Cast: Tippi Hedren, Rod Taylor

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Running Time: 2 hrs


REVIEW:

Hitchcock had always been a classy auteur. Not that I’ve seen most of his films, in fact, I’ve never even seen PYSCHO or REAR WINDOW, which are considered to be horror/thriller classics of our time. So finally when THE BIRDS flocked on my movie-viewing territory, I could say “damn, Hitchcock, you’ve got class”.

THE BIRDS starts with a low-brow comedy where sophisticated-lady meets man-with-business in a bird shop, and when desperate-lady-for-romance embarks on a pursuit of the young bachelor in Bodega Bay, she was pecked by a seagull starting an apocalyptic flock of birds of different kinds attacking humans, flesh and blood wanted. This is where Hitchcock proves his deft skill in steadying his visual storytelling, focusing more on creepy sequences than actual gore and blood-splashing grossness. He combines humour in the first part of the film and rivets the audience half-way along with a plot, although scientifically unexplained (how the hell these birds start killing humans and creating havoc in the communities, they couldn’t have ultra-violent brains, could they?), and stirs in atmospheric mood, typically present in Hitchcock films as they’ve said (don’t ask me, THE BIRDS is the first Hitchcock film I was able to see). Technically speaking, this classic avian chiller transcends its genre into the modern cinema; how the scenes were constructed fascinates the keen eyes of the movie-going public, as Hitchcock builds up tension conveyed in disturbing sequences. Most hair-raising of all was the church/school scene when the main heroine, Hedren, starts sucking up a cigar and hundreds of crows slowly, and rather creepily, in the playground. It’s a brilliantly built scene. Most exquisitely horrific scene of all, however, is in the attic sequence where birds come in full attack on Hedren, who foolishly entered the loft and faced her fears. That quiet, fascinatingly strange scene in the end as well, where Rod Taylor carefully treads the grounds outside the house while all the birds observe in scary petulance, is something worth to watch and experience.

The sad thing about this Hitchcock film is that its material borders on the B-movie level, and doesn’t have the extreme potential to be way over the top of mediocre storytelling. He blends family plot, with Taylor’s mother unsure of whisking away his own son, and some bitter romantic undercurrents running beneath the main big plot of pestilential birds. Nonetheless, it’s almost rude to say this film isn’t good, because at its core, it’s an achievement on the build-up of suspense, thrill, and atmosphere that is very present and adopted nowadays. Surely, after watching this film, you’ll never see seagulls and crows the same way again.

VERDICT:

This 1963 classic chiller delivers the right altitude of creeps and skin-crawls. No wonder Hitchcock is that uber-fine auteur known for his atmospheric moods and mysterious plots. THE BIRDS may not have spread it wings, but definitely an achievement in technical aspects. For a 1963 film, come on!


RATING: B+