Psycho is a 1960 American psychological horror film directed and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, and written by Joseph Stefano, starring Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, John Gavin, Vera Miles and Martin Balsam, and was based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch. The film centers on the encounter between a secretary, Marion Crane (Leigh), who ends up at a secluded motel after stealing money from her employer, and the motel's disturbed owner-manager, Norman Bates (Perkins), and its aftermath.
When originally made, Psycho was seen as a departure from Hitchcock's previous film North by Northwest, having been filmed on a low budget, with a television crew and in black and white. The film initially received mixed reviews, but outstanding box office returns prompted reconsideration which led to overwhelming critical acclaim and four Academy Award nominations, including Best Supporting Actress for Leigh and Best Director for Hitchcock.
Psycho is now considered one of Hitchcock's best films and praised as a major work of cinematic art by international film critics and scholars. Often ranked among the greatest films of all time, it set a new level of acceptability for violence, deviant behavior and sexuality in American films, and is widely considered to be the earliest example of the slasher film genre.
After Hitchcock's death in 1980, Universal Studios began producing follow-ups: three sequels, a remake, a television film spin-off, and a contemporary prequel TV series. In 1992, the US Library of Congress deemed the film "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.
Plot[]
During a Friday afternoon tryst in a Phoenix hotel, real-estate secretary Marion Crane and her boyfriend Sam Loomis discuss their inability to get married because of Sam's debts. Marion returns to work, steals a cash payment of $40,000 entrusted to her for deposit and drives to Sam's home in Fairvale, California. En route, Marion hurriedly trades her car, arousing suspicion from both the car dealer and a California Highway Patrol officer.
Marion stops for the night at the Bates Motel, located off the main highway, and hides the stolen money inside a newspaper. Proprietor Norman Bates descends from a large house overlooking the motel, registers Marion under an assumed name, and invites her to dine with him. After Norman returns to his house, Marion overhears Norman arguing with his mother about Marion's presence. Norman returns with a light meal and apologizes for his mother's outbursts. Norman discusses his hobby as a taxidermist, his mother's "illness" and how people have a "private trap" they want to escape. Marion decides to drive back to Phoenix in the morning and return the stolen money. As Marion showers, a shadowy figure appears and stabs her to death. Soon afterward, Norman's anguished voice is heard from the house yelling "Mother! Oh God, Mother! Blood! Blood!" Norman cleans up the murder scene, puts Marion's body, belongings and the hidden cash in her car, and sinks it in a swamp.
Marion's sister Lila arrives in Fairvale a week later, tells Sam about the theft, and demands to know her whereabouts. He denies knowing anything about her disappearance. A private investigator named Arbogast approaches them, saying that he has been hired to retrieve the money. Arbogast learns that Marion spent a night at the Bates Motel. He questions Norman, whose nervous behavior and inconsistent answers arouse his suspicion. When Arbogast learns that Marion had spoken to Norman's mother, Arbogast asks to speak to her, but Norman refuses to allow it. Arbogast updates Sam and Lila about his search, and promises to phone again in an hour. After he enters the Bates home in search of Norman's mother, a shadowy figure emerges from the bedroom and stabs him to death.
When Lila and Sam do not hear from Arbogast, Sam visits the motel. He sees a figure in the house whom he assumes is Norman's mother. Lila and Sam alert the local sheriff, who tells them that Norman's mother died in a murder-suicide ten years earlier. The sheriff suggests that Arbogast lied to Sam and Lila so he could pursue Marion and the money. Convinced that something happened to Arbogast, Lila and Sam drive to the motel. Sam distracts Norman in the office while Lila sneaks into the house. Suspicious, Norman becomes agitated and knocks Sam unconscious. As he goes to the house, Lila hides in the fruit cellar where she discovers the mother's mummified body. She screams, and Norman, wearing his mother's clothes and a wig, enters the cellar and tries to stab her. Sam appears and subdues him.
At the police station, a psychiatrist explains that a jealous Norman murdered his mother and her lover ten years earlier. Norman mummified his mother's corpse and began treating it as if she were still alive. He recreated his mother in his mind as an alternate personality, as jealous and possessive towards Norman as he felt about his mother. When Norman is attracted to a woman, "Mother" takes over: He had murdered two other young women before Marion, and Arbogast was killed to hide "his mother's" crime. The psychiatrist concludes "Mother" has now completely taken over Norman's personality. Norman sits in a jail cell and hears his mother saying that the murders were all his doing. Marion's car is retrieved from the swamp.
Cast[]
- Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates
- Vera Miles as Lila Crane
- Janet Leigh as Marion Crane
- John Gavin as Sam Loomis
- Martin Balsam as Private Investigator Arbogast
- John McIntire as Deputy Sheriff Al Chambers
- Simon Oakland as Dr. Richmond
- Frank Albertson as Tom Cassidy
- Pat Hitchcock as Caroline
- Vaughn Taylor as George Lowery
- Lurene Tuttle as Mrs. Chambers
- John Anderson as California Charlie
- Mort Mills as Highway Patrol Officer
- Virginia Gregg, Paul Jasmin, and Jeanette Nolan as the voice of Norma "Mother" Bates (uncredited). The three voices were used interchangeably, except for the last speech, which was performed by Gregg.
Production[]
The film's production set started on the Universal Studios Lot, featuring a Ford Custom 300 similar to that driven by Janet Leigh in the film, is now part of the studio tour at the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park. the pre-production started when Paramount, whose contract guaranteed another film by Hitchcock, did not want Hitchcock to make Psycho. Paramount was expecting No Bail for the Judge starring Audrey Hepburn, who became pregnant and had to bow out, leading Hitchcock to scrap the production.
Soundtrack[]
Score[]
Hitchcock insisted that Bernard Herrmann write the score for Psycho despite the composer's refusal to accept a reduced fee for the film's lower budget.[7] The resulting score, according to Christopher Palmer in The Composer in Hollywood (1990) is "perhaps Herrmann's most spectacular Hitchcock achievement."[8] Hitchcock was pleased with the tension and drama the score added to the film,[9] later remarking "33% of the effect of Psycho was due to the music."[10] and that "Psycho depended heavily on Herrmann's music for its tension and sense of pervading doom."Template:Sfn
Herrmann used the lowered music budget to his advantage by writing for a string orchestra rather than a full symphonic ensemble,[7] contrary to Hitchcock's request for a jazz score.[11] He thought of the single tone color of the all-string soundtrack as a way of reflecting the black-and-white cinematography of the film.[12] The strings play con sordini (muted) for all the music other than the shower scene, creating a darker and more intense effect. Film composer Fred Steiner, in an analysis of the score to Psycho, points out that string instruments gave Herrmann access to a wider range in tone, dynamics, and instrumental special effects than any other single instrumental group would have.[13]
The main title music, a tense, hurtling piece, sets the tone of impending violence, and returns three times on the soundtrack.[14][15] Though nothing shocking occurs during the first 15–20 minutes of the film, the title music remains in the audience's mind, lending tension to these early scenes.[14] Herrmann also maintains tension through the slower moments in the film through the use of ostinato.[10]
There were rumors that Herrmann had used electronic means, including amplified bird screeches to achieve the shocking effect of the music in the shower scene. The effect was achieved, however, only with violins in a "screeching, stabbing sound-motion of extraordinary viciousness."[16] The only electronic amplification employed was in the placing of the microphones close to the instruments, to get a harsher sound.[16] Besides the emotional impact, the shower scene cue ties the soundtrack to birds.[16] The association of the shower scene music with birds also telegraphs to the audience that it is Norman, the stuffed-bird collector, who is the murderer rather than his mother.[16]
Herrmann biographer Steven C. Smith writes that the music for the shower scene is "probably the most famous (and most imitated) cue in film music,"[12] but Hitchcock was originally opposed to having music in this scene.[16] When Herrmann played the shower scene cue for Hitchcock, the director approved its use in the film. Herrmann reminded Hitchcock of his instructions not to score this scene, to which Hitchcock replied, "Improper suggestion, my boy, improper suggestion."[17] This was one of two important disagreements Hitchcock had with Herrmann, in which Herrmann ignored Hitchcock's instructions. The second one, over the score for Torn Curtain (1966), resulted in the end of their professional collaboration.[18] A survey conducted by PRS for Music, in 2009, showed that the British public consider the score from 'the shower scene' to be the scariest theme from any film.[19]
To honor the fiftieth anniversary of Psycho, in July 2010, the San Francisco Symphony[20] obtained a print of the film with the soundtrack removed, and projected it on a large screen in Davies Symphony Hall while the orchestra performed the score live. This was previously mounted by the Seattle Symphony in October 2009 as well, performing at the Benaroya Hall for two consecutive evenings.
Recordings[]
Several CDs of the film score have been released, including:
- The October 2, 1975 recording with Bernard Herrmann conducting the National Philharmonic Orchestra [Unicorn CD, 1993].[21]
- The 1997 Varèse Sarabande CD features a re-recording of the complete score performed by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and conducted by Joel McNeely .[22][23]
- The 1998 Soundstage Records SCD 585 CD claims to feature the tracks from the original master tapes. However, it has been asserted that the release is a bootleg recording.[22]
- The 2011 Doxy Records DOY650 (Italy) 180 gram LP release of the complete original score conducted by Herrmann.
Tracklist:
- Prelude
- The City
- Marion
- Marion & Sam
- Temptation
- Flight
- Patrol Car
- The Car Lot
- The Package
- The Rainstorm
- Hotel Room
- The Window
- The Parlor
- The Madhouse
- The Peephole
- The Bathroom
- The Murder
- The Body
- The Office
- The Curtain
- The Water
- The Car
- Cleanup
- Unused in film
- The Swamp
- The Search
- The Shadow
- Phone Booth
- The Porch
- The Stairs
- The Knife
- The Search (B)
- The First Floor
- Cabin 10
- Cabin 1
- The Hill
- The Bedroom
- The Toys
- The Cellar
- Discovery
- Finale
Awards:[]
- Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture
- Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay
- Nominated Satellite Awards as Best classic DVD (2005 and 2008)
Notes[]
- After the film's release, Paramount transferred the film rights to Hitchcock, who later sold the distribution rights to Universal Pictures in 1962. Universal would in turn sublicense North American distribution rights to Paramount until 1968.
References[]
- ↑ "Psycho (1960): Notes". tcm.com. Turner Classic Movies.
- ↑ "Hitchcock's Psycho Premiered 50 Years Ago". Television Obscurities. Robert Jay (June 16, 2010).
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedAFI - ↑ Hedrick, Lizzie (September 8, 2015). "8 Reasons Psycho Taps into the Psyche". USC Dornsife. University of Southern California.
- ↑ "Psycho (1960)". Box Office Mojo.
- ↑ Nixon, Rob. "The Critics' Corner: PSYCHO". Turner Classic Movies.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Template:Harvnb
- ↑ Template:Harvnb
- ↑ Template:Harvnb
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Template:Harvnb
- ↑ Psycho – Bernard Herrmann Archived July 23, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Soundtrack-express.com. Retrieved on November 21, 2010.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Template:Harvnb
- ↑ Template:Harvnb
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Template:Harvnb
- ↑ Template:Harvnb
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 Template:Harvnb
- ↑ Template:Harvnb
- ↑ Template:Harvnb
- ↑ "Psycho shower music voted scariest movie theme tune", The Daily Telegraph, October 28, 2009.
- ↑ "CSO – Friday Night at the Movies", November 19, 2010.
- ↑ Bernard Herrmann and 50th anniversary of PSYCHO Archived June 19, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. Americanmusicpreservation.com (June 16, 1960). Retrieved on November 21, 2010.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 Soundtrack details: Psycho Archived January 2, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. SoundtrackCollector. Retrieved on November 21, 2010.
- ↑ "Psycho". Varesesarabande.com.
External links[]
