PSYCHO – THE MASTERPIECE OF SUSPENSE

John Rodolfo Franzoni
EEdition: Marco Aurélio Lucchetti

Psychosis, Based on a novel by Robert Bloch and filmed in black and white, this is a film that manages to bring together only virtues. It has no flaws..
The mere mention of this unsurpassed classic of suspense immediately brings to mind the much-publicized stabbing murder that occurred in the shower..
Even those who have never bothered to see the film, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, perhaps the greatest director in the history of cinema, certainly know this iconic scene (or at least have heard of it), which, at the time of its release – the early 1960s – considerably shocked an audience previously accustomed to implicit murder in cinema..
One additional note: more sensitive viewers may still be shaken by this sequence. Therefore, I do not recommend that these people watch it. Psychosis.
And those who admire a film for its technical qualities are surprised by the meticulous editing and the various camera angles (thirty-four in total) used to create this sequence, which lasts exactly forty-five seconds. It's a short sequence, but the genius contained within it is immeasurable.

Some of the seventy shots from the shower scene in which Marion Crane is murdered in Psychosis.

However, the film's countless qualities are not limited to that scene. The opening, punctuated by the suffocating music of composer and conductor Bernard Herrmann (a frequent collaborator of Hitchcock), is the prologue to the many agonizing impacts reserved for the disturbing and twist-filled plot..
The first part of the film stars Marion Crane (played by actress Janet Leigh), a young secretary who, in love with and reciprocated by Sam Loomis, a man in debt, embezzles money from the firm where she works and flees Phoenix, Arizona, determined to go live with her boyfriend, who lives in California..
The escape, which began on a Friday afternoon, is agonizing. And the soundtrack adds even more tension to it, especially the scene where the amateur thief arouses suspicion in a gloomy highway patrolman, wary of the girl's strange behavior. During the night, she stopped her car and, tired, fell asleep. When the officer approaches her the next morning, she has just woken up.

Marion Crane being approached by the highway patrol officer..

Later that night, due to persistent rain, Marion decides to spend the night at a motel on the side of a secondary road. The motel is run by the strange and misanthropic Norman Bates (a remarkable performance by Anthony Perkins). Besides running the motel, Norman is also a taxidermist. The room at the back of the motel's reception area is full of animals he has stuffed.

Norman Bates and some of his stuffed animals.

Marion's attraction to Norman, who lives oppressed by his invalid and temperamental mother, is instantaneous. They have dinner together; and Norman frightens Marion by showing his aversion to the idea of institutionalizing his mother.

Norman and Marion, in the scene where he invites her to dinner.

That same night, the fugitive thief decides to return to Phoenix the next day and make amends for her mistake. So, she goes to the bathroom and gets in the shower. The bathwater has a power of redemption for the young woman.

A moment from Marion's bath.

The apparent harmony of the scene is broken when Norman's mother bursts into the bathroom and slashes the guest with a knife.

Marion Crane, who, up to that point, was the main character of Psychosis, [Name omitted] disappears from the plot. And Norman Bates takes over the role of protagonist..
From then on, the second part of the film begins..
Well, talking about any of the subsequent events would spoil the series of surprises reserved by the magnificent screenplay, written by Joseph Stefano.

Hitchcock and Janet Leigh, in the room occupied by Marion Crane at the sinister Bates Motel.

Hitchcock had a great fascination with themes such as maternal oppression, as seen in Interlude (Notorious, 1946) and Marnie, Confessions of a Thief (Marnie, 1964); scenes set on staircases, to create tension [A Body That Falls (Vertigo, 1958) is his prime example]; and the contrasts between benevolence and macabre postures, as in The Shadow of a Doubt (Shadow of a Doubt, 1943). In Psychosis, These resources reach perfection. It can be said that the film established a new meaning for suspense, becoming a masterpiece of the genre. It has been imitated many times, but never surpassed..
And for those who reject a film for unforgivable reasons, such as black and white photography, Psychosis It is the ideal tool to demolish such prejudice. Believe me: it will be a rewarding experience, which will allow an undeniable connection with true Cinema.

Italian poster of Psychosis.

Psychosis (Psycho, United States, 1960, 109')
Direction: Alfred Hitchcock
Production: Alfred Hitchcock
Road map: Joseph Stefano, based on a novel by Robert Bloch
Photography: John L. Russell
Music: Bernard Herrmann
Assembly: George Tomasini
Design of the title and storyboard from the shower scene: Saul Bass
Cast: Janet Leigh (Marion Crane), Anthony Perkins (Norman Bates), Vera Miles (Lila Crane), John Gavin (Sam Loomis), Martin Balsan (Milton Arbogast), John McIntire (Deputy Sheriff Al Chambers), Simon Oakland (Dr. Richman), Frank Albertson (Tom Cassidy), Patricia (Pat) Hitchcock (Caroline), Vaughn Taylor (George Lowery), Lurene Tuttle (Mrs. Chambers), John Anderson (Used Car Salesman), Mort Mills (Highway Patrolman)
Observation: Virginia Gregg, Paul Jasmin, and Jeanette Nolan made uncredited appearances, voicing Norman Bates' mother. The three voices were used interchangeably, except for the speech in the final scene, which was performed entirely by Virginia. Gregg.