But rewatching the film I had second thoughts. Maybe I should pick something more significant. Like this shot:
which just about summarized the next fifty years of horror films in a fraction of a second.
Or how about this shot:
I could easily whip up a thousand words about the brilliance of Hitch's shot compositions in Pyscho and feel like I've barely scratched the surface.
But ultimately when I think about Hitchcock's films I don't think about individual shots as much as I do with other masters. With Hitch it's all about the timing, the editing. The thrill of watching one piece fall perfectly in place atop another, accumulating power as it builds. It's the context of my favorite shot which makes it my favorite shot in Psycho, which, to paraphrase Lebowski, puts it high in the running for my favorite shot of all time.
Ready?
Here it is:
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| "Oh, shit" |
Not much to look at, is it? A mundane, functional shot. But in Hitchcock's hands it is just about the purest movie fun there is. Coming at the end of the virtuoso wordless sequence where Norman cleans up after Mother, Hitchcock has deftly segued from the heart attack of the shower sequence to the sustained dread of Norman's cover up. All the momentum builds to the sinking of all the evidence in the bog behind the motel. It slowly gurgles its way beneath the surface and then...nothing.
Ten seconds elapse as as we sit holding our breath, watching this car stuck in the mire before it finally resumes sinking. Other writers have noted how beautifully Hitch transfers our allegiance from Marion to Norman, or what the swamp represents thematically. I will simply note that there is no beating the gasp one involuntary produces when the car fails to complete it's disappearance under the muck. It's the quiet flip side to the shriek produced by the shower sequence.
BRILLIANT POST. It's almost perverse that a movie this perverse (and violent) is so fun but there it is. Hitchcock knows, as most of the greats do, that you have to work on several levels at once and he gets how to be funny without derailing the dread.
ReplyDeleteIt's all about putting us in the shoes of the protagonist and for that this moment works like gangbusters. You can't help but wonder what to do next. Trudge out there and jump up and down on that thing?
ReplyDeleteThe only equal for such a moment I can think of is the non-starting car in Double Indemnity.
By now, this kind of trick is old hat; it's pretty common for movies with criminal protagonists to have some moment when we're (unknowingly?) forced to side with them & hope they get away with it. (For example, consider the scene in The Town when Rebecca Hall comes dangerously close to seeing Jeremy Renner's neck tattoo.)
ReplyDeleteBut Hitchcock (and Wilder too) just did it so expertly: where it's located in the movie, plus the timing, the editing, and Perkins' reaction - while eating candy corn, no less! - make this totally effective and unforgettable. I also look for it every time I watch Psycho, and it was in the running for my favorite shot as well. Fantastic choice.
Nice post. I still wait for something to happen in those seconds when the car sinks! Even after all the times I´ve seen it. I guess great movies manage to feel fresh even when you know them by heart...
ReplyDeleteI actually picked the alternate shot from right at the end, as the car is being dredged back up. I love the symbolism of the swamp, and how wonderfully Hitchcock conveys dread in the moments after the murder. Great write up.
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