Psycho
八月 03, 2018
The film maker, Alfred Hitchcock has a style called Hitchcockian. Various film makers made the film with the style. There are some element of characteristics for Hitchcockian. Alfred attest to a skillful filmmaker who recognized as one of the great minds of cinematographic history and, hailed as the Master of Suspense. There is a blog that discuss about filmmaking techniques Alfred Hitchcock used to create suspense (https://indiefilmhustle.com/hitchcock-create-suspense/). Basically in my blog post will analyze Hitchcockian in the Psycho and refer to other information online.
First and foremost, the cool platinum blonde. In Alfred’s movie, the interesting techniques to create suspense was in his leading ladies.
Our main female character fulfills the element. Then is the presence of a domineering mother in someone’s life. Norman Bate, the motel’s owner, his mother is a tough mother who always has opinion on her son’s action. For Norman, mother is his everything because he thinks that his mother take the responsibility to raise him up, he should take the turn to take care on mother even though sometimes he disagree with his mother.
There is a scene that Marion and Norman are having conversation, when Marion suggests that to send mother to old folk house or hospital to take care of, the camera angle and lighting of Norman changed to low angle, there are some birds specimen hang at the wall as decoration, and looks horrible. Matching with Norman facial expression, we know something is changed. Originally the atmosphere was a pair of man and woman flirting with each other. It is restricting the action to a single setting to increase tension.
For the point of “characters who switch sides and/or who cannot be trusted”, can be refer to Norman. At the beginning, Norman gives a good impression to audience -- he is gentleman, kind and nice. When Marion invites him to have dinner in her room, Norman rejected and brings her to his office.
But, after Marion have been killed, he tidy up the crime scene and sinks her corpse in swamps near the motel. At the same time, a smile slowly appears on his face.
Apart from that, when a private investigator is asking for the details of the case, he choose to hide, pretending Marion never come.
Bathroom scene in Psycho is the most famous scene and a hot topic. Alfred builds the tension through suspense to the point where audience enjoys seeing the character in a life-threatening situation. Bathroom is a place where the most private and safe place for a man, we will never expect that someone broke into bathroom when we are taking shower. After the scene, audience might feel that even a private space is unsafe.
Another thing is mistaken identify. The use of a staircase as a motive for a impending danger or suspense. In the scene of private investigator still suspect on Norman, he went to his house and have some observation. After that, he has been killed at the staircase.
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