Film Review: The Birds

The fourth film we watched from the ‘The Cutting Edge’ film programme was The Birds, which was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and was released in 1963.



The Birds is a film that has a almost self explanatory title. The film themes around a small lake village in which the local birds become vicious killers attacking the people. The cause is never truly uncovered but during the film several people remark that the latest arrival to the village, Melanie, is the cause of all the violence. Melanie was not the only new arrival to the town though as she brought with her two love birds. it has also been speculated that the love birds had something to do with the attacks as stated by TimeMagazine:


"The lovebirds, ostensibly family pets, perching smugly in their cage throughout the attack, seem to Know Something. Are they spies for the gulls? Do they somehow madden other species?"




The scenes in which the birds attack are not glorified with special effects and are more to do with 2D visuals creating an unrealistic feel not only to the behaviour of the people and the birds but also the realisation that the reality of this sort of disaster is could and probably never will happen. In a review by CommonSenseMedia it states:


"In an age when special effects just aren't so special, the matte paintings and animation that create the attack scenes in THE BIRDS are admittedly both tame and lame."




What has to be one of the most stunning elements to this film is the ferocity of the birds. In each attack someone is at least harmed or in several cases killed. One example being the Melanie's near death at the birds beaks but also the first death of a local farmer. In a review by Scott Nash for Three Movie Buffs he states:




"While the attacks are occasionally scary, it's actually the scenes between the waves of attacks that are the most frightening."




Bibliography


TimeMagazine (1963) Cinema: They Is Here.

At: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,830097,00.html (Accessed on 09.02.11)

CommonSenseMedia (-) The Birds.

At: http://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/birds (Accessed on 09.02.11)

Nash, Scott (2010) The Birds.

At: http://www.threemoviebuffs.com/review/birds (Accessed on 09.02.11)