Psycho opening analysis

Analysis of ‘Psycho’

Alfred Hitchcock’s powerful psychological thriller, Psycho (1960) is known as being the “mother” of all modern horror suspense films. This was Hitchcock’s first real horror film, however since this film he has been labeled as horror film maker.

Psycho broke all film conventions by showing the lead female having an affair, showing scenes in her under garments and killing off its ‘major’ star a third of the way into the film. Psycho is a very layered and complex film, so multiple viewings were needed to understand some of the films subtlety. There was symbolic imagery involving stuffed birds which foreshadowed the mans fascination with death.

The film begins by showing the film companies logo “A Paramount Release”. Instantly we can hear fast dissident music playing which creates the tension. Alfred Hitchcock, the famous film director, is then presented on the screen, making the audience more excited to watch the film. Next, the name of the film ‘PSYCHO’ is presented in bold, white capital letters, which then proceeds to move and split, this is done to create tension again and create an eerie atmosphere for the rest of the titles. This links with the conventions of a thriller as it is creating tension for the audience and making them feel on edge before the film has even started, this increases their interest of continuing to watch the film as they want to see what is to come later in the film. The bold white titles stand out against the black background, this is done to catch the audiences eye and get them to focus on the credits. 

Famous actors and important members of the film are shown next on the titles. The titles constantly show grey bars shooting across the screen, which creates the feeling of being locked away foreshadowing what violence may be expected in the rest of the film.

After the credits there is a high-angled establishing shot, setting the scene, allowing the audience to have a better understanding of where the film is set. The name of the place “Phoenix” and is then displayed on the screen. This is symbolic as it is the first reference to birds “Phoenix”, which shows a subtle hint of what is to come later on in the play. 

They use cross-fading to zoom in the focus and change the distance of the shots. By having the camera enter the action through the window, makes the audience feel like the voyer, giving the audience the feeling of spying on the characters, which fits in with the sense that the lead female protagonist is having a secret affair. The next shot is focused on the woman lying down, whilst the man is stood above her, showing he has more power than her and importance. This is done to keep the audience curious as to what his identity may be. The idea of secrecy links in with the thriller conventions as their is always secrecy as to what is going on in a thriller film, whether it be who the villain is or what events are to occur later. Using a medium shot, they show the characters making love, portraying a bad and awkward situation to the audience. In 1960’s America, if you weren’t married it was thought to be wrong to interact in such ways. The camera then proceeds to pan around the characters, showing that the woman isn’t innocent. A medium high shot is then used to show the woman getting dressed. Harsh music comes back in and makes us feel like something is wrong and not quite right. The man then begins to raise his voice and shows the audience his anger.