Wednesday 9 February 2011

Film Review: Psycho

The third film we watched from the ‘The Cutting Edge’ film programme was Psycho, which was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and was released in 1960.



Psycho is a film about a women called Marion who, out of temptation and greed, steals $40,000 from her employer only to then try and disappear with the money. One of the most powerful scenes of this film is the shower scene in which Marion is killed by an unknown figure. A review by Kate Muir for The Times says:


"Look into Janet Leigh’s eye after the shower scene and be amazed how fresh this black-and-white ghoulish chic seems in the saccharine surroundings of modern cinema."


What is so chilling about this film is the fact that the motel has access ways that lead to nearly every in the motel, allowing Norman Bates the owner to spy on Marion without any hassle. But it ideed gives Marion a feeling of paranoia as stated in a review by TimeOut:


"It offers perfect case studies of suspense, paranoia and montage..."


The character duality of  Norman Bates is also an interesting element to Psycho. Bates, being a schizophrenic and having killed his own mother, begins to live out her life in conjunction with his own. What he does as his mother he can't recall ever doing thinking that she is alive. It is through this that he kills Marion thinking it was his mother who committed the murder. As Time Magazine says:


"...one of the messiest, most nau seating murders ever filmed."



Bibliography


Muir, Kate (2010) Psycho.
At: http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/film_reviews/article7084428.ece (Accessed on 09.02.11)



TimeOut (-) Psycho.

At: http://www.timeout.com/film/reviews/71535/psycho.html (Accessed on 09.02.11)

TimeOut (1960) Cinema: The New Pictures.
At: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,827681,00.html (Accessed on 09.02.11)

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