How has Alfred Hitchcock helped to shape the thriller genre with the film ‘Psycho’ and which trademarks has he incorporated into the genre.
Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960) has been labelled as one of the most pivotal pieces in the whole of cinema history. Alfred Hitchcock, often named ‘The Master of Suspense’ shaped the Thriller genre as a whole with his films, however Psycho is possibly the most notable piece in his filmography for doing so. Hundreds of directors over numbers of decades, have all incorporated techniques and quirks used in Hitchcock's films to help both the thriller genre and also other genres evolve over time. Steven Spielberg when confronted with the failure of his mechanical shark in his blockbuster Jaws quoted that: “I had no choice but to figure out how to tell the story without the shark. So I just went back to Alfred Hitchcock: ‘What would Hitchcock do in a situation like this?’ ... It’s what we don’t see which is truly frightening.” This essay will explore the ways in which Psycho helped to shape the ever-changing genre of Thriller, and focus on some of the key conventions and rules which Hitchcock himself had created for this genre of film.
The Auteur theory is a theory in filmmaking in which the director is viewed as a major creative force in motion picture. This theory arose in France in the 1950’s by French filmmakers like Francois Truffaut who advocated a focus on the contribution directors made on the style and form of film. He quoted: “A true film auteur is someone who brings something genuinely personal to his subject, instead of producing a tasteful, accurate but lifeless rendering of the original material.” Hitchcock is no doubt an auteur, as his style is so distinctive that it can be recognized through most of his filmography. There certainly are a large number of trademarks which can be found in almost all of Hitchcock's films, these trademarks have become so popular and had even set new rules for the thriller genre, although in the modern times, these rules have become traditional for this genre. In present times, the thriller genre has divided quite a lot into many different subgenres. Genres are becoming a lot less clear nowadays, and the boundaries between, for example, what is horror, and what is thriller are rather blurred. So these sub-genres have been created to easily classify films. Alfred Hitchcock was one of the first directors to take ideas and concepts from other genres. Before Psycho both films and their directors were both very clear-cut in genre. According to EW.com, ‘the most measurable and seismic effect that Psycho had was on the horror genre itself. Before Psycho, horror movies were “monster” movies. They were fantasies in which men battled supernatural creatures – or turned into them.’ Some notable horror films prior to Psycho include Godzilla, Dracula, and Frankenstein, Psycho was one of the, if not the first horror film to show that the ‘monster’ lived inside of the character. Psycho took elements of Horror, Thriller, and even Detective to make a prototype of a sub-genre film. Hitchcock did set the rules in stone for the thriller genre, and even changed the ways in which Horror films worked.
There are so many different trademarks which Hitchcock has created for his films. Many of them have been used by other directors who were influenced by ‘The Master of Suspense’. His trademarks have remained a staple in the thriller genre, being easily recognisable by many people. Some of his most famous trademarks are: Using extremely long take shots, for example, the very long establishing shot in the opening of Psycho, the camera acts as an eye. It does this in many of his other films, notably Rear Window as it acts as if it is somebody’s eye rather than a camera itself. He also employs very exaggerated POV shots, a very creative use of sound such as the violin string in Psycho which unsettle the audience. A lot of this is down to Bernard Herrmann, the creator of the famously brilliant music in Psycho. Hitchcock also uses very exaggerated low key lighting effects, which often bathe the characters in shadows which help to generate suspicion and suspense which we see in many of his films. Hitchcock edits things very precisely and puts together very complex montages, as we can see in the infamous shower scene which I shall analyse in much greater depth later on. Hitchcock's films show lots of false and misleading information which the audience follows, only to be surprised later on in the film. Many times the characters in his films are trapped or imprisoned, and they’re involved in lots of misleading relationships and false identities. Finally, he also makes cameo appearances in his films, sneaking into the scene in lots of his films. These trademarks have become very well known in cinema and have sometimes been used in other genres apart from Thrillers.
Psycho was a film adaptation of Robert Bloch’s novel of the same name. A major reason why Hitchcock wanted to make this film so much was because Hitchcock was fed up with the big budget, star studded films that he had recently created, wanted to experiment with the more efficient, sparser style of television filmmaking. Indeed, he ultimately used a crew consisting mostly of TV veterans and hired actors less well known than those he usually used. He made the film in black and white, one reason is because it was cheaper, and he didn’t want to create a big budget film, the second reason was because in colour it would have been considered too gory for the audience. Colour would have ruined the effect of Psycho, as the illusions of using chocolate syrup for blood, and that Janet Leigh wasn’t naked (in fact she wore a bikini made of moleskin), would not have worked if shot in colour. The ominous, dark liquid gave the impression of blood, swirling into the drain, shocking the audience. The gore however was not the focal point in this classic scene, unlike in more modern thrillers. As Hitchcock has quoted,’it’s what we don’t see which is truly frightening.’ In this scene we don’t see the knife enter the body, the killers face, or the wounds. Contemporary thriller films will tend to ignore this now and believe that showing ultimate gore is the best way of frightening and shocking an audience because, in this day and age, the average may not find this scary.
Alfred Hitchcock had created a huge impact on marketing films, by his advertising campaign for Psycho. He proposed that anyone who wanted to watch Psycho must view it from beginning to end. He made the ticket staff refuse to sell tickets to people who were late to the picture. He played a message to the queue of people through a speaker. Hitchcock said: ‘I’ve suggested that Psycho be seen from the beginning. In fact, this is more than a suggestion. It is required.’ Cinemas all over the United States which show Psycho showed this message on the wall. ‘No-one, but no-one will be admitted to the theatre after the start of each performance of Psycho’. Hitchcock explained ‘This of course is to help you enjoy Psycho more. We really have only your enjoyment in mind’. Hitchcock left his mark in cinema with his films and also with the way he influenced the way that cinemas worked, as beforehand, you could walk into the cinema and watch a film at any time, nowadays, it is unheard of to go and watch a film halfway through. In modern day, film marketing has become extremely important. Films like Cloverfield, The Dark Knight, The Blair Witch Project and District 9 have all used brand new techniques which have never been seen before. These campaigns interest whoever sees them and persuades them to research into them. Possibly the most famous campaign was that of The Simpsons Movie, 7-Eleven stores across the country were transformed into Kwik-E-Marts featuring products repackaged as those from the TV show. For example It is plain to see that Psycho definitely one of the most pivotal pieces in cinema history.
In Psycho Hitchcock deploys many interesting narrative techniques, they help tell the story in an inventive way. Hitchcock makes the audience act as a voyeur, when Norman spies on Marion. It makes the audience feel quite guilty about spying on the character which the story is following. It also makes us doubt whether Norman is this safe, charming character who we thought he was, because of the fact he is invading Marions privacy and possibly thinking of partaking in sick sexual acts.. This can also act as an enigma code, as now that we know Norman is doing something wrong, we begin to suspect that he may do something bad later in the film. Another interesting techniques which Hitchcock used was when Marion was driving in the car and non diegetic voices were heard in the background while she was driving. This told the story of what was happening in Phoenix quite quickly and effectively without having to cut into shots. It also kind of gives the effect that she knows what is happening. Psycho follows many of the different characters paths throughout the story. Firstly we follow Marion and her quest to run away with the $40,000. Once we meet Norman, and Marion is killed we follow the events which take place from the point of view of Norman. The story is also shown through the eyes of Arbogast, Sam, and Lila as they investigate what has happened to Marion. The exaggerated use of POV shots further support the idea of the multiple narratives. We are viewing the same story, but from different characters points of view. There are even POV shots of minor characters like the policeman which suggest that we experience the story from his point of view as well. Psycho also uses a conventional narrative structure which makes the film accessible to any audience. It follows Tzvetan Todorov’s 5 stage narrative structure, where there is an equilibrium, disruption of equilibrium, recognition of disruption, attempt to repair disruption and finally the reinstatement of the equilibrium. However, Psycho is famously known for it’s narrative twists. The first one is where Marion is killed only halfway into the film. This shock’s the audience as they are unsure as to what will happen now that to protagonist has been murdered. Furthermore, we are led to believe that Norman Bates is controlled by his murderous mother, when in actual fact it is him who is the murderer all along, living a dual personality as Norman and Norma, after murdering his mother years ago. This twist has been known as one of the most famous narrative twists in the whole of cinema history, mainly because it’s so effective, as Hitchcock led us on the wrong path from the very beginning of the film, to unveil the shock of the ending. An ending which is arguably the most famous in the history of motion picture. Other, more modern films of a similar genre also use twists to help create an engaging narrative, Seven, Memento, American Psycho, and Fight Club all contain shocking twists, and in modern times we expect new thriller films to contain a shocking ending, and for these films challenge the audiences idea of what will happen in the end.
Back in 1960, films were edited by cutting and sticking the actual film together. A technique called splicing. Psycho’s extremely precise and fast editing was revolutionary for any film of this time. The shower scene in particular features 78 separate pieces of film in 45 seconds and a barrage of shots from 77 different camera angles. The amount of cuts in the scene was unheard of for this era, the intense speed of them gives the audience a sense of panic and fear. The contrast from the scenes and shots prior was huge, as until this moment the cuts were very spaced out and slow, often the takes would be extremely long. Hitchcock’s experimentation with the rapid change in editing pace worked extremely well, His long takes, also prove to be rather sinister also, as the audience wonders why the shot is going on longer than expected. It creates a sense of mystery for the viewer. The graphic match cuts used in Psycho are really effective. A graphic match cut occurs when the shapes, colors or overall movement of two shots match in composition, either within a scene or, especially, across a transition between two scenes. The plug hole and the eye are possibly the most effective in the film. It could suggest that along with the water fading away down the plug hole into darkness, she mirrors the object, as she is dying. As an added connection, the shot of the eye rotates clockwise in contrast to the counterclockwise swirl down the drain. The match literalizes the metaphor of a life ‘down the drain’.
Graphic match cuts can also suggest enigma codes or in Psycho’s case, a subliminal message. A shot near the end of the film of Norman Bates grinning in a cell fades to a shot of Marion car being winched out of the swamp. However, there is a third shot added to the shot, the corpse of Bates’s mother, her face superimposed over his, creating an evil, skull-like image. The mother’s image is never the main image, but it’s subtly faded in, and it is easily missed by those who don’t know it’s there. Barbara Creed’s 1993 book ‘The Monstrous Feminine: Film, Feminism and Psychoanalysis’ examines the role of women in horror films challenging the dominant, patriarchal view which frequently puts the woman in the position of victim. She argues that when the feminine is constructed as monstrous, it is frequently done in conjunction with its mothering functions. ‘ I have used the term Monstrous Feminine as the term’ Female Monster’ implies a simple reversal of the term ‘Male Monster’. The reasons why the Monstrous Feminine horrifies her audience is quite different to the ways the Male Monster horrifies his audience. A new term is needed to specify these differences. As with all other stereotypes of the feminine, from virgin to whore, she is defined in terms of her sexuality. The phrase Monstrous Feminine emphasizes the importance of gender in construction of her monstrosity. Other, more contemporary female villains in films can be seen in films like The Woman in Black and Carrie.
The sound in Psycho has been known to be one of the most famous movie soundtracks of all time, especially in the shower scene. However, originally, Hitchcock wanted the scene without any music, according to his notes to Herrmann and the sound men, “Through the killing, there should be the shower noise and the blows of the knife. We should hear water gurgling down the drain of the bathtub, especially when we go closer it… during the murder, the sound of the shower should be continuous and monotonous, only broken by the screams of Marion”. This was until Herrmann proposed his idea of simply using strings. The famous screeching strings of the shower scene are arguably some of the best uses of sound in the whole of cinema history. The music made the shower scene so much more frightening, and the very unusual use of only strings startled and shocked the viewer. The sound in that scene was a frenzy between screams, the shower, the knife and the strings, this made it so intense and truly brought terror to the scene. The contrast between the high pitched squeals of the violin and then the deep, slow, but strong sounds from the cello accompanies the fading away and dying of Marion fantastically well.
Hitchcock used the camera in a way which was unique at the time. The camera didn’t act like a camera. Hitchcock gave it human qualities. At times it roamed around the room, as if it was somebody’s eyes, looking for an object. In the shower scene, Hitchcock uses a variety of camera angles. He played lot’s with the high and low angles and their connotations of vulnerability and dominance, frequently shots of Marion were displayed by a high angle whereas the killer was usually low, or sometimes eye level. Having the killer in eye level gives it a realistic quality as if it was actually you in the film looking at the killer, and facing you. The character is obscured by a shadow which makes the killer look terrifying. The close up’s of her face screaming show pure fright and fear, and is quite disturbing as the emotion is heightened by the close ups.
In conclusion, Psycho certainly has been a massive influence to both the thriller genre and cinema on a whole. It stands proudly as one of the greatest films of all time. Psycho in my opinion has became one of the most influential and pivotal pieces in the history of motion picture, leaving a legacy behind it.It showed other filmmakers that you do not need a Hollywood budget to be able to create an all-time classic film. Psycho has affected many directors over it’s time, with legendary filmmakers like Steven Spielberg learning things from Alfred Hitchcock. Most of Hitchcock's peers worked in the "third person", positioning their camera as a detached, neutral observer of the film's events, says Paul Duncan, whereas Hitchcock's "first person" camera allied his audience inescapably to key characters. "That, I think, is probably the most copied aspect of Hitchcock's movies," he says. Of course, this is not the only thing which people have taken from Alfred, his trademarks have become a staple in this genre, and in the future, people will carry on using these techniques not knowing it had came from The Master of Suspense, Sir Alfred Hitchcock.
Word count: 2963
"Film Techniques of Alfred Hitchcock - Suspense, Camera Angles, Style, Editing, Basics." Film Techniques of Alfred Hitchcock - Suspense, Camera Angles, Style, Editing, Basics. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Jan. 2015. <http://borgus.com/hitch/hitch2011.htm>.
"Alfred Hitchcock." Empire Magazine July 2010: n. pag. Web.
"How Steven Spielberg's Malfunctioning Sharks Transformed the Movie Business." Mental Floss. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Jan. 2015. <http://mentalfloss.com/article/31105/how-steven-spielbergs-malfunctioning-sharks-transformed-movie-business>.
"Marion, Norman, and the Collision of Narratives in Psycho." Reel 3. N.p., 16 June 2010. Web. 09 Jan. 2015. <http://reel3.com/marion-norman-and-the-collision-of-narratives-in-psycho/>.
"IB Film Blog: Psycho: Narrative and the Film Extract." IB Film Blog: Psycho: Narrative and the Film Extract. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Jan. 2015. <http://illxtimesproductions.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/psycho-narrative-and-film-extract.html>
Robb, Stephen. "How Psycho Changed Cinema." BBC News. BBC, 01 Apr. 2010. Web. 09 Jan. 2015. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8593508.stm>.
Patenaude, Willis. "20 Greatest Female Movie Villains of All Time." N.p., 1 July 2014. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.
English, Michael. "Some of the Best Movie Campaigns-From Blair Witch to Hunger Games." AdWeek. N.p., 18 Feb. 2013. Web. 20 Apr. 2015
"'Psycho': The Horror Movie That Changed the Genre." Entertainment Weekly's EW.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2015.