Alfred Hitchcock - Psycho

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was born in 13 August 1899 and died in 29 April 1980. He was a British film producer and director. After a successful career in his native United Kingdom in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood. In 1956 he became an American citizen, while remaining a British subject. Over a career spanning more than half a century, Hitchcock fashioned for himself a distinctive and recognisable directorial style. He pioneered the use of a camera made to move in a way that mimics a person's gaze, forcing viewers to engage in a form of voyerism. He framed shots to maximise anxiety, fear, or empathy, and used innovative film editing. Many of Hitchcock's films have twist endings and thrilling plots featuring depictions of violence, murder, and crime, although many of the mysteries function as decoys or "MacGuffins" meant only to serve thematic elements in the film and the extremely complex psychological examinations of the characters. Hitchcock's films also borrow many themes from psychoanalysis and feature strong sexual undertones.

Hitchcock directed more than fifty feature films in a career spanning six decades. Often regarded as the greatest British filmmaker, he came first in a 2007 poll of film critics in Britain's Daily Telegraph, which said: "Unquestionably the greatest filmmaker to emerge from these islands, Hitchcock did more than any director to shape modern cinema, which would be utterly different without him. His flair was for narrative, cruelly withholding crucial information (from his characters and from us) and engaging the emotions of the audience like no one else."


Psycho.Psycho is a 1960's American Horror film that was directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The film starred Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins. The film itself is based upon the screenplay by Joseph Stefano who adapted it from the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch. The film itself was lightly inspired by the crimes of Wisconsin murderer and grave robber Ed Gein, whom lived just 40 miles from Bloch.
The film shows an encounter between a secretary, Marion Crane (Leigh) who is hiding at a secluded motel after stealing money from her employer, and the motels disturbed owner , Norman Bates (Perkins), and the consequences after their encounter.

Psycho initially received mixed reviews, but outstanding box office returns prompted a re-review which was overwhelmingly positive and led to four Academy Award nominations. Psycho is now considered one of Hitchcock's best films and is highly praised as a work of cinematic art by international critics.The film spawned two sequels, a prequel, a remake, and a television movie spin-off. In 1992, the film was selected to be preserved by The Library of Congress at The National Film Registry.