Psycho in the Shower: The History of Cinema's Mo

"Withthisbook，PhilipSkerrymakesanambitiousandlargelysuccessfulefforttorestoreperspectivetothedebatethathasswirledaround"Psycho"sinceHitchcockfirstrippedbacktheshowercurtainofourexpectationsin1960andplungedhisknifeintothecollectivecinematicconsciousness."-JohnBaxter，"FilmInternational""P""sychointheShower"isamulti-dimensionalstudyof"Psycho's"astonishingshowerscene.PhilipJ.SkerryshowshowitmaybethemostsignificantandinfluentialfilmsceneofallandsubstantiatesthisclaimbyprovidingchaptersontheevolutionofthesceneinHitchcock'scareer，withparticularfocusonhismethodsforcreatingsuspenseandterrorintheaudience.Intracingtheevolutionoftheshowerscene，theauthordiscussesandanalyzesmanyfilms(bothHitchcockianandotherwise)thatleadupto"Psycho."ThebookplacestheshowersceneintheculturalandsocialcontextsofAmericanpopularcultureofthe1950sand1960s，arguingthatithelpedtocreatearevolutioninbothsensibilityandcinematicstyle.Severaluniquedimensionshelptosetthisstudyapartfromotherbookson"Psycho"andHitchcock：extensiveanddetailedinterviewswithpeoplewhoworkedonthefilm，includingstarJanetLeighandscreenwriterJosephStefano(thelastsignificantinterviewsbeforetheirdeaths);aclosestudyofHitchcock'semploymentof"miseenscene"andmontageinthescenesleadinguptothefamousshowermurder;ashotbyshotanalysisofthesceneitselfandadiscussionofthenumerouscontroversiessurroundingit;andaprovocativeandinsightfulaccountofthewritingofthebookitself，whichprovidesauniquelookattheauthor'screativeprocess.Thebookculminateswithexamplesofhowtheshowerscenehasbecomeembeddedinthematrixofcontemporarycultureandtheremarkablewaysinwhichthesceneaffectedpeopleonfirstviewing.