Psycho

In 1960 the film Psycho was brought to cinema screens and the director Alfred Hitchcock changed the shape and tone of the screen thriller. Hitchcock stated he wanted the film to be displayed in black and white to make scenes look more realistic and also the black and white creates suspense for the audience. At the beginning of the film the dramatic music signifies the horror and thriller the audience is about to encounter in the next hour and 50 minutes. The film Psycho is ranked one of the greatest films of all time.

The film starts with a view of the city and also a exact time which was 2:43pm. The first shot shows a random selection of buildings to create normalcy for the audience. An establishing shot is used to connote the cheap hotel room so we can see that Marion and Sam are speaking about how they can't afford to get married. Marion returns to work to find out a man has come in with $40,000 in cash to purchase a house for his daughter. The money is an action code because the audience believe for 46 minutes of the film the money is the main part of the story. The audience automatically start to feel sorry for Marion when her boss Cassidy is connoted as a horrible person and the audience begin to feel sorry for Marion and dislike the character Cassidy. Cassidy states that all unhappiness can be bought away with money this connotes his character showing us that Cassidy only cares about money. This creates a juxtaposition for the audience because it is the situation they are in with Marion at this moment. The music which is an enigma code becomes dramatic when Marion is making the decision to take the money. This point in the film is going to change her life forever and she decides to do it. Marion decides to leave town with the money and the music becomes dramatic when she see's her Boss on her way out of town the shock in her face is shown by a close-up to state her current emotion. The next bit in the film is effective because whilst she is driving her thoughts suddenly change to a voiceover of all the people she knows speaking about the dreadful thing she has done but as we know they are only her thoughts. Once again a close-up is used to show the different facial expressions she uses throughout her scary thoughts. An establishing shot is used when Marion is parked on the side of the road to signify the setting which was the countryside. When the police man questions her she becomes fidgety and nervous which connotes how guilty she is for taking the money and the pressure of the police man is making the situation even worst. An insert shot is used when  Marion is counting her money in the toilet because we are getting inside information that other characters don't know about. She enters to bathroom to have some privacy and Hitchcock brings the audience into the bathroom so we can feel the pain and guilt Marion is feeling by the high angle shots to connote she's not alone. At this point the music becomes dramatic once again to signify the thriller getting more tense. The music is dramatic, sharp and shrieking to engage the audience throughout the film, it also connotes when something big is going to happen to change the film.

Marion pulls up to the bates hotel as the rain pours onto her car and she needs to stop off for the night. Hitchcock's aim at this point is to for the audience to question the film and to be confused on what's happening. 'A boys best friend is his mother' when Norman delivers these lines he gets very defensive and shows the audience the split personality that he has which is the mother taking over by raising his voice towards Marion. When Marion returns to her room she decides to make the right decision and take the money back before its too late, the audience feel the need to nurture Marion at this point for doing the right thing. The shower scene is the most effective scene in the entire film showing cold blooded murder right in front of our eyes making us unsure on who killed Marion Norman or the mother. We are watching Marion take a shower with no guilt on her face because she has decided to do the right thing, there are 14 shots in the shower scene before Norman murder's her showing us all different angles of the shower. We are then focused to the curtain and suddenly a shadow appears in the distance coming closer towards Marion and the audience are shouting no because we know what's going to happen next. There is no dialogue in this scene just dramatic music the closer Norman gets and when Norman is stabbing Marion we don't see the knife going in we just hear it and see the pain on Marion's face as extreme close-ups are used to show us how bad the murder is. The audience at this point don't know what to do, we have been restricted to Marion's life for 46 minutes because she is in every scene right up until her murder. As an audience member I feel as she is the main character for so long she can't be killed because it will ruin the story and we also feel guilty for wanting Marion to get away with the money which led her to her death.

From this moment on the chase has begun and police begin to knock at peoples doors, the dramatic music connotes the narrative moving on. We are now introduced to the characters Arbogast, Sam and Marion's sister. Arbogast visits the bates motel and becomes suspicious towards Norman's nervousness when he questions him and also him lying about Marion checking in and this is called an reaction shot. When Arbogast and Norman are looking through the book a shot reverse shot is used and also a medium close-up as the camera moves with Norman when he is looking into the guest book this connotes a unnatural position and takes the audience with Norman whilst moving.
When Arbogast leaves the motel the audience feel a sigh of relief that he hasn't been killed but as he is speaking on the phone and stating he is going back the audience are isolated and want to tell him not to go back! At this point the plot is questioned by the audience who is actually killing people Norman or the mother? When Arbogast goes up the stairs we feel like we can't watch because something bad is going to happen, a tracking shot is used to follow him down the stairs after he has been stabbed and this is the first time we properly see the wig that Norman has used.

The dramatic soundtrack which implies something dramatic is about to happen is played when Marion's sister enters Norman Bates house to speak to his mother. Close-up's are used in this scene to show her emotions and the fear of the unknown on what she will find out. The audience warm to Marion's sister because we feel she's the only thing we have left to remind us of Marion. When Marion's sister finds the mother the dramatic music is played once again as the sister screams she turns round to find Norman bates in a wig about to kill her, we feel here is the end of Marion's sister but we become happy as we realise Sam has become the hero by grabbing the knife off him. An establishing shot is used in the last part of the film to signify the court/prison and as we see Norman sitting down we here his thoughts are his mother speaking which makes the audience fear Norman once again even though he is locked up and no danger to anyone. An extreme-close up is used to show his mother being his thoughts and this is how the film ends.