One of the prominent aspects Vertigo and Psycho, as with all Alfred Hitchcock films, is the musical scores by Bernard Hermann. It’s not so much the intensity of the music during climatic moments – although that aspect is present as well – but the many other scenes when a more low-key score builds the tension and foreshadows what is to occur later. For every scene at the top of a church bell tower or in a shower, there are several scene on the roads of California that serve as rising action. The audience knows something is about the go wrong but they are left in suspense, adding significance to the event when it occurs. Hermann’s music is beautiful, yet very tense.
It is unfortunate that the prints that were screened at the Bloor Cinema were of poor quality and there were issues with the contrast in both films. This was especially critical in Psycho’s where the shades of grey that help define Hitchcock’s world view were not present and were replaced with muddled black darkness.
Hitchcock showed great originality in his camera shots. One really gets the impression that they are an observer of the desperate scheme which is about to go awry. Shots from above at the Mission San Juan Bautista show the aftermath of the two falls from the tower and close shots show the fear and terror of each victim at the Bates Motel. (On a side note, both films feature a number of scenes showing James Stewart and Janet Leigh driving, using rear projection to show what is happening on the road behind them. Chase scenes become slow and methodical, yet still as engrossing because one can see how the protagonist is reacting to their surroundings.) The camera angles, such as the zoom in Vertigo and the shot of the door creaking open in Psycho helped make the films unforgettable.
Hitchcock’s films are not violent but succeed in providing the same overall effect by showing the outcome in great detail. The audience never sees Kim Novak’s body hit the rooftop tiles and Janet Leigh is never stabbed on camera but the reaction of James Stewart and the destruction of shower and bathroom provide more than enough detail.
It is also a trick that modern directors should learn. It’s not what blows up or how many people are killed but how one makes each act of violence important by creating suspense, developing a relationship between the actors and the audience, and employing wit as the plot unfolds.
Obviously, both films display the dangers of obsession, showing how a character can loose themselves and their values when they stretch an idea to its absolute limit. But that has been discussed in numerous essays that are far more sophisticated than what is posted here.