The Birds (1963)

[nic]

Hitchcock: "The Birds"

1963 horror/thriller in which Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) and the residense of a town are terrorised by an attack of birds.

Unlike other Hitchcock classics, the film does not finish with "The End". The birds are still out there and can attack again if they wish without warning.
In all, the film has an uneasy feel to it. (Certainly not a film to watch if birds freak you out).

As any Hitchcock film, it's full of symbolism. The birds attack school kids, farmers, teachers, and bystanders - characters that present the least threat to them.
The birds invaid their homes breaking the stability of what we know of the natural world and our homes.
We were "blind" to the attack hense the farmer having his eyes pecked out (nice :dead

"Birds" as in referrence to women. There are 4 main stars - Melanie, the school teacher, Mitch's daughter and Mitch's mother, all have strong feelins for Mitch and all feel a certain threat from the arrivial of the beautiful Miss Daniels. Whenever these tensions arise the birds seem to present themselves.

The Birds never really scared me, but I did enjoy the brief stardom of Tippi Hedren. I guess she was the successor to Grace Kelly.
Shame Hitchcock destroyed her career after she denied his apparent sexual advances.

 

[Tabitha]

Really nice synopsis Nic - are you channelling Mark Kermode?

I have seen this film, but unlike several people I know I don't have much fear of birds or other winged creatures, so I didn't find it that scary on that level. I do remember the scenes of the childrens' playground covered with the birds being very unsettling though. I have always thought Hitchcock to be very skilled at making his audience uncomfortable without them always realising why they are uneasy.

 

[nic]

Originally posted by Tabitha
Really nice synopsis Nic - are you channelling Mark Kermode?

Hehe, Thanks Tabitha. I wrote a few Hitchcock essays for my Film Theory class at uni. I'll start on "film noir" next .

Originally posted by Tabitha
I do remember the scenes of the childrens' playground covered with the birds being very unsettling though.

Yeh, Daniels sits down to smoke a ciggy and gradually (and silently) the birds being to gather in the background.

 

[Dave]

Re: Hitchcock: "The Birds"

Originally posted by nic
(Certainly not a film to watch if birds freak you out).

If they didn't beforehand, then they will afterwards.

It's a classic film, it would be among my favourites.

This site says you can still visit the schoolhouse:
The Birds and Bodega Bay

It also says that it is based on a Daphne Du Maurier story set in a Cornish Village, which is something repeated elsewhere.

One interesting point is the lack of any music in the film. Apart from the children singing, there is no soundtrack, which adds to the eerie nature of the film.

 

[nic]

Re: Re: Hitchcock: "The Birds"

Originally posted by Dave
This site says you can still visit the schoolhouse:
The Birds and Bodega Bay

True. There are many Hitchcock fans that travel to Bodega Bay in hopes of seeing locations/buildings that appeared in the movie.

Funny you should mention the school house, I saw it on a documentary a few months ago. Appartently it is haunting with ghost or "recordings" from the past.
The cast and crew while shooting the Birds were said to feel uneasy in the building.

 

[Annette]

This is one film which seriously creeped me out. I think I only saw it last year for the first time. The birds were ewwww. Won't be watching this again in a hurry. I hadn't noticed about there not being any soundtrack but now you mention it. Probably help make it even more creepier. LOL

annette

 

[Starbeast]

"It's the end of the world.", said the man at the end of the bar.

This is another fine film from the master of suspence, Alfred Hitchcock. This movie was very scary to watch as a kid, but today, it's an entertaining "animal attack" film. I consider The Birds as a science fiction movie without an ending, that's ok though because you want to see Rod Taylor and the ladies drive away safely, you feel like you've escaped with them. A little traumatized, but relieved the birds left you alone.

 

[Daisy-Boo]

I enjoyed this movie immensely. I'm not freaked out by birds but the almost constant air of impending menace, of never knowing when an attack would happen, all well as the attacks themselves, made me give all birds the side-eye for a while afterwards.

Regarding the lack of music - I wish that film-makers today would re-think their use of music in a film. All too often the music overwhelms the story and characters, almost bullying the viewer into feeling a certain way. I feel this most often during scenes that are meant to be either romantic, sad or tragic.

The lack of music (as in The Birds), allows the viewer to fully experience the events in the film without musical distraction. I know that doesn't work in all films but Hitchcock demonstrates that, not only can it be done, it can also greatly enhance the viewing experience.

This is one of the reasons I like classic movies so much. There are many that don't bludgeon the viewer with their soundtracks.

 

[clovis-man]

Regarding the lack of music - I wish that film-makers today would re-think their use of music in a film. All too often the music overwhelms the story and characters, almost bullying the viewer into feeling a certain way.

It has been said that the best movie soundtrack is the one you don't notice.

 

[steve12553]

The original story by Daphne du Maurier was interesting and bordered on Science Fiction. The movie was conceptually the same but the plot was much different. Hitchcock played the suspense like a violin. He used the same simple formula several times during the film and we bought it each time. I also thought the use of sea gulls helped a lot. Gulls are not little tiny birds. Birds also move in a different plane the people which makes the film all that more eerie.