It is editing, they say, that makes or breaks a movie. Top notch footage, great actors, amazing sound designing can all come to waste if it is not edited into a good film.  Naturally, editing is also known as ‘film construction’ or ‘film sculpturing.’ It is literally cutting down of parts that are not required and showing the audience only the part that is important to the storyline.

Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho’s shower scene is always mentioned in any discussion on editing in films. It was, after all, a game changer. Looking back, the movie as a whole is one brilliant example of film editing. Masterful editing lies in the seamlessness of it. Making a cut or moving to different perspective, a cutaway or insert shouldn’t seem like one. This is brilliantly seen in every frame chosen in the murder-mystery thriller Psycho.

Since the film in question is a murder-mystery, the editing of the movie was of pivotal importance. The editing of the film kept the suspense of the film alive throughout the movie.  The style of editing changed according to the plot of the movie. The murder of Marion Crane in the movie came unexpected. The lady was murdered by being stabbed by a knife while she was showering. Apart from coming as a shock to the viewer and the character, the incident was also gravely gory, a lot more than that could be shown to the views. During the entire scene the viewer does not directly see the knife being directed at Marion’s body, thus cutting out the dreadful details of the incident. Some very brilliant editing is also seen in the murder scene of Detective Arbogast. By this time of the movie, the viewer knows that there is a mentally unstable lady in the storyline. But the viewer still cannot blame her completely. So, the editing is done is such a manner that the viewer can see the lady for just a split second. This scene was another breaking point in the movie. It thickened the suspense of the film further.

The film also established the time scale in the movie really well. One example was seen in the part where Marion is running away from her hometown. One can see clearly that when she began driving, it is evening but it later graduates to the night and to a new day. This is tactfully shown in the same frame.