Case Study of Psycho

1. PSYCHO
1960 American Psychological Thriller-Horror film, directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
The film is based on Robert Hale’s Psycho novel, published in
1959.
There was a later remade version of the novel, directed by Gus
Van Sant in 1998.
The Cast:
Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates,
Janet Leigh as Marion Crane,
Vera Miles as Lila Crane
and John Gavin as Sam Loomis.

2. Femme-FataleMarion Crane, the femme-fatale who steals money she is instructed to take to the bank by her boss but
instead uses it to buy the affection of her boyfriend Sam Loomis, who she’s having an affair with.
This generic archetype immediately makes the audience associate her with being a deviant and dangerous
woman, who will be punished for her actions. The establishing of her generic archetype as a character is a
classic convention of noir thrillers.
Throughout the scenes where Marion is featured; she is submissive - in this lying
down position - and desperate to please her boyfriend, Sam Loomis. Who she’s
having an affair with, conforming to the idea of a woman acting to satisfy man. Her
desperation for their relationship blinds her from thinking logically.
The black laced underwear which Marion wears as she’s packing her suitcase to leave also conforms to the
thriller convention of the generic archetype of the femme-fatale. Implying sophistication, but the black
colour connotes the idea of deviance, but before the money is stolen she wears white, implying purity.
Her own need for love destroyed her. Marion as a character, conforms to
this deviant and promiscuous persona, as she steals money and is having
an affair. Which seals her fate as the femme fatale which will be punished
for her actions. Alfred Hitchcock has been known as the ‘ladykiller’
director. The female characters in his films go against the classic female
expectations and norms, they are then punished for this. The same occurs
to Marion, she steals and has an affair, and is then stabbed in the very
well-known shower scene.
This costume change emphasises the impact of the stolen money. Showing how Marion has
stolen and is part of an affair; something in the society of the time the film was made was
highly frowned upon. The audience can make that connection and realise how Marion,
establishing the femme-fatale character, will come to her end.
The dialogue that the audience hear from Marion is aimed towards Sam Loomis, her flaw as
a character is her desperation for a relationship.

3. Femme-FataleThe use of a shot reverse shot between Marion and Sam when discussing the issues
of their financial situation, remains to abide by the 180 degree rule. Possibly
reflecting how Marion is willing to go against the law, stealing this money in an
attempt to buy her love. She’s defined by a man and is desperate to be with him.
Her life becomes reliant on Sam Loomis.
The composition in the shot reverse shot sequence also has connotations. Sam
Loomis is leaning against the open window. Venetian blinds which are
commonly used in thriller film. Shadows being cast from the window, making
Loomis have bars of light across his face, possibly reflecting the trouble the
stolen money will create for them both.
Hitchcock has managed to create a voyeuristic experience immediately, in the first few seconds
of the film, the deliberate use of this long-length zoom into her window. This establishing shot
has the purpose to position the audience to be a stalker-like and watching Marion. This can
make it reasonably uncomfortable for the viewer, as they feel that you’re prying on her from
the open window.
This links to ‘male zoom’: how the majority of the production workers on the film are male, so
the male director and male cameramen, so males are the ones who construct the audiences
view of the woman. This constructs an image of a female, which may be a misogynistic view
created.
The portrayal of woman has changed majorly since the 1960s and Hitchcock’s view
of a female character. In contemporary films, the limitations of female characters
have been reduced; woman can now be villains and survive, ever be heroes in film.
The representation on woman has progressed in film considerably.
An example in ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ directed by David Fincher, in which Rooney
Mara plays Lisabeth Salander: a computer hacker who’s survived extreme physical and emotional
abuse. A strong, assertive and powerful woman when compared to Marion from ‘Psycho.’

4. Soundtrack
Hitchcock himself stated how “33% of the effect of Psycho was due
to the music.”
The classic soundtrack of ‘Psycho’ is something so well-known and
recognisable in the film industry.
The drama and tension it adds to the film is something which is more
than the camera can do.
The film’s soundtrack was composed by Bernard Herrmann
(1911-1975), this score is seen to be Herrmann’s most spectacular
achievement.
Herrmann’s use of string instruments creates a wider range of
tones and dynamics to work with than anything else.
The main title music is a tense piece, anticipating the impending violence and returns three times, on the
soundtrack. Even though there’s no real shocking violence during the first fifteen minutes of the film, the
title music remains in the audience’s mind, leading to the drama and tension in the early scenes.
The music of the ‘Shower Scene’ is a harsh sound, creating emotional impact and the sound of the violins
has been described as a “screeching, stabbing sound-motion of extraordinary viciousness.”
The association of the ‘Shower Scene’ music is with ‘screeching birds’ which corresponds to Norman, the
stuffed-bird collector, who may be the murderer rather than his mother.
The soundtrack adds tension and builds intensity, creating suspense and making the scene which occurs
visually appear to fit into the thriller genre even more.
It appeals to the senses of the audience and makes the film more immersive. The audience are drawn into
the scene and creates the stabbing murder to feel more sudden and violent.

5. Camera Angles
A classic thriller convention is the use of close ups. The camera being extremely close to
objects or parts of a character, giving the scene or object emphasis and importance, the
audience’s focus being solely on what the camera allows.
The use of close-ups of Marion’s screaming mouth conveys how quick and how much of a
surprise the attack is, how unprepared and frightened she is over the sudden intruder. Her
hand scrambling and scraping down the tiles is also seen with a close-up, this embassies her
desperation and how she doesn’t want to let go and be defeated. Yet, the femme-fatale
archetype is always punished for their wrong-doings.
Linking to this, the close up of the money is something that Hitchcock has chosen to repeat
throughout the opening scenes of the film. This signifies the importance of the money, how
it’s central to the plot and the downfall of Marion. The most important object, the idea she’s
trying to buy her lover with stolen money. Hitchcock appealing to those members of the
audience who recognise Marion as the femme-fatale and can make an association that this
is her downfall.
The dissolve transition between the plughole of the shower into Marion’s eye is a beautiful
piece of filming.
The camera follows her trail of blood into the plug hole, and creating a continuous
movement back out from the pupil of Marion’s eye. This spinning rotation of the camera is
unsettling and disorientating. But from this, Hitchcock establishes a unique way to show
Marion’s dead body in an uncomfortable position.
The use of the ‘Rule of Thirds’ is also used in the ‘Shower Scene’ where
Marion is placed in the right third, sliding her back down the wet tiles
after being stabbed, this connoted how she’s become powerless and
shrinking. The dominating white space, blankness, showing how
Marion has lost everything, being engulfed by death. The shot
composition has definitely succeeded in creating Marion to look smaller
and that all her power and control has been lost over the situation.

6. Location
Another film which has this silhouetted lighting design, so the
audience see less than normal, is in ‘The Third Man.’ A 1949
British film noir is directed by Sir Carol Reed where in this scene
of a tunnel, a vanishing point of light is used, silhouetting the
character from behind.
This idea of anonymous, generic archetypes, the idea of a
questionable identity, leaves the audience asking themselves;
‘Who is it?’ making the film more engaging as the plot continues
to unravel. Conforming to the thriller film genre and having
high levels of tension and suspense to keep the viewer watching.
The use of lighting is used for effect in this scene as well. The non-
ambient lighting creates a silhouette of the murder as they approach
the shower curtain, where Marion is. The connotations with a dark,
anonymous figure for the audience leaves them questioning their
identity, who and why have they murdered her.
The lighting design has been created so that the audience don’t see
things creating a tense and suspenseful tone.
The generic location of the shower is very relatable to all members of the
audience. The confined and enclosed space, this claustrophobic location is a
classic convention of a thriller. Also, with Marion being naked and
vulnerable in the slippery shower, she’s unable to retaliate of protect herself
from the stabbing. She reaches out in desperation, but there’s no use.
The murder of Marion in the Shower Scene has to be one of the most famous murders in film history, the
chilling scene being so popular due to the normal situation, being relatable