Psycho Directed by Alfred Hitchcock Edited by George Tomasini Assistant Film Editor: Terry Williams Supervising Sound Editor: Danford Greene Music Editor: Richard C. Harris Psycho is one of the most famous, and infamous, films in the history of American cinema. It was a great achievement, for many reasons. It combined the horror of the physical and the psychological in a new and unique way. The juxtaposition of subtle humor and the grotesque was unsettling, beautifully illustrated in the scene where Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) sinks the car belonging to Marion Crane (Janet Leigh). The film tricked the audience into believing it was telling one story, then shifted to another in a shocking yet seamless manner. The way Psycho killed off its leading lady halfway through the film, but never disappointed or lost its audience was unprecedented. Psycho was based on a novel by Robert Block, which in turn was based on the gruesome case of real-life mass murderer Ed Gein. Alfred Hitchcock had read the book and decided it would make a good, low-budget, black-and-white picture and acquired the film rights from Bloch for $9,000. Hitchcock had his eye on the commercial success of filmmakers like William Castle and Roger Corman, whose quickie horror and science fiction films had tapped into a growing, new audience. But many have speculated that Hitchcock had another motivation for wanting to make Psycho. The 1955 film Les Diaboliques had earned director Henri-Georges Clouzot worldwide praise and the title "the French Hitchcock." Often referred to an "the best film that Alfred Hitchcock never made," Les Diaboliques was a low-budget, black-and-white murder mystery with a pivotal scene that involved a bathroom. Perhaps Hitchcock had a score to settle. Made for just over $800,000, Pyscho was a huge success at the box office, if not among critics. It received mixed reviews, although many critics would later reassess their views. It turned up on many 1960 "ten best" lists and received four Academy Award nominations. Every editor knows the enormous contribution that our craft makes to the success of any film. This is particularly well demonstrated in Psycho, where editing was used in a bold and outrageous way. The shower sequence, in which Marion Crane is brutally murdered, was a sensation with audiences who saw the film when it premiered. The quick cuts (the entire stabbing lasts only 20 seconds), the use of sound effects, the start music of Bernard Herrmann (all strings) and Janet Leigh's performance all created an atmosphere that caused many viewers to take baths for months after seeing the film. On the succeeding pages are two pieces about the editors who helped create Psycho. Also included are selected frames from each of the 51 cuts in the shower scene. And finally, a section of the stabbing is shown frame by frame on the lower-left and right-hand pages of this book, beginning with the Picture Editor section. By flipping the pages from top to bottom, and then reversing the procedure going backwards, you will see a portion of the scene unfold before you. We hope you enjoy it. [Unfortunately, the Editors Guild has so far been unable to obtain permission to reprint the Psycho photos on the web.]   Rachel Igel Directory Editor   Reprinted from The Motion Picture Editors Guild Directory of Members 1996 -1997   Guild Home | Directory Home | Magazine Home | Top of Page   Copyright © 2000, All Rights Reserved by The Motion Picture Editors Guild, IATSE Local 700