Directed By: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: Rod Taylor, Tippi Hedren, Suzanne Pleshette
Tag line: "Suspense and shock beyond anything you have seen or imagined!"
Trivia: Tippi Hedren was actually cut in the face by a bird in one of the shots
On a seemingly typical August morning in 1961, thousands of birds descended on the small seaside town of Capitola, California, causing considerable damage and throwing local residents into a panic.
Director Alfred Hitchcock read about this attack while thumbing through his morning newspaper and recalled a short novella he had read years earlier, in which a small Cornish village was ravaged, for no apparent reason, by thousands of deranged birds. The title of this novella, written by Daphne DuMaurier, was The Birds
Yep...Sometimes "inspiration" is as simple as that!
Socialite Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) pays a surprise visit to Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor), a new acquaintance who is spending the weekend in the coastal village of Bodega Bay with his mother Lydia (Jessica Tandy) and sister Cathy (Veronica Cartwright). Unfortunately, Melanie's arrival coincides with an amazing turn of events: birds of all species have started attacking the residents of Bodega Bay!
Yep...Sometimes "inspiration" is as simple as that!
Socialite Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) pays a surprise visit to Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor), a new acquaintance who is spending the weekend in the coastal village of Bodega Bay with his mother Lydia (Jessica Tandy) and sister Cathy (Veronica Cartwright). Unfortunately, Melanie's arrival coincides with an amazing turn of events: birds of all species have started attacking the residents of Bodega Bay!
The townsfolk do what they can to defend themselves as thousands of birds flood into the area, their numbers growing exponentially with each passing hour. The threat of further attacks looms heavy over this small community, and both Melanie and Mitch come to realize that the only way they can survival this ordeal is to leave Bodega Bay as quickly as possible.
With The Birds, Hitchcock faced a real challenge: how to turn what are normally perceived as docile creatures of the sky into savage killers.
With The Birds, Hitchcock faced a real challenge: how to turn what are normally perceived as docile creatures of the sky into savage killers.
Well, you have to hand it to 'ole Hitch...he was certainly up to the challenge!
Throughout the film, we're treated to close-ups of hundreds of attacking birds, their beaks pecking violently at bruised and bloodied hands. At one point, we catch a glimpse of an eyeless corpse, an unlucky victim of some rather hungry birds. Then there's the ungodly screeching that accompanies every attack, a sound so piercing it forces all other noise into the background. Birds crash into windows, break through ceilings, gather on schoolyard jungle gyms, and even make their way into Mitch's house through his fireplace. In this world Hitchcock has created, not even the family home is a safe haven; these birds will get you, no matter where you hide.
One mystery continues to linger all these years later: why did the birds attack? Were they seeking revenge against the human race, or was it some sort of divine plague sent down from above, to terrorize the unlucky citizens of Bodega Bay?
One mystery continues to linger all these years later: why did the birds attack? Were they seeking revenge against the human race, or was it some sort of divine plague sent down from above, to terrorize the unlucky citizens of Bodega Bay?
In the end, both Hitchcock and his screenwriter, Evan Hunter, agreed it was best to avoid any possible explanation and keep the reasons behind the attacks a mystery. For my money, this was the right move. I've always found the unknown to be much more frightening, and the puzzling nature of each attack only works to heighten the tension.
Besides...who's to say the birds themselves know why they did it?
Besides...who's to say the birds themselves know why they did it?