film must be included in the list. This is the most amazing thing – genius works are never forgotten.
The scene of the shower remains as a classic shot. When you break down the shots and analyze the frames, you discover how important each of them is. Movie is about how to make audience believe what you are trying to express. A frame might be the murderer lifting up the knife, and psychologically, the audience will associate it with the stabbing. Hitchcock does not actually present the actual killing movement; the audience does not see the knife inside Lila’s body. Yet with all these frames, we can picture in our mind the entire killing scenario. I get neurotic whenever I see the movie!
JohnThis is a really scary one! Though I am not interesting in horrible films, but this one totally attract all my attention from the start to the end. Especially in the screen of murder in the bathroom, the whole effect touches my heart deeply. The scaring effect is not depending on disgusting, blooding screens. It just used the fast-change film editing and impressive music. If I am a child, I must afraid to take bathroom myself. After this film, I goole it on internet, and find that this film is claimed to be the top ten scaring film in America’s movie history. And I understand the reasons now.
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