A Critical Analysis Of Stephen Deutsch's Film Psycho

Psycho and the orchestration of anxiety written by Stephen Deutsch was the scholarly article I chose to analyze. Not only does Deutsch express critical and theoretical views of the movie Psycho, he brings a new angle on the film all together. A majority of critical essays will likely talk about the issues of the Alfred Hitchcock film Psycho. Things like characters, edits, psychology and genre. However, Deutsche’s article goes a step deeper. He focuses on Bernard Herrmann 's music and the emotional responses of the viewer. Deutsche also focuses on the literal meaning of music and sound in the film and how the audience begins to understand different scenes playing out. Very few books and articles discuss the element of sound in the film. This

I saw Psycho for the first time ever when I watched it in class a few weeks ago. I noticed the changes in music in between scenes. Never did I make note of its significance. This article has shown me that the music and interior monologue in the film Psycho was used as a tool to guide the audience deeper into the story. Not just Hitchcock but all filmmakers have the power to manipulate time and space. Music is one way of doing so. After reading the article and renewing my memory of certain events I begun to understand how music in the film was used to appeal to the audience 's mood. The music in the film helps build the rising action leading to the climax, leaving the audience at the edge of their seats. Throughout the article Deutsch continues to elaborate on the ideas behind adding music and special sounds in movies. The music in the movie Psycho engages the audience far beyond the screen. After reading Psycho and the orchestration of anxiety I was glad to have learned more about the musical impact of the film. Allowing myself to think critically about the article has given me a new perspective on film production. Perhaps one I wouldn 't possess if it hadn 't been for Deutsche’s magnificent