Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (staring Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins) is one of the most influential films in motion picture history. Hitchcock uses cinematography, dialogue, costumes and lighting, as well as many other film techniques to thrill the audience and keep them on the edge of their seats from the beginning of the film to the very end. These scenes we have just viewed are a typical example of Hitchcock’s great ability to tell a story in a horrific way and haunt the viewers for a long time after their experience with the thrilling movie. He is able to get into the audience’s minds and scare them into never wanting to have another shower again.

Hitchcock’s highly developed cinematography skills make a large contribution to the horrific atmosphere which is present throughout the film. At the start of the film, the camera slowly pans over the city of Phoenix and selects Marion and Sam’s hotel room. This gives a feeling of randomness and also power, because Hitchcock could have picked any room in the entire city, and he picked this one. If he had chosen to enter any other building, we would never have known Marion’s story. Chance plays a major role in this film. If we did not enter Marion’s hotel room, we would ne

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This shows that Cassidy is only interested in money and materialistic things. This could symbolize a number of things, including the fact that Marion and Sam are having an affair in secret and the obvious assumption, that there is a dark future for Marion. This randomness is also displayed later on in the film when Norman reaches for the key to Marion’s room, and then moves his hand back before selecting the key to cabin number 1. Dialogue plays a very important part in Characterisation. Clever shots of bathrooms are shown a number of times throughout the film, and it can be seen in the background while Marion is in the hotel room. As Cassidy keeps talking, Marion notices more and more how important money is to get ahead in life, and that she and Sam have none.

Alfred Hitchcock has made a number of films throughout his career, but Psycho is by far the most memorable. Hitchcock would obviously have to be a very secluded and distant man to think of making his film this way, and being dressed like this helps to portray the gothic atmosphere of the film. Many shadows are cast over the hotel room, as it is considered to be a place of wrong doings. Marion and Sam are meeting in secret and nobody knows they are there, so the shadows indicate something secretive. His outfit is obviously expensive and this makes the audience dislike him even more, as he thinks he can flirt with Marion and get away with it because he’s a wealthy man.

Sam and Marion are talking about meeting up in hotels and Marion tells him she doesn’t want to do it anymore. Just as dialogue sets the mood for the scene, so does the lack of dialogue, which is displayed several times later in the film. Once inside the hotel room, the camera zooms in on Marion and Sam, showing how close they are and almost justifying the fact that Marion had to steal the money for them to be together.

Marion is wearing white underwear in this scene which contradicts her persona in the scene after she has taken the money, as she then wears black underwear, which symbolizes her evil intent.

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