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The Birds (1963)Alfred Hitchcock

Cast

Tippi Hedren ... Melanie Daniels

Suzanne Pleshette ... Annie Hayworth

Rod Taylor ... Mitch Brenner

Jessica Tandy ... Lydia Brenner

Veronica Cartwright ... Cathy Brenner

Ethel Griffies ... Mrs. Bundy - Ornithologist

Charles McGraw ... Sebastian Sholes - Fisherman in Diner

Doreen Lang ... Hysterical Mother in Diner

Ruth McDevitt ... Mrs. MacGruder - Pet Store Clerk

Joe Mantell ... Traveling Salesman at Diner's Bar

Malcolm Atterbury ... Deputy Al Malone

Karl Swenson ... Drunken Doomsayer in Diner

Elizabeth Wilson ... Helen Carter

Figure 1. Film Poster

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There was King Kong, Godzilla, Jaws, and then there was Birds; like the other 3 films Birds at its exterior is a nature verses

human film, what separates each films from one another is their subtext, they all have a separate message. The Birds is well

recognised as Hitchcocks best, and its no wonder as the film was released at the peak of this career.

As a film to modern audiences on a wide scale, the film doesnt hold up and isnt as enjoyable as it would be if it was viewed on the

year of release, this is mostly down to the outdated visual effects and how long it makes you wait, the film uses a lot of cameraangles and long silences to create suspense, when really nothings happening, having birds as a threat isnt really believable and

though not explained properly, Hitchcock drops little hints that the film isnt in fact about the birds, some say they signify

Melanies sexual desire, but it could in fact show natures slow eruption of rage. After looking into the film and studying it further

only then can Hitchcocks intensions be clear, if a film isnt clear from the first viewing, maybe the director wasn t successful.

The film is very character driven, the viewers get a glimpse into the characters lives as the film goes on, at its core this is what

the films about; We get glimpses of people leading lives of quiet desperation(Ballard, 2012) the characters in the film have

issue which arent that big but to them its everything, these unresolved issues become insignificant when the town is attacked by

Birds, most characters introduced are female and the film has one main male character but focuses on Tippi Hedrens character,

Ballard describes these issues as demons and every character is consumed by them until the big attack happens, and as the film

is opened to interpretation, it could very well be about what society has turned into and Hitchcocks fulfilling some fantasy ofwaking up the public in this fictional world, if everyone had a common enemy theyll be more communication and less conflict,

people will be less engulfed in their tiny issues.

The film follows Melanie on her journey to the Bodega Bay and due to the way its structured and the timing of the attack, the

attack could be easily blamed on her, just like one woman did after the children were attacked, Brooks talks about this moment

and states that this implies that the birds are a manifestation of sex(Brooks, 2012), again this could be Hitchcock giving the

viewers a till piece of the puzzle to understand, but again a crazy man at the diner she was at quotes the bible and talks about the

end of the world, thisll make sense for theory that the it was nature simply attacking the humans simply because of how selfish

and contained everyone was, here Hitchcock is yet again playing God and smiting down the people of Bodega Bay.

Theres an attack which happens when Melanie is outside the childrens school, this is interesting because it isn t clear what

draws the birds to the location, and what s really odd is the children are singing an old Scottish Ballad which is very sexist and is

about wife beating,She wadna bake, nor she wadna brew(Wee Cooper o' Fife - Robert Watson, 2009), the attack could be

spurred on by the song or the female, either way this scene is edited and put well together every time behind the female

Figure 2. Birds Attack the school

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character is shown more birds appear, its slow but effective tension builds because not happens as they begin to pile and the

viewers are left waiting till the apparatus is thick with birds.

The ending of the film seemed abrupt, it was as though there was a final act left to go, and this is because there actually was, but

Hitchcock felt it this was a fitting ended, he didnt want the typical The End ending, but he wanted to imply a never-ending terror

(Gugie, 2007), because though these characters have now conquered demons and now free from the Birds, the ending impliesthat the attack is wide spread and though their safe, other places are sti ll in danger

The Birds is a film very much about a mother who resents every woman, her son bring home as it is about a socialist woman who

went on a very elaborate yet flirtatious quest to play a simple prank and end up falling in love. At its core Birds is about the

people, their relationships, its about family and though the birds pose as a threat it was a means to which people were forced todropped their issues and focus on the important things.

Figure 3. The Final scene

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Illustrations

Figure 1: http://sococulture.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/bravo1213_movie_the_birds.jpg

Figure 2: http://www.examiner.com/review/classic-movie-review-the-birds-1963

Figure 3:http://www.filminamerica.com/Movies/TheBirds/

Bibliography

Ballard, M. (2012) we get glimpses of people leading lives of quiet desperation. In: examiner [online]

http://www.examiner.com/review/classic-movie-review-the-birds-1963(Accessed 08/02/2013)

Brooks, X. (2012) this implies that the birds are a manifestation of sex. In: guardian [online]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2012/jul/31/my-favourite-hitchcock-the-birds(Accessed 08/02/2012)

Emidicta (2009) Wee Cooper o' Fife - Robert Watson, [youtube video] At.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX2KMDoOtQA

(Accessed on 08/02/2012)

Gugie, J. (2007) he wanted to imply a never-ending terror. In suite101 [online]http://suite101.com/article/movie-review-the-birds-1963-a24045(Accessed on 08/02/2013)

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