The Language of Film in Psycho at ArtisꟷNaples

Inspired by actual events, motivated by its director’s fear of cinematic mortality, and made on a shoestring budget, Psycho (1960) would go on to become one of Alfred Hitchcock’s best-known films — and arguably his most influential. Always a skilled visual stylist who often walked the line between suggestive and salacious, Hitchcock pushed the envelope with Psycho, a film that frustrated censors, challenged critics, and enthralled audiences. And while the director’s name, his clever marketing and the film’s appealing stars (Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh) undoubtedly did much to entice moviegoers, what kept audiences coming — and Psycho alive in popular culture for over 60 years — are the bold techniques (even by Hitchcock standards) in editing, scoring, composition and more through which the themes of guilt, voyeurism and the danger of everyday places — like that motel shower — come to life.