"Psycho" Analysis

It is in no doubt that Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" is one of the landmark films in the twentieth century. This is because of the boundaries it breaks, the lengths that it went through to capture the audience. It does so in a variety of ways.
One of the best ways in which Hitchcock made this film so successful was his ability to shock the audience without the use of gore and blood. In the shower scene, for example, we see the death of Marion Crane (played by Janet Leigh), who was the main character up to this point. Looking back at the scene, I saw that there was actually very little blood, apart from that going down the plug hole, and during the "stabbing", we never once see a knife penetrating skin. One of the main ways Hitchcock was able to do this was through the musical score. His "muted strings" are still renowned today for their ability to add tension to the film.
The shower scene also presents us with another of Hitchcock's devices that broke the normal boundaries, and that was the amount of nudity used. Most nudity was not permitted in films of the '60s, or frowned upon at best. So, to have a naked woman murdered in the shower was no easy task in it's context. Also, at the start of the film, we see Janet Leigh, in a brassiere, with her lover.This is ground breaking, as previously promiscuity such as this was frowned upon. However, Hitchcock does not make a big attempt to shock the audience with graphic imagery, he simply lets it be there.
Another way in which Hitchcock broke the previous rules was his killing off of Janet Leigh, by the end of the first half of the film. We originally follow the story of her stealing $40,000 off her boss, and the detective attempting to go after her. However, when she is killed, the story of the money is buried, along with her car, when Norman Bates (played by Anthony Perkins) pushes it into the bayou. As he is packing up her things, ready to sink them into the swamp, we are constantly drawn towards the money, wrapped inside a newpaper. We wonder whether he will find it, and that tension brings us to the edge of our seats. As the money sinks with the car, we are left wondering where this story will lead us. As Janet Leigh was a major star at the time, killing her off halfway through the film seemed to be a bad thing to do, but Hitchcock made this work, and more importantly, allowed Anthony Perkins a major role that allowed us to see into the mind of the killer.
Hitchcock broke the boundaries by the twist that's introduced at the very end. Norman Bates claims to have a mother, and we hear her voice in one scene, and the tale is set up to reveal that his mother is the killer. We see this when, in the shower scene, we see that the one with the knife is a womanly shaped figure with her hair in a bun. It is also shown when Norman Bates is arguing with his mother, and taking into the the basement to "be safe". However, when Marion's sister Lila (played by Vera Miles) enters the basement and whispers "Mrs. Bates" to the old woman staring at the wall, we see that she is long dead. Just as the audience are getting their heads around this, Norman Bates enter the room in a wig and dress, with a knife in his hand. I definitely wasn't expecting this, and it's twists such as these that have given Alfred Hitchcock his legendary status.
In conclusion, I feel that Hitchcock crafted Psycho expertly to keep the audiences attention at all times. This was done through the musical score, the storyline and twists, and the contextual risqué amounts of nudity and violence.