The Birds (1963)

The Birds is one of Alfred Hitchcock's more famous films. Not perhaps as well known as Psycho or Vertigo, but its basic plot is known by most people it seems. Crazy birds attack people. Hitchcock is famous for being the master of suspense and horror and this is another of those films. I feel that I have to watch a lot of 'classic' films during my one year mission to watch a film a day, and it would be wrong to neglect one of the most famous directors in history.

There is a bit more to the plot than just some lunatic birds to be fair. Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) is a rich and mischievous socialite who has a seemingly chance encounter with lawyer Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor). They meet in a bird shop and soon Melanie is driving up the coast to surprise Mitch in his hometown of Bodega Bay. Everything seems quite normal until Melanie is suddenly attacked by a swooping bird. Soon psychotic birds are attacking everything in sight.

If you had no idea what film you were sitting down to watch you could be forgiven for thinking it was an Audrey Hepburn type romantic film. A playful flirtation between the two leads dominated the first half of the film. Tippi Hedren is very good as the spoiled rich girl who decides to follow a whim and basically stalk her new acquaintance. There is a surreal feel to things however which paves the way for the oddness that is to follow. As soon as the birds, seemingly randomly start to attack, things spiral very quickly into a full scale panic as the entire town begins to panic. The change in direction reminded me of From Dusk 'Till Dawn, or perhaps more appropriately Psycho. Some viewers might feel they are getting two films for the price of one where others might feel disappointed at the change.

As I have said Hitchcock is regarded as the master of suspense and horror. This provides much more suspense than horror for me. The birds of varying species begin to gather before attacks and the film really captures this well. Melanie look on worriedly in one scene as huge numbers of crows land outside a school full of children, angry squawks and nervous looks mingle creating a very tense mood. Where modern audiences will feel let down is the actual attacks. Unfortunately the effects have not aged well, despite the fact that they must have been a fantastic achievement in 1963. I found myself laughing for the wrong reasons in some places, as you can see that some of the birds are made of cardboard.

The surreal feel to the film and the odd characters really made this worthwhile for me. Perhaps this was intended because when the birds start attacking for no apparent reason it doesn't seem much stranger than Melanie following Mitch like a nut job might follow Brittney Spears. Another thing I enjoyed was the fact that no real explanation is offered. There is a great scene where residents of the town are speculating on why the attacks are happening while having their lunch in a diner. No conclusion is reached but everyone has a different theory. Much like the film itself it will divide opinion as it is purposely vague and open to interpretation.

Well worth a watch if you are not too put off by the dated effects.

6/10