Alfred Hitchcock - Psycho

Mr Hitchcock is without doubt my favourite British director of all time. Vertigo and Psycho are two of my all time favourite films, and for me revolutionised filmmaking in a very significant way. Psycho is even referenced by people who haven't even watched the film, because the legacy of it, especially the shower scene, is up there with the bes - because it is the best.

I think the characters that he has created, and the style that he takes in his films is fantastic. One of the stand out points for me, is the fact that Marion Crane is seen as the film's protagonist, and stars for the entire first third of the film. Whereas it is commonplace for this type of character to reach the end of the film, and often live past it; she is brutally murdered by a certain Norman Bates. The film takes a somewhat unexpected twist here, which is something I love. Twists that you really do not see coming, so early in the film, are spellbinding.

The character of Norman Bates is wonderful. I have always had an interest in serial killers, even from an early stage, and in fact knew all about Ed Gein before seeing Psycho. To see how Joseph Stefano wrote a character based around him, and to see how Hitchcock turned this character into a reality for the first time was perfect for me. It hit the nail on the head, and made the perfect character for a film like this.

I think you can judge how good a film and director is based on how many non-film fanatics are familiar and fond of it (Bit of a tongue-twister, that.) My dad, who watches about 2 films a year at most, and only if they're shown on TV on Sunday afternoons, is a fan of Psycho, and knows it well.

To be able to create a film that well liked and widespread would be an absolute dream. It is reasons like this that I want to become a film director, to speak out to wide audiences, to set a new standard, and to leave a legacy behind. Obviously I am aiming for a pipe dream, but there's no harm in trying is there?

I think a key thing to learn from Hitchcock is that it pays to try something different.

The shower scene in Psycho, one of the most recognised scenes in cinema history, was something different and new. By not being the standard stabby, gorey, bloody mess that is so clichéd in cinema, he used something different. The piercing sounds of the strings, which are almost percussion like, are fabulous, and act like the stabs themselves. The tension built up before the actual murder is second to none, and made a stark contrast to the murder itself being the 'scary' moment.

The frights in Psycho were very much the tension that was built up, psychological instead of sudden BOOS.

Some of my favourite Hitchcock quotes, which I think are very thought provoking are:

"Ideas come from everything"


“There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it.”

“In feature films the director is God; in documentary films God is the director"


“Always make the audience suffer as much as possible.”

Hero