Film fact file-Film Research task-Psycho (1960)

Institutional  Context
Production Company- Psycho was produced by Shamley Productions, an American production company set up by Alfred Hitchcock, named after the village of Shamley Green.
Distributor- This film was distributed by Paramount Pictures at its original 1960 release, and then was re-released in 1999 by Universal Pictures.
Director- Psycho is also called Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, and is considered one of his best direction work.
Cinematographer- John L. Russel was the director of photography for Psycho.
Composer- Bernard Herrmann composed the score for this film.
Editor- George Tomasini was the film editor for Psycho, previous work included Vertigo and Rear Window, also by Hitchcock.
Stars- Anthony Perkins and Vera Miles played Norman Bates and Lila Crane, Janet Leigh also appears as Marion Crane.
Other Notable Personnel- Patricia Hitchcock, Alfred Hitchcock's daughter appears as Caroline, and John Gavin, Reagan's first Ambassador to Mexico plays Sam Loomis.
Notable Related Films- Rear Window and Vertigo were both also directed by Alfred Hitchcock. One flew over the cuckoo's nest and the Silence of the Lambs showcase the same type of suspense horror and drama. The Silence of the Lambs is also based off of the same murders by Ed Gein. Stanley Kubrick's The Shining has the same filming style to build up horror.
Production Notes- This is a black and white horror film, which has a run time of 109 minutes and uses a Mono sound mix. This was on an aspect ratio of 1.85 : 1 on a Mitchell BNC camera. This was a spherical process, and was printed onto 35mm film.

Audience Expectation
This film is based on Robert Bloch's 1959 book of the same name, which in turn was inspired by the case of convicted Wisconsin murderer and grave robber, Ed Gein. The film does however, depart from the novel in many aspects, changing different character's names and the length of their role in the film.
Psycho is a stand alone film by Hitchcock, although there are sequels made by other directors (Psycho II, Psycho III, and Psycho IV: The Beginning), and there are several other adaptations from later years, as the critically panned 1998 remake. The 2013 TV show Bates Motel is also a prequel adaptation to the events of Psycho, though it is set in modern times.
Hitchcock specifically wanted actors who were not known as hit movie stars, instead using TV actors from his previous work on the Alfred Hitchcock hour.
Alfred Hitchcock is one of the best known directors of the mid twentieth century. He is known as a perfectionist and as one of the most visually stunning directors in film history. He typically works with a varied cast, though stars have emerged from his work.
Reviews
This film has extremely positive reviews, and made over $806,947 at the box office, and $50,000,000 gross worldwide on the 31st of January, 2004. The producers did not think it would make much money, meaning that it had an extremely low budget, and so made much more than it cost to produce due to its extreme success.
One such review says: "What can you say about a film that's been talked about to death? Just this: If you've never seen it, you owe it to yourself to do so, not because it's a way of paying homage to the one true master of modern film, but because it's so fun to watch. Janet Leigh plays a bored office drone who decides to steal some loot from her boss's obnoxious client and parlay it into a new life with her all-too-distant boyfriend. All is going more or less according to plan until she stops in at the wrong motel, where she befriends a friendly if somewhat nerdy desk clerk only to find it causes problems with that clerk's possessive mother, who as her boy explains, "is not herself today." I'll say she isn't, and so would Leigh's Marion Crane, who maybe should have put up that "Do-Not-Disturb" sign before taking a shower. You can feel the decade literally shifting out of '50s and into '60s with this one. Even the opening shot, where the camera looks over a Western U.S. city in the middle of the afternoon and zooms in on what looks exactly like the Texas School Book Depository overlooking Dealey Plaza. Norman Rockwell touches abound, like the decor of the motel, but look at what's going on around it. People dress well, they still wear fedoras and jackets, but in their tense conversations and hooded gazes you can feel the culture just ticking away like a time bomb waiting to explode. Most especially, there's Anthony Perkins, who plays motel clerk Norman Bates in a very oddly naturalistic way, complete with facial tics and half-swallowed words, not the polished image one expected to see then. Just compare him with John Gavin, who plays Marion's boyfriend in the standard-actor-of-the-day way. Perkins manages to be so weirdly magnetizing, even in small moments like the way he stumbles on the word "falsity" or notes how creepy he finds dampness to be. He shines in bigger scenes, too, like his tense chat with Martin Balsam's boorish but diligent private detective character, Arbogast, who along with Perkins and Leigh delivers a landmark performance. The way both actors play out the awkwardness in their conversation makes you literally sweat. Then again, you're always uneasy around Norman. You definitely feel wary of him right away, but you find yourself liking him, too, even when he's busy covering up "Mother's" misdeeds. Not since Bela Legosi played Dracula did you get a horror movie with such a compelling central figure. If you are sampling the many other comments here, be sure to look up Merwyn Grote's. He makes an interesting, compelling case for how director Alfred Hitchcock used his television series as a template for "Psycho." Certainly "Psycho" looks more like early 1960s television than any of the more sumptuous fare Hitchcock had been bringing to screen at the time. Not only is it in black-and-white, not color, but the sets; a ramshackle motel, a mothbally old house, a couple of cheap looking bedrooms, a bathroom in a used-car dealership, are deliberately low class. It's thrilling to see Hitchcock move so effectively outside his normal element, and move things along with such clinical detachment and low-key technical finesse. Thrilling, too, to realize this is one of his most accomplished products; made by a man who was experienced enough to know how the game was played, and daring enough still to break the rules; indeed, start a whole new ballgame. Is it the best Hitchcock movie? It's definitely one of his best, right up there with "The 39 Steps" and "Strangers On A Train" and "Sabotage" and "Shadow Of A Doubt." He only once again came close to making as good a film, with "The Birds," while Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins never escaped the greatness they helped create here. Poor John Gavin had to quit the biz entirely, and became an ambassador.Often imitated, parodied, referenced, and analyzed to death, "Psycho" still isn't played out nearly 45 years after it came out. You owe it to yourself to pay a visit to the Bates Motel; Norman has a room ready.""
Historical/Political Context
Set- Psycho is set in the South-West continental United States in the late 1950s.
Real Events- This film is based on the real life murderer and grave robber Ed Gein. However, Gein only murdered two women, but he was still devoted to his mother, as she was his only friend and love.
Political Mood Relation- Psycho does not reflect the political mood of the time in anyway.
Social, Cultural, and Political Issues- Psycho was a barrier breaking film at the time, as it was the first film to show a toilet flushing on screen. It also showed sexual promiscuity, as Marion and Sam are shown in bed together at the beginning of the film and are unmarried. One of the main actors was also allegedly a homosexual, and Hitchcock had just finished his LGBT film, Rope, though homosexuality was still frowned upon in these times.