Psycho (1960)

Psycho is a suspense film directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

Multi-award nominations... no doubt, this is indeed a CLASSIC....

Following are the most important recognition of Psycho:

1: AFI's 100 years... 100 movies

2: AFI's 100 years... 100 film scores

3: AFI's 100 years... Villain#2

4: AFI's 100years... 100 movie quotes

Psycho is the first Hitchcock's film that I watch, which is why, it is not fair for me to judge his style...people said he is the pioneer of many technique in filming psychological and horror film. I don't know why.


"The Shower Scene" of Marion Crane has been studied and discuss for so many years....people said it was horrify, I don't know why.


I always respect to classic and old movies, but I have to say, as an audience, I really didnt feel terrify at all when I watch the famous shower scene....I still can take my shower without leaving the bathroom door open. (because I'm afraid of cold, not afraid of murderer,haha)


But ofcourse, the interesting part of the shower scene are the Editing and Camera Shot, which are something worth for film studies....the combination of Close up and Extreme Close Up, rate of frame cutting, duration of each shot are really hard to estimate and joint in order to let audiences make sense of what is going on.


By the way, the concept of the shower scene is brilliant, Hitchcock used shower to "wash away" Marion Crane's guilt. When she stepped into the bathtub, it was as she was stepping into the baptismal waters. When the water sprayed from the shower and beat her body, her soul was purified from the evil. We can see that she take her shower in peace.


Instead of the shower scene, actually I was get frightened at the scene where Bates come out from his mother room and killed the detective.


High angle shot showing the staircase and the room's door in silent. The detective is going up from the staircase...suddenly a curly hair old woman come out and stabbed the detective, the scene fit very well with Bernard Herrmann's score.


Next thing to discuss is about Norman Bates, a psychological killer who killed his victims while wearing his mother's cloth. For me, this character is very worth for discusssion. A tragedic villain who suffered for emotion abuse....struggle in between the personalities of "Norman" Bates, "Norma" Bates,"Normal" Bates??? Personally, I really like the resolution part where the truth reveal who Norman Bates actually is.


Allright, this is it, a movie that is recommended for film studies or psychology studies.


There are alot of interesting conversation in this movie. I love this movie not because I want to get frightened, it's because I really like the idea, the concept and story.


Movie quote that I like from Norman Bates:

• A boy's best friend is his mother.

• Oh, we have 12 vacancies. 12 cabins, 12 vacancies.

• A hobby should pass the time, not fill it.