Maybe not quite the pinnacle of Hitchcock's career but definitely in the top five.
The Birds (1963)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:39
Fresh:37
Rotten:2
Average Rating:7.9/10
Consensus: Proving once again that build-up is the key to suspense, Alfred Hitchcock successfully turned birds into some of the most terrifying villains in horror history.
Runtime: 2 hrs
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Synopsis: In THE BIRDS, Alfred Hitchcock's heart-pounding follow-up to PSYCHO, the director couples a tone of rigorous morality with dark humor to create a thriller that begins as a light comedy and ends as... In THE BIRDS, Alfred Hitchcock's heart-pounding follow-up to PSYCHO, the director couples a tone of rigorous morality with dark humor to create a thriller that begins as a light comedy and ends as an apocalyptic allegory. Tippi Hedren (Melanie Griffith's mother) carries the picture in her first film role ever, embarking on a career as an icy-cool leading lady. Loosely based on a Daphne du Maurier story and a Santa Monica newspaper account, "Seabird Invasion Hits Coastal Homes," THE BIRDS also features groundbreaking special effects that, in 1963, surprised and delighted audiences. Wealthy reformed party girl Melanie Daniels (Hedren) enjoys a brief flirtation with lawyer Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) in a San Francisco pet shop and decides to follow him to his Bodega Bay home. Bearing a gift of two lovebirds, Melanie quickly strikes up a romance with Mitch while contending with his possessive mother and boarding at his ex-girlfriend's house. One day, during a birthday party for Mitch's younger sister, a flock of birds attacks the children in what seems to be a random incident. In fact, it signals the beginning of a massive avian assault on the residents of the town--a mysterious assault that no one can explain...and from which no one may come out alive. [More]
Starring: Tippi Hedren, Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Pleshette
Starring: Tippi Hedren, Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Pleshette, Veronica Cartwright, Charles McGraw, Ethel Griffies, Ruth McDevitt, Malcolm Atterbury, Lonny Chapman, Tracy Scoggins, Doreen Lang, William Quinn, Elizabeth Wilson, Richard Deacon, Karl Swenson, John McGovern, Doodles Weaver, Joe Mantell, Darlene Conley, Mike Monteleone
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Producer: Alfred Hitchcock
Composer: Bernard Herrmann
Reviews for The Birds
It's fierce and Freudian as well as great cinematic fun, with ample fodder for the amateur psychologist following up on Hitch's tortuous involvement with his leading ladies.
Beneath all of this elaborate feather bedlam lies a Hitch cock-and-bull story that's essentially a fowl ball.
The movie is a textbook of brilliantly edited set pieces and ingenious uses of color, sound, and landscape.
Hailed as one of Hitchcock's masterpieces by some and despised by others, The Birds is certainly among the director's more complex and fascinating works.
Mr. Hitchcock and his associates have constructed a horror film that should raise the hackles of the most courageous and put goose-pimples on the toughest hide.
The Birds is an effective horror movie, although in typical Hitchcock style, there is far more scary anticipation than actual gore.
The Birds is most notable though for turning something completely harmless into an incredible menace -- all with absolutely no explanation.
Although not as horrifically shocking as "Psycho," "The Birds" is a more sophisticated film, and represents a high watermark in the prolific career of a true maestro of cinema.
Alfred Hitchcock's most abstract film (1963), and perhaps his subtlest, still yielding new meanings and inflections after a dozen or more viewings.
...The Birds features characters worth rooting for and quirky little touches of morbid humour...
Perhaps only a director of Hitchcock's caliber can make such a fowl story fly.
Underestimated at the time, this is Hitchcok's last undisputed masterpiece, and a more complex film than Psycho
Latest News for The Birds
March 24, 2009:
Screenwriters Talk Poltergeist, The Birds Remakes ![]()
What would possess a screenwriter to try and update "The Birds" and "Poltergeist"? Thanks to a new interview with husband-and-wife duo Stiles White and Juliet Snowden, you can... More...
September 26, 2008:
Exclusive: Brand New The Children Photos and Director Introduction
Writing exclusively for RT, director Tom Shankland presents the first gallery of stills from the set of his twisted child-zombie movie The Children and takes us in to the... More...
October 19, 2007:
Naomi Watts Joins Bay's Birds Flock
Finally, something truly terrifying has come out of Hollywood. Make sure you're sitting down, and don't say we didn't warn you -- this news is not for the faint of heart. More...
January 15, 2007:
Producer Thinks Naomi Watts is for "The Birds"
It's remake heaven. Platinum Dunes producer Brad Fuller has his sights on adding "The Birds" to his slate -- which already includes "The Hitcher,"... More...
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