The movie Psycho, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, contains perhaps one of the most famous scenes in film history. Janet Leigh, the heroine of the picture, is seen undressing and entering the shower. The film shows shots of the shower, the water running through the drain and Janet Leigh behind the shower curtain. A dark figure is seen coming closer to her, and as the shower curtains are torn open, we hear Janet Leigh scream, the stalker produce a knife, and the sounds of screeching violins is heard as the unfortunate heroine meets her doom.

There are many reasons why this scene is so well regarded. The controversial nature of the moment and the effect this had on conservative viewers in 1960 is probably the greatest reason for this scene’s fame. To give you an idea of how this culture thought of film, consider that this was the first Hollywood movie to contain a shot of a toilet! You can then gather an idea of how viewers would have felt seeing a person in a bra, undressing and getting into a shower in a Hollywood film. Then add to that the shock of seeing her murder!

Hitchcock created the film with the aim of creating something that looked a lot rougher than the films his fans was used to seeing. The movie was in black and white which was not common for the time. The edited version had a much quicker pace than what was considered normal.

The creation of this scene took Hitchcock a long time to complete, and he would work for hours on each shot and how the shots would be edited together before shooting a single foot of film. This allowed him to edit in such a way that the scene is thought of as far more graphic in the audiences mind than it actually is if you slow the film down to watch each moment frame-by-frame.

But what probably caused audiences to be shocked the most seeing the film for the first time was the way Hitchcock had created Janet Leigh’s character up until that point. Janet Leigh was advertised as the star of this movie, and was treated as the main character until the shower scene. But this moment occurs only halfway through the picture! So along with the shock of seeing a murder happen onscreen, the viewers are shocked that the hero of the film has been killed before the story had found any kind of resolution.

While Hitchcock’s movies always represent a somewhat odd view of reality, there can be no questioning that he was a masterful virtuoso at manipulating the audiences emotions. The famous shower scene of this film is testament to this fact, and it is no wonder it Is become one of the most well-known, often-parodied and often-taught scenes in film history. Though some today are reluctant to see old movies, especially those in black and white, Psycho warrants a watch just so you can find out about this milestone in cinema.