Iconic Scenes in Movies: Psycho(1960)

 Well, this is something new I have put together about iconic scenes in my favourite movies. I am going to start with one of the finest movies ever made- Psycho. This movie is iconic on its own and there are so many great scenes in it, it is hard to pick out some..

Of course, I am going to start with one of the most famous scenes in movie history- the shower scene. Marion Crane(Janet Leigh) is stepping into the shower after a long day. She has checked into the Bates Motel and she has met Norman Bates(Anthony Perkins). They talked and she found out that he is living there with his mother who is ill. Marion suggested that Norman put her in an institution but Norman tells her that he cannot be parted from her. Marion wonders why Norman puts up with the horrible things that his mother says to him. He seems to be attracted to Marion and he spies on her as she gets ready for her shower. Marion turns on the shower and she washes away the day. She has decided to go back home and return the money that she has stolen. She is being washed clean again. Suddenly, we see an eerie shadow in the bathroom. The shower curtain is pulled back and Marion is stabbed again and again by a woman. Is it Mrs Bates?Marion sinks down against the tiles and she reaches out her hand to grab the curtain pulling it down as she dies....This scene has inspired many a movie and it is one of the best scenes in horror that I have ever seen. It is just perfect.

My second iconic scene is when Lila Crane(Vera Miles) goes down to the cellar to hide from Norman who has discovered that she went up to the house. Lila sees an old woman in a chair with her back turned to her. She thinks that it is Mrs. Bates.She touches the old woman on the shoulder and she turns around, showing Lila a corpse dressed up with a wig and dress. She screams loudly, hitting the light bulb and then she turns around to see Norman coming at her dressed as his mother with a knife in his hand. Sam Loomis(John Gavin) stops Norman before he can kill Lila and that is it- Norman's secret is out!

These two scenes make Psycho a masterpiece of film. It has everything I love in a movie- good characters, especially Norman, good acting, especially from Anthony Perkins and a good story. It is probably my all time favourite movie and these two scenes make it obvious why....If you love the Psycho movies as much as I do, there is a great website called The Psycho Movies.com and it has tons of stuff about these great films!Check it out!