The Birds [DVD]

ALFREED HICKCOOK S BEST HORROR THRILLER MOVIE IT HAPPENED ON A WESTCOAST ISLAND IN SANTA ANA TRUE EVENTS 👍 BIRDS WHEN WHILE ATTACKING PEOPLE.

An excellent classic remastered movie at a great price.

Great movie!! Got to have movie.

In 1960, Hitchcock turned a corner from making suspense films into psychological horror with Psycho. Two years later he followed that with "The Birds", while not really in the horror genre, (no monsters, mad killers, zombies, etc...after all, they're just birds...we see them every day...) manages to make an everyday object terrifying. As a kid growing up in the '60s,.those films earner him the reputation of a horror film maker, an impression that wasn't corrected until I became familiar with his earlier masterpieces. Great set up, he never explains why the birds attack or gives us a clear resolution. To do either would likely put the film into sci-fi or horror genres. Rod Taylor, often underrated, is great as Mitch, a guy dealing with a semi-crazy (al!st) stalker, a domineering mother, a far too young little sister, and a woman suffering from a bad case of unrequited love. In many ways, birds are the least of his problems. The role doesn't need a Cary Grant, and Taylor was under plays the part, trying to be an everyman. Despite his youth and fitness, he's no action hero here, instead he's an average guy in an unknown situation. Well crafted, well shot with great effects, Hitchcock gives us spooky chills when required in an otherwise setting of eerie calm. Hedren does okay, she's not my favorite Hitchcock blond, it would be interesting to dwell on whay a better or more experienced actress could have done with the role. Nice to add this to my collection. I recently bought "Rear Window" and it seems to have the same DVD application.

Great classic, good sound and color.

[Rounded up from 4-1/2 stars, Moderate Spoilers] Much ado about a young girl's surprise gift! Tippi Hedren, in her big-screen debut, plays "Melanie Daniels" (interesting since she's the real-life mother of actress Melanie Griffith, Oscar nominee for 1987's "Working Girl"), who decides to take a small cage of lovebirds to surprise the younger sister of male acquaintance "Mitch" (Rod Taylor), after she plays along when Mitch asks her questions about the birds for his sister as if Melanie is an employee at a pet shop when she actually was just a customer. But, you see, the surprise requires Melanie making a 1-1/2-hour drive to Bodega Bay, a small seaside town. No problem, it seems, as we slowly discover that Melanie is obviously smitten with Mitch. We later find out that one of Mitch's ex-girlfriends, "Anne" (Suzanne Pleshette, TV's "The Bob Newhart Show"), though it's been years since their breakup, obviously was smitten with Mitch too at one point, since she says she decided to move to Bodega Bay just to be near him, anyway! Wow, Mitch must be some gigolo! LOL. Oh, and yes, there are the birds (as if there was room for more drama, ha ha) that inexplicably begin to attack not only in Bodega Bay but in many parts of the country (no connection to the lovebirds). Don't expect a full-blown horror movie, though, with grisly scenes. No, it's an enduring classic because it scares you psychologically; in fact, you may be afraid to even go out in the daytime post viewing. Yes, it's a tad dated, namely with makeup in the violent scenes and perhaps that patchy closing scene, and I wouldn't call Hedren one of America's greatest actresses, but one thing's for certain: "The Birds" is a veritable entry as one of the best movies ever made in the suspense/horror genre and very likely to satisfy even its most critical purists.

DVD works no scratches.

Good movie

Perfeito qualidade 4k

I became fascinated with this movie after visiting Bodega Bay (where it was filmed) on a US Road Trip. The first thing I’d say is don’t panic if you find the film confusing and/or frustrating, that is exactly Hitchcock’s intention, and part of the film’s genius. The immediate thing to get straight is that the film format is that of “allegory”. In simple terms, the film is conveying a hidden meaning which is actually a parallel storyline going on at the same time as the events in the actual story you are seeing on screen. Working out this hidden meaning is the key to unlocking the message (and arguably power) of the film. There are many alternative interpretations, some of which are very political, so I can’t claim my interpretation is the right one, but in my opinion it makes the most sense, so here goes… The film is about sexual morality and the changing social attitudes of women in 1960’s America. There are at some early clues which I think lead you down this road: • The film was made in 1963, right in the middle of this cultural revolution, • It starts off in San Francisco, probably the most left-leaning city in the US, so in the vanguard of the social changes going on at the time, • Very early we see that Melanie is a very confident young woman, not scared to take control of a situation and do the chasing to get her man, culminating in her rowing the boat across the bay herself, refusing the help of the boatman, and later on we find out she was cavorting naked in a fountain in Rome (all of which is contrary to the previous social norm for a woman), • When she arrives in Bodega Bay we can see an immediate culture clash, as the small-town conservative culture where the townspeople freely give out personal information (as everyone knows and trusts each other, and they don’t get many outsiders) looks odd to anyone from a big city (or indeed a modern audience), • Hitchcock had a bit of a thing about female sexuality and (usually male) sexual obsession, in particular the “Perfect Blonde” (most clearly seen in Vertigo), so it’s the “go to” theme for many of his works. Also I don’t think it’s an accident that the Birds Melanie brings are “Lovebirds”, which I guess you could interpret as “Sexbirds”. These Birds are colourful, even gaudy, manicured, cosseted, and out of place, very similar to Melanie, in fact they are almost a bit of an avatar for Melanie. Just as the townspeople react suspiciously to a disruptive outsider like Melanie (in particular Mitch’s mother) the “natural” Birds of Bodega Bay get stirred into a state of panic and antagonism towards the Lovebirds, being the social intruders in their domain of the natural world. Their main point of attack is usually Melanie, although in their frenzy they also attack other people. There’s also a very heavy clue in the Diner, when the woman points accusingly at Melanie stating it’s her who is the source of the problem, which although rather tragic is actually correct, because the Birds weren’t attacking until she showed up with her cage of jarring interlopers. Just as she’s a threat to the small-town conservatism which prevails in Bodega Bay, the Lovebirds are a threat to the natural indigenous Birds which inhabit the town and blend in perfectly with the daily routine, established over many years of evolution. Unlike the pet birds, manipulated by breeders to look a certain way and be sold for money, and in this case being a gift to trigger a sexual encounter. On some of the other key plot points and references: • Why does Melanie open the door to a room full of Birds when it’s very likely to be dangerous for her? I think this is a reference to the power of sexual temptation over rational thought (mostly a male character flaw, but in the 60’s this was arguably transitioning to be a female issue as well), • Why do the Birds not attack at the end? First of all, they see that Melanie is leaving, along with the offending Lovebirds, so it’s basically mission accomplished, battle won, the end. I think it’s also significant that they don’t attack Mitch when he goes out to fetch the car, as they see the man playing the natural protective role, also the women in the group are by this point playing the natural female family role of nurturing, including Mitch’s mother with Melanie, so it’s essentially back to the standard gender roles of the 1950’s, and the “natural order” is restored, • Note the line right at the end from the young girl, asking to take the Lovebirds because “they haven’t harmed anyone,” which I think is Hitchcock being extremely ironic, • Annie (the teacher) was another key target, being another young woman from out of town with a different perspective, and who was previously in a relationship with Mitch, • The attacks on the kids could be the Birds trying to stop the next generation getting “corrupted)” by the new sexual morals via the influence of their teacher Annie (noting that Schools are a battleground of today’s culture wars). You could also view the film as being about immigration, or mankind’s disruption of nature, the latter narrative being supported by the old woman in the diner who appears to be an expert on bird species. But personally I don’t think these interpretations are as coherent as the one I’ve set out above. Whatever you think, it’s a very unique movie, and would probably never be made for today’s CGI-obsessed audiences who it seems need everything delivered with the subtlety of a sledgehammer.

The movie was brilliant