pyscho

Psycho is a 1960 suspense/horror film directed by auteur Alfred Hitchcock, from the screenplay by Joseph Stefano about a psychotic killer. It is based on the novel of the same name by Robert Bloch, which was in turn inspired by the crimes of Wisconsin murderer Ed Gein.The film depicts the encounter between a secretary, Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), who is in hiding at a motel after embezzling from her employer, and the motel's owner, the lonely Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins).
It initially received mixed reviews but outstanding box-office returns, prompting a re-review which was overwhelmingly positive and led to four Academy Award nominations. Regarded today as one of Hitchcock's best films and highly praised as a work of cinematic art by international critics,Psycho is also acclaimed as one of the most effective horror films. It was a genre-defining film, and almost every scene is legendary, many having been copied or parodied. The film spawned several sequels and a remake, which are generally seen as works of lesser quality.
"The Shower Scene" has been studied, discussed, and cited countless times in print and in film courses much with debate focusing on why it is so terrifying and how it was produced, including how it passed the censors and debate over who actually directed it.


discuss the use of camera shots, movements, editing, sound and mise-en-scene.
Parlor scene
The scene begins with non diegetic sound, such as conversation between Norman and his mother, from the house, showing that there is two people in the house, and that Norman's mother isn't very happy about the fact that he is offering food to a women he doesn't know. We later find out that this is because Norman's mother takes over his personality whenever he feels a physical attraction to a girl. Norman and his mother have alot of dialogue showing an argument, which is backed up by non diegetic music, which gets louder the more angry they both become. There are two camera which switch between both characters as they talk, using Sharp cuts between both, to show the tension, and to make the audience feel as uncomfortable as Marian would.

The cameras then zoom out to reveal a house, which appears to be a cliche of a haunted house which is silhouetted in a dark and cloudy sky. The house gives the impression of gothic horror happening inside. The eary, jumpy music also builds up the tension. Mariann's hotel room is well lit, which contrasts with the darkness of the house, symbolising her purity and Norman's darkness.

Marian starts with her perspective view, whilst in conversation with Norman showing that she is control, the camera then cuts from her perspective to a long shot of both characters revealing that the door to Mariann's room is open, revealing what Norman may be thinking, and using the openness of the door as a sexual hint. The camera then changes to Norman's point of view, which disjoints the audience as they are not used to seeing his views. From Norman's POV shot we see Marian surrounded by light, showing an angelic side to her. Norman then leads Mariann into the parlor, this also defigures the audience from the change of setting.

The usual suspect

The Usual Suspects is a 1995 American neo-noir film written by Christopher McQuarrie and directed by Bryan Singer. The film tells the story of Roger "Verbal" Kint (Kevin Spacey), a small-time con man who is the subject of a police interrogation. He tells his interrogator, U.S. Customs Agent David Kujan (Chazz Palminteri), a convoluted story about events leading to a massacre and massive fire that have just taken place on a ship docked at the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro Bay. Using flashback and narration, Verbal's story becomes increasingly complex as he tries to explain why he and his partners-in-crime were on the boat. The film, shot on a USD $6 million budget, originally began as nothing more than a title taken from a column in Spy magazine called "The Usual Suspects" after Claude Rains' line in Casablanca. Singer thought that it would be a good title for a film whose poster he and McQuarrie had come up with as the first visual idea. The Usual Suspects was shown out of competition at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival and then was initially released in few theaters, but received favorable reviews and was eventually given a wider release. McQuarrie won an Academy Award for the screenplay and Spacey won the Best Supporting Actor award for his performance.

The film starts with a slow opening, starting with the names of the production company, followed by the names of the actors in alphabetical order, which is unusual as they mainly go in order of appearance, or who's wages are biggest. The opening starts with a slow pan along the water, which is played on a loop. This creates a mood appropriate for the film - deliberately slow, showing it needs concentration. The film then goes straight into an extreme close up, followed by a zoom out into a medium shot, revealing a mystery figure. The usual suspect begins to question: who's vision of events is this?, towards the beginning of the film.

There is a lot of low key lighting and non diegetic sounds, of footsteps, a voice is also disguised to show that the audience are still in the dark about whats happening. We then discover that Verbal, is the one talking about a man called Kasier Soze, and opens thoughts over whether Keaten is still alive or not. The audience has formed an attachment to Keaten, so his killing isn't shown. This could also be because he may be Kaiser Soze.

We then have a dissolve to Verbal in court, with the spotlight on him. There is also an overlapping between shots. As well as bluent representation with the police dressed in suits, and the casualness of the work men. It also shows that the police lack respect for others, due to them pointing guns in their faces. There is also non-diegetic sound, as the convicts are introduced, music is played, for example Latino music is played, which suggests a latino person is about to enter. Keatens introduction is longer than anyone elses showing he is the most critical person. Low angle shots represent authority looking down on keaton, as if looking down in ashame, the next shot is then a over the head shot to represent looking down in judgement. Only one camera was used.

The usual suspect was a low budget film, so it was low on special effects and explosions due to the lack of funds.

This is a good film to study, as the director and producer produced a succesfull film with small funding. Which is what the brief states for both our preliminary piece and our final piece.

Double indemnity

Billy Wilder
Writers:James M. Cain (novel)Billy Wilder (screenplay) ...
Release Date:6 September 1944 (USA)
Genre:Crime Film-Noir Thriller
Tagline:It's Love And Murder At First Sight !

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036775/plotsummary

Double Indemnity (1944) is an Academy Award nominated film noir starring Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, and Edward G. Robinson. The movie was directed by Billy Wilder and adapted by Wilder and Raymond Chandler from the novella of the same title by James M. Cain that first appeared in 1935 as an abridged 8-part serial in Liberty Magazine.
The story was based on a 1927 crime perpetrated by a married Queens woman and her lover. Ruth (Brown) Snyder persuaded her boyfriend, Judd Gray, to kill her husband Albert after having her spouse take out a big insurance policy—with a double-indemnity clause. The murderers were quickly identified and arrested.

The opening scene starts with a speeding car, jumping the lights in an American city. Its nightime, which is typical of Film Noir. The setting is deliberately dark, and lit by only streetlights, showing that it is not filmed in a studio but on location. A man, Neff, gets out of his car with a mysterious enigma, with his coat over his shoulders, showing that it could be filmed near winter time. The low-key lighting literally keeps us in the dark. There is also dialogue in the opening scenes hinting at key information, given to the audience by the lift operator who reveals the mans name, Neff, that he is working late - something unusual is going on and that he works in the insurance business.

The lift operator is internally put into the film to reveal this information to the audience so they wonder why he is in the office working late.