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Amazon.com essential video: Vacationing in northern California, Alfred Hitchcock was struck by a story in a Santa Cruz newspaper: "Seabird Invasion Hits Coastal Homes." From this peculiar incident, and his memory of a short story by Daphne du Maurier, the master of suspense created one of his strangest and most terrifying films. The Birds follows a chic blonde, Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren), as she travels to the coastal town of Bodega Bay to hook up with a rugged fellow (Rod Taylor) she's only just met. Before long the town is attacked by marauding birds, and Hitchcock's skill at staging action is brought to the fore. Beyond the superb effects, however, The Birds is also one of Hitchcock's most psychologically complicated scenarios, a tense study of violence, loneliness, and complacency. What really gets under your skin are not the bird skirmishes but the anxiety and the eerie quiet between attacks. The director elevated an unknown model, Tippi Hedren (mother of Melanie Griffith), to being his latest cool, blond leading lady, an experience that was not always easy on the much-pecked Ms. Hedren. Still, she returned for the next Hitchcock picture, the underrated Marnie. Treated with scant attention by serious critics in 1963, The Birds has grown into a classic and--despite the sci-fi trappings--one of Hitchcock's most serious films. --Robert Horton Customer Reviews: Rating: 
Date: 2008-06-19
inferior to Daphne du Maurier's short story
This Hitchcock classic simply isn't up to the horror of the original du Maurier short story--an avian world holocaust with the imminent extinction of the human race. Hitchcock's catastrophe is apparently limited to a few miles of North California coast.
Possibly this was done to produce a Hollywood more-or-less happy ending but it was a mistake. That combined with the limited acting skills of some of the actors, makes this a film easy to pass over.
Ron Braithwaite author of Mexican Conquest novels, "Skull Rack" and "Hummingbird God" Rating: 
Date: 2008-06-09
One of Hitchcock's more memorable films
After seeing The Birds again, including Hitchcock's tongue and cheek "lecture" in the trailer for the film, (1963) as one reviewer has written, it,s the suspense during those moments of silence between those unrelenting onslaughts of violence against their chosen rivals, human beings. The big question that is not answered in the film, is why the birds turn with such fury?
Nature takes its revenge?
Based on the short story by Daphne Du Maurier, Melanie Daniels (Tippy Hendren) chases a man she's smitten with to a small town outside San Francisco, Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) when, slowly the birds begin to attack with a vengence: "Their coming, their coming!" screams Daniels, in the classic trailer with an expression of utter terror.
What really makes the film is the silence of suspence between attacks. "Suspence" almost became Hitchcock's trademark, and The Birds is one of his best.
It is well known that Hitchcock did not have a high regard for actors - he viewed them as merely pawns to tell his story. Tippy Hendren, it has been written somewhere caught the brunt of old Alfred's arrogance, but stuck with him for another great film, Marnie.
Although not as subtle as some of the old Englishman's films, this is one of the Master's more memorable pictures of the 60's.
Rating: 
Date: 2008-05-15
CLASSIC HITCHCOCK
Modern day movies can never compare to the Great Alfred Hitchcock. This legandary film is Amazing. Any Hithcock fan will totally agree with me.
Rating:
Date: 2008-04-12
The Birds-WOW!
When I rented this movie, I expected to see a dated film with awful special effects. What I got was a whirlwind of suspense and mystery.
Tippi is your average upper class wealthy women. She meets a man in a bird shop looking for some lovebirds and is instantly intriuged. When the man can't find the love birds and leaves, she orders them and brings them to his small weekend home by the beach where he, his sister, and his mother live. When Tippi arrives...mysterious things start to happen. Various birds attack the people of this town. The citizens say that it's impossible: How can birds with supposed low intelligence attack every human they see?
This movie is slightly dated, but it doesn't diminish the fact that it is incredibly suspenseful. I was on the edge of my seat for the entirety of this movie.
Squab anyone? Rating:
Date: 2008-04-02
The Best!
This movie and "Psycho" are my fave Hitchcock movies. It is hard for me to choose which I like better. I guess "Birds" is my fave color Hitchcock movie and "Psycho" my fave B&W Hitchcock movie. Enjoy them both! Five Stars.... |
