Psycho first hit our screens in 1960 directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It faced major controversy, as it was different. Horror films before this were more unrealistic and gruesome. Psycho was a groundbreaking film of the horror genre

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Psycho

   Psycho first hit our screens in 1960 directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It faced major controversy, as it was different. Horror films before this were more unrealistic and gruesome. Psycho was a groundbreaking film of the horror genre.  It was more realistic the events could happen in reality. Censorship was very strict at this time. Film standards agencies censored films showing sex before marriage, nakedness, violence and gore. Fortunately, Hitchcock overcame these restrictions in many ways. He used a series of shots to film the shower scene instead of continuous shot. He used chocolate sauce for blood and he had a knife stabbing a melon to imitate the sound of the butcher knife stabbing Marion.  

   Alfred Hitchcock's psycho presents its audience with a running theme that consists of the opposition that exist between good and evil and addresses the notion of punishment. Hitchcock openly encourages his audience to become, in a sense, the protagonist within the films plot. The spectators in this case will combine within themselves all the other characters. Visual emphasis of the films theme helps to provide a clear insight into what Hitchcock attempted as a director. One of the biggest problems that Hitchcock faced was that of censors. They (film standards agencies) wanted him to take out some of the swearing, revealing poses and the sick relationship Bates had with his mother. The censors thought that some of the ideas that he had for the movie were quite risky, so he agreed that when the movie would show the naked body of the girl he would be and respectful and make sure nothing was exposed.

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   Convincing the audience of the reality of the film let Hitchcock mould their conceptions, develop sympathies and build up identification between them and fictional characters. This hugely increased the despair and shock, the feeling of loss even when a character is brutally murdered. Straight away Hitchcock begins to build our sympathies for Marion Crane. He uses several cinematic techniques to create a mise-en-scene. Mise-en-scene is everything a viewer can see within a certain frame and consists of many aspects. For instance, Hitchcock uses a high-angle, mid range establishing shot to put Marion in her context, and highlight her vulnerability. ...

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