The Birds (1963)

La cage aux folles

Probably Hitchcock's most famous movie (apart from PSYCHO), THE BIRDS is perhaps best understood as a companion piece to the director's favorite among all his films, SHADOW OF A DOUBT. Like that 1943 thriller, THE BIRDS concerns a visitor to a small town in Northern California bringing evil in his or her wake, which tests the resourcefulness and the compassion of a family that is not so happy as it imagines itself to be. The famous animated special effects (by Disney animator Ub Ewerks) now look a bit silly, but the effect of the music-free "score" by Bernard Herrmann and Hitchcock's tremendous build-up of suspense make the film one of his greatest among his later and more flawed classics. The acting is at times very unexpected (and thus unlike the flawless performances of Teresa Wright, Joseph Cotten and Patricia Collinge in SHADOW OF A DOUBT), but Rod Taylor is perhaps the most virile leading man Hitchcock ever had, and Jessica Tandy does odd and memorable things with the role of Taylor's neurotic and possessive mother.

As for Tippi Hedren, her performance as Melanie Daniels (the unhappy heiress who brings chaos with her to the twon of Bodega Bay, CA) is still one of the most continually debated in all Hitchcock movies, and if at times he seems to be trying to undo her with her camera work (such as the hilarious triptych of shots of her openmouthed, watching the flames head for the gas pump in the diner sequence), it is still impossible at this point to imagine anyone else in the role. Her beautiful green Edith Head coat and gloves which she wears for most of the film are among the most iconic outfits ever created for a film, and there are moments (particularly towards the end of the film, after she's been severely traumatized by a bird attack) when her affective qualities are undeniable. December 30, 2008

The Birds

The DVD provided a good tie-in to my sister-in-law's Bird's Barbie Doll. It is still one of Hitchcock's best works. December 26, 2008

Worth watching, but for a completely different reason

The Birds was the most ridiculous horror movie I've watched (and that includes The Evil Dead and other junk). Not only because of the lousy special effects - let's relegate those to the lack of technology. But the characters' reactions to the bird attacks often are preposterous. Let's pick the final scene when Miss Daniels hears a wing flutter and goes in the room at the top of the house, and see how many things are wrong with it:

1. Why would she go there?!
2. Why, after peeking into the room and seeing it chock-full of birds, would she enter and...
3. ... close the door behind her?
4. Why then, when the birds start attacking, does she make all sorts of uncoordinated gestures instead of getting the hell out?
5. Finally, her acting in that scene was just horrendous.

Now, why is The Birds worth watching? For the 60s aura (listen to how word intonation used to be back then) and especially for the chemistry between the two lead characters. Mitch (Rod Taylor) is handsome in the movie, and he knows it; he knows that Miss Daniels is strongly attracted to him, and he calls her bluffs with masculinity and confidence. Their dialogue is humorous and witty, and the power play is well worth watching...

...until about 1 hour and 10 minutes into the movie. After that, the birds march in, and the rest of the film is pretty much a waste of time. As philosophical food for thought, imagine a coordinated global ornithological conspiracy and how mankind would fight back - THAT'd be an interesting motion picture. November 23, 2008

Just As Erie as I remembered

The Birds (Collector's Edition)

I saw this movie when I was just a little girl (probably about 6 years old), I probably snuck out of my room, and what a mistake that was, I was so scared! As a matter of fact, the next day when I heard the birds outside I accidentaly touched the iron and seared my thumb and finger to the iron! So I wanted to see if it was as scary now that I am 46.

Well I was not as scared, but it was still a very erie movie, and kind of strange. The special effects for that time were pretty awesome. The story dragged on more than I remember, and I would have preferred to see it in black and white as it was made, not colored in.

The eyeball part is different, at least my memory tells me the eye ball was hanging out of the guys eye, not totally pecked out and gone. Over all, it was a great Alfred Hitchcock movie and would recommend for your viewing pleasure. November 17, 2008

The Birds

I bought this DVD for our 14 year grandson for Halloween as a scary movie but not too scary. I haven't heard yet how he likes it. However the purchasing went smoothly and we got it in the mail quickly and everything else went smoothly October 29, 2008

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