The Birds Movie Review

 

            Although I’m sure The Birds was impressive for the time period in which it was made, it did not capture my interest.  There were many things that could improve this movie.  The Birds lack of believable scenery in conjunction with the poorly done special effects, made it’s attempts at realist horror laughable at best.  It did not come off as a horror film, but more as a spoof of a horror flick, so it shouldn’t be categorized as a horror movie  Many critics wrote exclaiming their praise for the eerie vibe the movie radiates.  When you see this movie, you will feel no such vibe.  I do admit that Hitchcock did not have all the technology current day directors have to create action packed horror films, but since this is not 1963 the expectations for a realistic portrayal are much higher.   Given today’s technological capabilities, Hitchcock could have greatly improved this film. 

One of the movies key points is introduced within the first few minutes of the film.  Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) meets the dashing Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) in a bird shop in San Francisco.  Melanie tries to convince Mitch she works at the bird shop.  Mitch plays along and asks Melanie to show him the parakeets.  Melanie shows Mitch the love bird not realizing Mitch knows they aren’t parakeets.  He asks Melanie to get one out for him.  When she does it gets away and Melanie discovers Mitch knew the entire time that she did not work at the bird shop.   To get back at Mitch, Melanie buys two love birds.  She searches for Mitch to give him the love birds and ends up in Bodega Bay.  There she and the other townspeople are the targets of unexplainable bird attacks.

  Throughout the movie Tippi portrays Melanie’s character, as a ditzy blonde, perfectly, while Rod is just the right match for his character Mitch.  Veronica Cartwright has several scenes where she over does her role as Cathy (Mitch’s little sister).  You can’t help but to feel sorry for the school teacher, Annie Hayworth (Suzanne Pleshette), considering her past ties to Mitch and her tragic end.  The best character in the movie is the unnamed man at the restaurant who declares it is the end of the world.  This character creates an essence of humor to the film.  Hitchcock did well in choosing actors for this film.  Their performances are a dismal light of reality in an otherwise implausible picture.

            There are two scenes that actually catch your attention.  Both of the scenes are the consequences of the bird attacks.  First, Mitch’s mother, Mrs. Brenner (Jessica Tandy), is looking for the farmer and discovers him dead in his room.  Not only are the windows broken, but the farmer’s eyes are gone leaving his sockets empty except for the blood coating them.  This scene leaves the audience with an appreciation of the horror the birds can inflict even though it is not depicted in the bird attacks.  Another bird assault leads to the most memorable special effect in the movie.  In town a man is so frightened when the birds attack that he drops a gasoline line.  Another onlooker absent mindedly lights his cigar and the bird causes him to drop the lit cigar on the spilled gasoline.  You can guess what happens next and even though it’s not the best explosion (as far as special effects go), it is still a memorable part of the movie.

            Some critics believe The Birds is unique although many would not agree.  It includes a love triangle, a blonde who opens a door when she knows she shouldn’t and a widowed mother who doesn’t want to lose her son.  There are critics who believe the special effects in The Birds are amazing and the fear created by this horror flick will make you look up at the sky fearing the birds.  I recall that as I watched the movie with my peers, we were all laughing at the scenery and the birds.  You can tell the scenery is fake because it looks like the director placed the actors in front of a painting.  The bird attacks are also unbelievable because when you see them attack it looks like the people off set are just throwing plastic birds at the actors.  The Birds may have many good reviews, but the reviews that recommend it are from the 1960’s.   I recommend this movie to people looking for a good laugh.  Make sure you don’t spend any money seeing it because it isn’t worth much.