review- the birds (1963)

WrittenbyEmilyClarkson

TheBirds(1963)

(Fig1)

‘TheBirds’isahorrorfilm,butmorespecificallyan‘AnimalAttackfilm’thatwasdirectedbyAlfredHitchcockandwasadaptedfromanovel,writtenbyDaphneduMaurier.Thestorybeginswithasocialite,MelanieDanielsasplayedby‘Tippi’Hedren,inapetshop,attemptingtopurchaseabird.AyounggentlemanwalksintothestoreanddemandsMelaniehelphimfindapairoflovebirdsforhissister.ShortlyafterajestingprankbackfiresonMelanie,thegrinninggentleaveswithouthislovebirds.Withherinterestpiqued,Melaniegiveschase.ThislittlequesttoknowmoreandensnaretheinterestingmanresultsinalotmorethanMelaniebargainedfor.

Ifthereisonethingtobenoticedaboutthisfilm,itisthelengthybuildup,‘InhismostinsolentlyinsidiousfashionMr.Hitchcockbeginswiththrowawaysocialcomedyshadinglittlebylittleintodrama.’(TheAlfredHitchcockWiki,2012)AsispointedoutbyTheTimesarticle(from‘TheAlfredHitchcockWiki’),Melanie’spursuitofMitchBrenner(RodTaylor)leadstheaudiencetothefilmsmainlocation,BodegaBayandalsotherelationshipofitsmaincharacters.‘[Thefirstact]isanuncomfortablebuildupoftension(bothsexualandsocial),anongoingjoustofloadedglancesandteasingevasions.’(Brooks,2012)Thebeginningsee’stheintroductionofaslightlyjealousex‐girlfriendofMitch’snamedAnnie,butalsoMitch’spossessivemother.Thesocialinteractionsofallthesecharactersgoonjustlongenoughfortheaudiencetolullandalmost,butnotquiteforgetthatsomethingiswrongwiththebirds.

Thereisnoexplanationandnoobviousreasonforthefirstmajorbirdattack,oreventhosethatfollow,itjustincursamildsenseofdreadasgradually

WrittenbyEmilyClarkson

birdsbegintomass,withsimplythesoundofrufflingfeathers.Thelackofsoundtrackhereonlyemphasizestheuneaseofflockingbirdsuntiltheattackitself.Justasspookyasthebirdsmassing,istheirexit;thereisnoclearreasonfortheirleavingasmuchastherewastheirarrival,resultingintheconclusionthiscouldhappenagainatanytime.

ManycriticshaveexploredthereasonbehindthebirdattacksandsometaketheleadfromacompletelyhystericalwomaninthefilmwhoblamedMelaniefortheavianplague.Suchcriticshavegoneontodrawconclusionssuchasthefollowing,‘thebirdsareamanifestationofsex,somegalvanichormonalstormthatwhiskssleepyBodegaBayintoagreatcommunallather.’(Brooks,2012).Suchanotioncouldquiteeasilyfitwiththeprolongedintroduction.MelanieisthealieninBodegaBay,whowenttoslightlyunreasonablelengthstofindoutwhoMitchwasandwherehelived.Suchbehaviourindicatingintheleastakeeninterestifofnotanobsessionwithhim.

Incontrasttothesexualtheory,itcouldbeanideaHitchcockadaptedthatderivedfromhumanity’sviewofthenaturalorder.‘Whatwouldhappenifsomethingwentwrongandthebalanceofpowerwesocasuallytakeontrustwerechangedovernight?‘suggeststheTimesArticle‘Weareusedtosupposingthatnatureisthereforus…andmereanimalsandplantsknowtheirplaces.’TheTimesArticlecontinues,(AlfredHitchcockWiki,2012)ItisaveryvalidpointthatHitchcockmaywellhavedippedintowith‘TheBirds’.Themassingoffeatheredfiendssawhumansironicallycagedindoorstoprotectthemselves,despitebirdsbeingsovery‘inferior’tohumanintelligence.AtraitthatoccursfrequentlythroughoutthefilmspottedbyreviewerGeoffDyer.‘TheBirdsstartsoutinapetshopwithbirdsintheircages;itendswithhumansbesiegedintheirhomewithwindowsanddoorsboardedupsothatnobirds(orlight)cangetin.’(Dyer,2012)Thisthemeofentrapmentissymbolicthroughoutthefilm,seeninthefishingnetsonthequaysideaswellastheliteralbirdcageinFig2.

(Fig2)

WrittenbyEmilyClarkson

‘TheBirds’isafilmthatcertainlyleavesitsaudienceguessingandleavesthemallinanuncomfortablesilenceforincreasinglylongperiods.Itmightleadthemtowarilywatchthemostordinaryofbirdswhenpassingby.Althoughthe‘gory’horrorofthebirdsisdated,theideaofanentirespeciesturningonmankindisonethatcannotbeeasilyeradicatedfromthemindanditisagenrethathasgeneratedmanyafilmsince.

BibliographyDyer,Geoff(2012)MyfavouriteHitchcockfilm:TheBirdsbyGeoffDyerhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2012/jun/17/my‐favourite‐hitchcock‐film‐the‐birds‐geoff‐dyerTheAlfredHitchcockWiki(2012)TheTimes(29/Aug/1963)­TheBirds:MrHitchcockgoesthesubtlewaytomakeusafraidhttp://www.hitchcockwiki.com/wiki/The_Times_%2829/Aug/1963%29_‐_The_Birds:_Mr_Hitchcock_goes_the_subtle_way_to_make_us_afraidBrooks,Xan(2012)MyfavouriteHitchcock:TheBirdshttp://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2012/jul/31/my‐favourite‐hitchcock‐the‐birdsPicturesBfi(2012)TheBirdshttp://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b6a535bee