Plot
The story begins as an innocuous romantic triangle involving wealthy, spoiled Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren), handsome Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor), and schoolteacher Annie Hayworth (Suzanne Pleshette). The human story begins in a San Francisco pet shop and culminates at the home of Mitch's mother (Jessica Tandy) at Bodega Bay, where the characters' sense of security is slowly eroded by the curious behavior of the birds in the area. At first, it's no more than a sea gull swooping down and pecking at Melanie's head. Things take a truly ugly turn when hundreds of birds converge on a children's party. There is never an explanation as to why the birds have run amok, but once the onslaught begins, there's virtually no letup. ~ Hal Erickson, RoviReview
The Birds features a classic Alfred Hitchcock setup: average people placed in circumstances turned upside down. And of course, there are the requisite dark insinuations and strange psychological underpinnings. Though we're never sure why the birds are rising up, their behavior seems to be a response to humankind's complacency and arrogance. It's a frightening yet sportive vision of Judgment Day. As in Psycho, Hitchcock's previous film, the normalcy of the setting is allowed to set in before the audience is thrown into the perverse drama. When the bird violence comes, Hitchcock pulls out all the stops to make it as realistic as one could imagine. There are 371 trick shots in the film. Some have dated, but for the most part the effects are still effective. The last shots are especially memorable. And the movie features a unique soundtrack from frequent Hitchcock collaborator Bernard Herrmann: no music, only bird sounds organized as if they were music, for maximum creepy impact. The Birds stands as the end of an unprecedented period when Hitchcock could no wrong; he made only five more features, with decidedly mixed artistic and financial results. ~ Brendon Hanley, RoviCast
- Rod Taylor - Mitch Brenner
- Tippi Hedren - Melanie Daniels
- Jessica Tandy - Lydia Brenner
- Suzanne Pleshette - Annie Hayworth
- Veronica Cartwright - Cathy Brenner
- Ethel Griffies - Mrs. Bundy
Credit
Edith Head - Costume Designer, Alfred Hitchcock - Director, George Tomasini - Editor, Howard Smit - Makeup, Robert F. Boyle - Production Designer, Robert Burks - Cinematographer, Norman Deming - Production Manager, Norman Deming - Producer, Alfred Hitchcock - Producer, Robert F. Boyle - Set Designer, George Milo - Set Designer, Ub Iwerks - Special Effects, Lawrence A. Hampton - Special Effects, Bernard Herrmann - Sound/Sound Designer, Waldon O. Watson - Sound/Sound Designer, William Russell - Sound/Sound Designer, Evan Hunter - Screenwriter, Harold Michelson - Storyboard, Daphne du Maurier - Short Story Author| The Birdcage (1996 Film), The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1969 Film) | |
| The Birds 2: Land's End (1994 Film), The Birds and the Bees (1956 Film) |
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