Psycho is a classic among the entire horror movie genre with many memorable iconic scenes by the only Alfred Hitchcock in the history of Cinema. Tense, horrific and a superb lesson in filmmaking, it offers complex characters and revealing dialogue with a huge regard for details. Psycho also features glorious use of mise-en-scene, a fancy French term for all of the visual elements in the frame used to infer meaning. Hitchcock famously uses this concept in the parlor scene, where Marion and Norman talk over sandwiches.
The background features a series of stuffed taxidermy birds where we learn that Norman’s hobby is to stuff birds and preserve them. The stuffed birds in the background, not only are they “birds of prey,” they are visual clues
The background features a series of stuffed taxidermy birds where we learn that Norman’s hobby is to stuff birds and preserve them. The stuffed birds in the background, not only are they “birds of prey,” they are visual clues