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The Birds (1963)

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The Birds (1963)

1963 | Classics | Horror | Mystery

119 mins

Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) meets Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) in a San Francisco pet store and decides to follow him home. She brings with her the gift of two love birds and they strike up a romance. One day birds start attacking children at Mitch's sisters party. A huge assault starts on the town by attacking birds.

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Produced by Universal Pictures
Director Alfred Hitchcock
Writer Evan Hunter
Cast Rod Taylor, Tippi Hedren, Suzanne Pleshette, Jessica Tandy, Veronica Cartwright, Ethel Griffies, Ruth McDevitt and Lonny Chapman

Images And Data Courtesy Of: Universal Pictures.
This content (including text, images, videos and other media) is published and used in accordance with Fair Use.

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Andy K

Added this item on Feb 23, 2017

The Birds (1963) Reviews & Ratings (41)
9-10
41.5% (17)
7-8
48.8% (20)
5-6
7.3% (3)
3-4
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2.4% (1)
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Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated

Aug 23, 2019  
The Birds (1963)
The Birds (1963)
1963 | Classics, Horror, Mystery
8
8.1 (41 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
When Birds Attack
The Birds- is one of my favorite alfred hitchcock films.

The birds- is mysterious, dramatic, horrorfying and overall a great movie.

Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) meets Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) in a San Francisco pet store and decides to follow him home. She brings with her the gift of two love birds and they strike up a romance. One day birds start attacking children at Mitch's sisters party. A huge assault starts on the town by attacking birds.

The birds is a must see film.
(5)   
40x40

BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated

Oct 28, 2020  
The Birds (1963)
The Birds (1963)
1963 | Classics, Horror, Mystery
8
8.1 (41 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
Strong Suspense by the Master of Suspense
THE BIRDS is often listed amongst the great works of Alfred Hitchcock and I could never really understand the attraction. I thought it was a so-so fright-flick, so when I tripped across it on TV the other day, I started watching it with one eye, figuring I'd flip to something else in a few minutes.

And...then I caught myself getting into it.

Based on the novel by Daphne Du Maurier, THE BIRDS is told in Alfred Hithcock's suspenseful style to elevate a "pulp novel" idea of birds turning on humans to something much more tense than it had any right to be.

Newcomer Tippi Hendren stars as wealthy San Francisco socialite Melanie Daniels who chases suave charismatic lawyer Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) north of San Fran to his home of Bodego Bay. Will Melanie be able to win Mitch's heart over the objections of his mother (Jessica Tandy) and ex-girlfriend (Suzanne Pleshette)? We'll never know, for the Birds have their own idea of how this tale will end.

Hitchock, of course, earns his nickname "The Master of Suspense" with this film. He has some long scenes that grow with tension. Whether it's Melanie crossing the Bay in a boat (only to, finally, be attacked by a bird) or Mitch's mother going down a long hallway to find out what happened to a farmer friend of hers to the famous - and famously pulled off - scene of the birds gathering en masse on the jungle gym prior to attacking Melanie and the school children. Hitchcock knows exactly how to raise tension in these scenes and he does so marvelously. Even 56 years later, I found what little hairs I have standing up on the back of my neck and my body bending ever so slightly towards the screen during these scenes.

But...the thing that caught me this time around was the performances of the leads and the way Hitchock lets scenes play out with the actors. I've never been a big Rod Taylor fan, I've always thought he was "fine", but nothing special. He is much more than "fine" in this film. It's probably the best work I've ever seen him do. Jessica Tandy, of course, as the mother is wonderfully cold and distant to begin with and slowly moves to close to madness and then understanding, it is a wonderfully understated performance showcasing a superb theater actress. As is Pleshette's turn as school teacher Annie. Her scenes with Hendren were laced (I'm sure purposely) with an undercurrent of sexual tension between the two female characters.

But...the star of this film is Tippi Hendren, beyond a doubt. Much has been made of the cruelty and misogynistic ways that Hitchock treated and abused Hendren in the making of this film. But her performance shone as the gold-digging, fun loving Melanie who descends into the depths as the film progresses. I've never thought much of her as a performer, but will have to check out other films of hers (most notably, Hitchock's MARNIE).

The special effects - which were cutting edge and earned an Oscar nomination back in the day - are dated, but that adds to the charm of the film (at least for me). I'm sure they "wowed" the audience in 1963, so I'll cut them some slack.

I was pleasantly surprised by the pacing, acting and SUSPENSE of this film. It has held up very well and if you haven't seen THE BIRDS in awhile, I recommend you check it out.

Letter Grade: A-

8 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
(2)   
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Veronica Pena (690 KP) rated

Apr 22, 2020  
The Birds (1963)
The Birds (1963)
1963 | Classics, Horror, Mystery
2
8.1 (41 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
what the actual heck
I don't understand the point of this film. I know that so many films don't have to have takeaways or anything you're supposed to learn and that's fine. But I genuinely don't understand why this film was made and why it freaks so many people out. On top of the plot just sucking in general, Melanie and Mitch are just weird. Mitch's mom gives me the same vibes Uncle Charlie and niece Charly had in Shadow of a Doubt. So many of his films give me incestuous vibes and this one was no different. I also hate his savior complex.

Thank god this was the last Hitchcock film I had to watch. I will probably never watch a Hitchcock film again. Good riddance.
(1)   
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RəX Regent (349 KP) rated

Feb 25, 2019  
The Birds (1963)
The Birds (1963)
1963 | Classics, Horror, Mystery
10
8.1 (41 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
Hitchcock at his best
1960 saw the release of Psycho, Hitchcock's signature work, but Psycho is not the only film that people think of when talking about his work. The Birds, made three years later, has a warm place in film fans hearts and a much larger fan base than people seem to think.

I know more people who dislike Psycho compared to those who like The Birds and I feel that this is most defiantly Alfred Hitchcock at his best. Rear Window and Vertigo are also up there but this film offers the right blend of shocks and a disturbing sense of dread, that makes it accessible by many, whilst still being fun to watch.

The birds have turned. Nature is taking her wrath upon man for a brief moment, but the sheer scale of the idea that nature could turn on us is a primally frightening concept. I do feel that this was the vain in which M. Night Shyamalan's dismal The Happening was attempting to tap into decades later, but Hitchcock got this right first time, for all time.

The effects are dated but their impact is still strong, as the ideas are so pronounced that there's little need to show anything. The acting is decent and the direction, though not as perfect as many would argue for Hitch, still doing the job well. This is a timeless and more accessible Hitchcock classic than Psycho, yet often dismissed and I wonder why?

Both films are clear genre pieces and are still being drawn from today. This is a textbook thriller with a natural twist and a dire tone. But the image of the crow massing on telegraph poles is a simple as it it frighting, just because it happens every day…
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