Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Psycho (1960) Alfred Hitchcock



Strange Hobby? Dressing as his mother to kill?


This heart pounding thriller is a classic horror movie. This is the story of Marion and what went wrong after she took $40,000. She goes to the Bates Motel, where she meets Norman, a kind awkward young man...until the unthinkable happens. She goes missing and her sister, lover, and Sheriff go off in search of her. This is where the story deepens. The well-structured yet mostly unbelievable plot kept me on my toes throughout the entire two hours. The dialogue had a really realistic feel to it, even though moments tended to be a little to poetic. I thought that when Norman was getting questioned by all the people that questioned him it was very realistic to both the situation and his personality that he started to stutter and even sweat a little. It was just really believable. I thought Norman Bates was even a little amusing with his hobby of stuffing animals and WAY over talking. It helped make the plot beliveable. Eventhough the all around story was unbelievable certain aspects of this film were plausible. I thought Anthony Perkins, did a great job as portraying the character of Norman Bates, and at time he had me fooled that he was really him. The ever popular and celebrity scene of the stabbing in the bathroom made Janet Leigh's character as Marion shine. It really did justice to what was happening to her. The expressions she showed on her face made me feel her pain...not litterally though. I like the dark somber lighting that was used whenever we saw the house. It helped to emphasize the fact that the house was haunted and filled with horror. It was also interesting to me that the only real source of light during any scenes at the Bates Motel was the sign that lit up to welcome people. I liked how most of the sets were simplistic and it was really the acting and ambiance that did most of the work. As far as cinematography, this was done so well that it in my opinion was Oscar worthy. I liked how there was a close up on Marion's hand right after the infamous shower scene. Although at first at may appear to have no really significant importance it does. It shows that the "conflict" or what we thought was the only conflict was resolved because it "died" off. But once this scene takes place it's like another reason to wake up and see what happens next. I also like how the camera flashed between the knife stabbing and the facial reactions during this scene. Another scene I really enjoyed from a cinematic eye was the one where Marion recieves the $40,000 and the rich man who gives it to her is flirting with her. It then zooms in on her face and how she thinks he is just rediculous flashing around all this money. I think the whole reason why this movie is still considered one of the most famous horror movies of all times is because of the cinematic aspects. Another cinematic aspect is that almost all of the shots were very long. It's not like today's movies where you just cut from one shot to another after 30 seconds or so. These shots were all very long and strung out so that you could feel the suspense running through yours bones. I learned that the music of Marion getting stabbed origonated from this film and is now a popular horror theme soudtrack. I enjoyed this film as a whole due to the acting, cinematic aspects, and great story line.



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