Die Vögel (1963)

Die Vögel: Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. With Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Pleshette, Tippi Hedren. 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.

“Despite spending most of his career within the realms of the thriller genre, Alfred Hitchcock hasnu0026#39;t restricted himself where variation is concerned. Most of his best work represents a different type of thriller, and The Birds is no different. It is often said that Psycho is Hitchcocku0026#39;s first foray into the horror side of the thriller, and it is indeed; but itu0026#39;s not the complete horror film that The Birds is. Often cited as an obvious influence for Night of the Living Dead, The Birds follows Melanie Daniels as she travels to the seaside town of Bodega Bay with a pair of lovebirds for Mitch Brenner, an eligible bachelor that she met in a pet shop in San Francisco. However, while there the birds of the coastal town begin to attack the residents and so begins a terrifying tale of manu0026#39;s feathered friends waging a war against humanity…u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIt could be said that the plot of The Birds is ridiculous, and it is. The idea of birds, a type of animal that isnu0026#39;t aggressive, attacking humans despite living with us for millions of years is preposterous and is never likely to happen. However; it is here where the filmu0026#39;s horror potency lies. Birds live with us in harmony; weu0026#39;re so used to them that for the most part we donu0026#39;t even realise that theyu0026#39;re there, and the idea of something that we donu0026#39;t notice suddenly becoming malicious is truly terrifying. Especially when that something is unstoppable, as the birds are portrayed as being in this film. The fact that the birdsu0026#39; motive is never really explained only serves in making it more terrifying, as it would appear that somewhere along the line theyu0026#39;ve just decided to attack. Of course, the film could be interpreted as having Melanieu0026#39;s arrival, or the presence of the lovebirds as the cause for it all; but we donu0026#39;t really know. This bounds the film in reality as if there was a reason given, it might be improbable; but thereu0026#39;s no true reason given (although there are several theories), so it canu0026#39;t be improbable! u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe first forty minutes of the film feature hardly any – if any – horror at all. Hitchcock spends this part of the movie developing the characters and installing their situation in the viewersu0026#39; minds, so that when the horror does finally come along, it has a definite potency that it would not have had otherwise. In fact, at first the birds themselves come across as a co-star in their own movie as there are brief references towards them, but they never get their full dues. However, once the horror does start, it comes thick and fast. Hitchcock, the master craftsman as always, uses his famous montage effects and never really shows you anything; but because youu0026#39;re being bombarded with so many different shots, youu0026#39;d never realise it. Many people have tried to copy this technique, but most have failed. Hitchcock, however, has it down to an art and this is maybe the film that shows off that talent the best. There are numerous moments of suspense as well, many of which are truly nail biting. We see the birds amassing and ready to strike – but they donu0026#39;t. And this is much more frightening than showing an attack from the off. Hitchcock knows this. The final thirty minutes of The Birds is perhaps the most thrilling of his entire oeuvre. First, Hitchcock gives us an intriguing situation where numerous inhabitants of the town give their views on the events, and also explains the birdsu0026#39; situation with humans, even giving the audience an angle of expertise from an ornithologistu0026#39;s point of view. He then follows it up with a truly breathtaking sequence of horror that hasnu0026#39;t been matched since for relentless shock value.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eHitchcock has made many great films, and this certainly stands up as one of them. Here, Hitchcock gives a lesson in film directing and creates a truly macabre piece of work in the process. I dread to think what the state of cinema would have been if Hitchcock had never picked up a camera, but luckily for us; he most certainly did.”