X
- 1963
- Approved
- Universal Pictures
- 1 h 59 m
- 1963
- Approved
- Universal Pictures
- 1 h 59 m
Summary A wealthy San Francisco socialite pursues a potential boyfriend to a small Northern California town that slowly takes a turn for the bizarre when birds of all kinds suddenly begin to attack people.
Directed By: Alfred Hitchcock
Written By: Daphne Du Maurier, Evan Hunter
- 1963
- Approved
- Universal Pictures
- 1 h 59 m
- 1963
- Approved
- Universal Pictures
- 1 h 59 m
The Birds
7.8
Where to Watch
Summary A wealthy San Francisco socialite pursues a potential boyfriend to a small Northern California town that slowly takes a turn for the bizarre when birds of all kinds suddenly begin to attack people.
Directed By: Alfred Hitchcock
Written By: Daphne Du Maurier, Evan Hunter
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 16 Critic Reviews
90
81% Positive
13 Reviews
13 Reviews
19% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 16 Critic Reviews
90
81% Positive
13 Reviews
13 Reviews
19% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
A mysterious army of enemies, with no suggested motive and, what's worse, they're your friendly garden crows. Clamps itself to your recollection and doesn't let go.
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.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 127 User Ratings
7.8
85% Positive
108 Ratings
108 Ratings
8% Mixed
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
7% Negative
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 127 User Ratings
7.8
85% Positive
108 Ratings
108 Ratings
8% Mixed
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
7% Negative
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
The Birds is a fantastic film. Both in acting and in the story. And I don't give it much but the film deserves a big ten. Everything is perfect as it should be at Hitchcock. And the ending is a brutally beautiful open lock. And even then, this is one of his very best films. The atmosphere is completely there and if I still see a lot of birds, what do I think of? The Birds!
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This is Hitchcock at his best. Full of subterranean hints as to the ways in which people cage each other, it's fierce and Freudian as well as great cinematic fun.
Making a terrifying menace out of what is assumed to be one of nature's most innocent creatures and one of man's most melodious friends, Mr. Hitchcock and his associates have constructed a horror film that should raise the hackles on the most courageous and put goose-pimples on the toughest hide.
The premise is fascinating. The idea of billions of bird-brains refusing to eat crow any longer and adopting the hunt-and-peck system, with homo sapiens as their ornithological target, is fraught with potential. Cinematically, Hitchcock & Co have done a masterful job of meeting this formidable challenge. But dramatically, The Birds is little more than a shocker-for shock’s-sake.
Some of the special effects are amusing, and a few are perverse and frightening, but the effects take over in this Hitchcock scare picture, and he fails to make the plot situations convincing. The script is weak, and the acting is so awkward that often one doesn't know how to take the characters.
It plays very well, I could not imagine how some crows could be scary-nobody ever tries a knife on them, strange considering Psycho was Hitchcock's movie before this. What struck me most is the scandal behind the story about how Hitchcock got obsessed with Tippi Hedren. Obsession is my greatest fear, much worse than birds or monsters, to be stalked by someone, what do they care so much for about someone who is not interested in them? Also, I had not realized how much of this movie found it's way into Jaws, the crazy mutilated head early on, the town being a prominent character. Jessica Tandy was the most interesting person, her fear of abandonment (the most common primal fear) destroying the lives of everyone around her, this was more terrifying to me than the attack of crows, probably because it is so familiar, there are so many people who destroy the lives of those around them just so they will be too crippled to leave. There is a conversation about it, the schoolteacher says the she was not chased out because of any dislike, but of jealousy, selfishness. Hitchcock put much of himself into the Jessica Tandy character, probably why she felt so real, and why this movie is so powerful today. The birds were said to be symbols of nature attacking. He said the characters in the movie were attacked because they disrespected nature, I imagine Hitchcock felt his passion for Tippi was nature and when rejected, he felt nature was disrespected. A real master of craft puts himself into his art, an act of pride and humility at the same time. I think they were symbolic of destruction of human nature. The first scary attack was at the fireplace, a symbol of romance. Then the home was torn to pieces, all well done symbols of destruction caused by obsessive natural jealousy. I think the lesson is that the only way to deal with crazy people is sneak by quietly and never get their attention, a good scene is when the police are notified, and all they do is blame the victim, the townspeople are the same, they all blame Tippi because the problems arrived when she did. I am sure there is some truth, Hitchcock was not obsessed until he saw a pretty girl, the logic follows it is the girl's fault when a crazy person gets obsessed. Once Tippi knew what she was up against, the obstacle becomes staying cool. All in all, an excellent movie.
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I have been watching Alfred Hitchcock's movie nowadays. His movies are so different and fun to watch. He made movies which were ahead of it's time including this one.
The story shown in the movie had a lot of potential but the ending in which there was no reasoning was a let down. Also, the story felt incomplete. They could have made a proper story with 2 hour runtime but they focused too much on story build-up only. The movie was enjoyable. The direction and performances by the actors were good. There is thrill and drama which keeps this movie on track.
Overall, it is a good horror thriller drama which will keep you bounded till the end but the climax portion may disappoint you.
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This film is gorgeously shot, and its first half is the more interesting half. The ominous presence of the birds and their gradual spark of aggressiveness seems to mirror the developing relationships of the protagonists. Then the big bird attacks start to happen and the movie forgets to have a plot. Mainly worth seeing for the sense of atmosphere and just to be in on the references and knowledge of film history. Definitely feels like a film that could be remade into something way better with a deft writer/director, but it'll likely never happen due to how rabid the fans of the original are about its preciousness to them.
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I found the movie quite boring actually, I can't understand the "cult following" this movie keeps getting, but that's just me i guess...
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I hated everything about the movie it was absolutely garbage and the acting was absolute crap
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Awards
Golden Globes, USA
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Academy Awards, USA
• 1 Nomination
DVD Exclusive Awards
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
