Norman Bates. Three persons

Of all the works of Alfred Hitchcock, the most famous, frightening, timeless, innovative and unique, despite countless attempts to reproduce success, is the film "Psycho". For the sake of justice it is worth noting that during the lifetime of the master, none of the filmmakers did not dare to remove the direct sequel. Only in the eighties there were three "Psychosis" at once, and the third part was filmed by Anthony Perkins, the actor-hostage of the role of psycho-killer named Norman Bates. "Psycho" - a thriller of Hitchcock, with this film masterpiece associates the name of Norman with most fans of the genre. A much smaller number of ordinary people know about the book of Robert Bloch "Psychosis", on the motives of which the film was shot, and few know that the basis of the novel was actually the events that had happened once.

Literary prototype and real man

A common opinion is that during the creation of the character Norman Bates, the writer Robert Bloch was inspired by a real person - the murderer Ed Gaine. Much later, the writer presented the public with his author's story of Hein, saturated with artistic conjecture. In addition, Bloch said that some of the characteristics were copied from the publisher of the magazine Castle of Frankenstein Kelvin Beck. Therefore, Norman Bates is both Calvin Beck and Ed Gain.

The story of the transformation of Norman into a mad killer maniac began with his mother Norma. The woman was an opponent of any manifestation of carnal relations, blamed people for sinfulness and called all surrounding women fallen. After the death of Norman's father, the mother and son lived together for some time. But the boy grew up, and soon Norma had a lover named Joe Considine. Norman Bates, crazy with jealousy, poisoned his lover and mother with strychnine. At the same time, the teenager fabricated the death note of Norma, which clearly indicated that she had poisoned her lover and then committed suicide. Then the teenager no one suspected, but Bates was still in the psychiatric hospital. There, an unbridled sense of guilt and the reason for the emergence of alternative personalities of Norman.

Three persons

After leaving the hospital, Norman Bates inherited not only his mother's house, but also a family business-motel. In addition, the most valuable part of the property of a crazy boy was the corpse of his beloved mother. In the literary original of Bloch, Bates was a vessel for the coexistence of three personalities - the dependent, frightened little Norman boy, a powerful, tough and aggressive Norm capable of destroying anyone who encroaches on disclosing the secret of her death, and the normal, judicious and adult Norman. Rides, as in reality, the Norm, for which the miserable madman even spoke in a woman's high voice.

Cinema image

The cinematic image of Norman differs significantly from the literary one. The book hero is a short, ugly 45-year-old man. In the movie Hitchcock, the hero is a pretty, slender guy 25-30 years old. They say that the change in the appearance of the hero - the whole merit of the director, Hitchcock wanted that the viewer sympathized in some way with the character. Initially in the film Bates appears in front of the viewer the owner of a modest motel, which is managed jointly with his mother.

After a while Norman wakes up sympathy for one of the lodgers Marion Crane, who has the imprudence to recommend the guy to send the mother to the madhouse. The same evening, the girl dies from knife blows, put on a figure in a white robe. Norma and Norman decide to get rid of the corpse, but it's impossible to hide what happened. In the course of the investigation, it turns out that Norma Bates died a few years ago. It becomes clear to everyone that the murderer is Norman himself, that is, one of his alternatives. As a result, the hero is neutralized and placed in a psychiatric hospital, where the Norm completely destroys his mind, and people bypass the long-distance Bates Motel. Norman will leave the psychiatric hospital after 22 years.

Character in the sequel of 1983

In the second part of the film, the hero leaves the hospital. Therapy helps Norman get rid of his mother's personality. Time passes, a man falls in love with a relative of his first victim. But people in the district are again dying, and Bates receives mysterious messages from a kind of rebel mother. This development of events slowly but surely reduces the man from the mind. As a result, it turns out that behind all these incidents is Lily Crane - a sister killed by Norman in the first part of the girl. She, guided by a sense of revenge, in every way trying to return Bates to the hospital. At the same time appears no less insane Norma sister named Emma, who considers herself the mother of the protagonist. In the end, crazy Norman Bates kills an unexpectedly announced aunt, but the corpse preserves, probably out of habit.

Struggle and relatively positive final

In the third and fourth parts, Norman's struggle with his mother continues with varying success. As a result, the hero manages to get rid of the ghosts of the past, preventing "his mother" from killing his wife. Bates burns a family mansion to break the thread that ties with the past. Naturally, if absolutely necessary, the creators could at any moment reanimate the cruel Norm, but the final of the fourth part was decided to be made relatively positive.

Thus appeared in front of the audience killer psychopath Norman Bates. The film "Psycho", directed by Hitchcock, is rightly recognized as the best in the presented franchise.