Les Oiseaux

What if..... imagine the unthinkable happened, and all of a sudden, The Birds attacked....

You have to hand it to Hitchcock, he knew how to scare people, by taking the ordinary, the everyday, and twisting it around, and making it scary, he did that pretty much to perfection here.

So the first half of the movie is slow, it's almost sedate, not a lot actually happens, however the second half is completely different, you can only imagine what audiences back in 1963 thought, as of 2022 it still terrifies.

It looks really good, the special effects for the time actually hold up very well.

Tippi Hedren is impressive as Melanie, it's a very sincere, strong performance.

The next time you put some bird food out for the jackdaws and magpies.....just wonder what if, what if the unthinkable did actually happen!

Great hooror from the real master of suspense, 9/10.

The Birds has the usual Hitchcock touches. A chase, guilt, interesting camera technique and birds. The story starts out innocently enough, with birds acting weird. They soon start attacking people and gradually their attacks escalate in ferocity. What I liked about the movie was the way Hitchcock built up the tension leading to the attacks. He didn't unleash his villians until about half way through the film. In that time we get to know the characters in the peaceful town of Bodega Bay. Once all the introductions are in place, the birds start their rampage. I enjoyed the way the birds lighted upon the playground equipment as Tippi Hedren sat on the bench. The choice of no score was interesting. The soundtrack is filled with the screeching of birds gone mad, and for a nearly forty year old film, it still holds up well. I would like to see The Birds done as a special edition DVD, see if they can boost the sound up to what Hithcock would have wanted.

There is a kind of theory according to which a horror or thriller film would lose all its frightening effect if it did not have a musical support as a backdrop, and its greater or lesser intensity regulates the viewer's tension levels. And this is true, at least in most of these types of movies. But there is always an exception that proves the rule. In The Birds, an iconic film by director Alfred Hitchock (inspired by the eponymous short story by Daphne du Maurier), such musical intrusion was dispensed with, as the director wanted to give voice to these apparently harmless beings that terrorize the population of Bodega Bay (Bernard Herrmann appears in the credits only as sound consultant). The film, which dates from 1963, continues to promote an intense discussion about its meaning and the most varied hypotheses have been put forward, since the ending is left open, with the birds victoriously watching the removal of humans (of course Hitchcock knew that not giving an explanation would contribute to accentuating the mystery and interest that the film arouses, it is not his best film, but it is certainly one of the most enigmatic). Choosing the blonde on duty (one of my favorites) was also a winning bet. Tippi Hedren, the unlikely heroine, perfectly plays the role of the fragile young woman, who is able to stand up to the bloodthirsty bird though. Her image of scared eyes and disheveled hair covering herself with her hand is memorable. As far as I am concerned, the scene dominated by the couple of lovebirds always comes to mind, swinging along the curves, in the convertible on the way to Bodega Bay, inside a cage, without having the right to enjoy the landscape, as a trigger for the revolt of the birds.

Another film to prove that Hitchcock really was one of the most gifted film makers ever. His films are more 'fresh' today than any of current Hollywood megabuster.

The screeching bird soundtrack in itself was chilling.

The absence of backgound music added a sense of calm before the storm which made the bird attack scenes all the more intense.

The film builds up slowly and that serves to build up the tension and edginess.

The most chilling scene was definitely when Melanie (Tippi Hedren) was waiting outside the school while the singing was going on in the school. At each loop of the song, a few more crows would perch on the climbing frame. The site of them was truly grotesque. This scene is a lesson to all the "subtle as a sledge hammer" so called 'thrillers' that are churned out today.

By the end of the film, there is no conclusion, no neat result. It is somewhat uncomfortable watching a film like this and not seeing a conclusion. How will it end? Why did the birds attack?

Why spoil the film with an explanation?

No it's not my favourite Hitchcock film but whenever I start watching it I can't stop. This movie works on two levels which make the film so classic and mesmerising. One as a pure cliche but brilliantly scary Horror film. And two as an amazing journey into human behaviour both in and out of an emergency and surreal situations. Such classic and emotional scenes. Those who give this film only 1/10 I think have not really thought about the ins and outs and the underlying emotions and psychology that Alfred Hitchcock deploys in all his films. This is truly a frightening horror story though and because it's so violently scary and why - I have always been a little frightened around birds - is why I do mark it slightly down from other classically psychological Hitchcock films. But also due to the acting and characterisation by such veterans and newbies, still a masterpiece of cinema.

I still to this day have to watch it through my fingers covering my eyes - worrying about eyes being pecked out by those Birds! This is actually a lesson to all horror film makers to study to work out just much to show and how much restrain to show when doing horror!