Scenes

Close readings of single scenes — observation first, then connotation, then what it does to an audience.

• Alice — the prologue Ninety seconds of counterfeit 1940s Hollywood, built at real 1940s expense, existing to be destroyed by one cut.
• Psycho — the opening A crane over Phoenix, captions stamping time and place, then in through a half-open window. The audience enters as a trespasser.
• Psycho — the parlour scene Norman and Marion eat sandwiches while the mise en scène quietly explains the entire film.
• Psycho — the shower scene Three minutes, dozens of cuts, no knife ever shown entering flesh. Violence assembled entirely in the audience's head.