Date: Fri, Oct 1, 2010 at 11:20 AM
Subject: Re: Scheduled film for Friday 11 June 2010
To: rdca25@gmail.com
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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