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''The Birds'' is a 1963 American
natural horror Natural horror is a subgenre of horror films that features natural forces, typically in the form of animals or plants, that pose a threat to human characters. Though killer animals in film have existed since the release of ''The Lost World'' in ...
-
thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...
produced and directed by
Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...
. Loosely based on the 1952 short story of the same name by
Daphne du Maurier Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, (; 13 May 1907 – 19 April 1989) was an English novelist, biographer and playwright. Her parents were actor-manager Sir Gerald du Maurier and his wife, actress Muriel Beaumont. Her grandfather was Geo ...
, it focuses on a series of sudden and unexplained violent bird attacks on the people of Bodega Bay, California, over the course of a few days. The film stars
Rod Taylor Rodney Sturt Taylor (11 January 1930 – 7 January 2015) was an Australian actor. He appeared in more than 50 feature films, including '' The Time Machine'' (1960), '' One Hundred and One Dalmatians'' (1961), '' The Birds'' (1963), and '' ...
and Tippi Hedren in her screen debut, alongside Jessica Tandy,
Suzanne Pleshette Suzanne Pleshette (January 31, 1937 – January 19, 2008) was an American theatre, film, television, and voice actress. Pleshette started her career in the theatre and began appearing in films in the late 1950s and later appeared in prominent ...
, and
Veronica Cartwright Veronica Cartwright (born April 20, 1949) is a British-American actress. She is known for appearing in science fiction and horror films, and has earned numerous accolades, including three Primetime Emmy Award nominations. As a child actress, sh ...
. The screenplay is by
Evan Hunter Evan Hunter, born Salvatore Albert Lombino,(October 15, 1926 – July 6, 2005) was an American author and screenwriter best known for his 87th Precinct novels, written under his Ed McBain pen name, and the novel upon which the film ''Blackbo ...
, who was told by Hitchcock to develop new characters and a more elaborate plot while keeping du Maurier's title and concept of unexplained bird attacks. At the 36th Academy Awards, Ub Iwerks was nominated for Best Special Effects for his work on the film. The award, however, went to the only other nominee,
Emil Kosa Jr. Emil Kosa Jr. (November 28, 1903 – November 4, 1968) was an American artist of Czech origin. He was the art director of 20th Century Pictures's special effects department for more than three decades, winning an Academy Award for Best Visual E ...
for ''
Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...
''. In 2016, ''The Birds'' was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...
, and selected for preservation in its
National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception ...
.


Plot

At a
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
pet store, socialite Melanie Daniels meets lawyer Mitch Brenner who is looking to buy lovebirds for his sister Cathy's 11th birthday. Recognizing Melanie from her court appearance regarding a practical joke gone awry, Mitch pretends to mistake her for a shop employee. Mitch tests Melanie's knowledge of birds, which she fails. He discloses his prior knowledge of her and that his ruse was intended to make her appreciate being on the other end of a joke. Mitch leaves without buying anything. Finding him attractive, Melanie buys the lovebirds to make amends and drives to
Bodega Bay Bodega Bay ( es, Bahía Bodega) is a shallow, rocky inlet of the Pacific Ocean on the coast of northern California in the United States. It is approximately across and is located approximately northwest of San Francisco and west of Santa R ...
after she learns Mitch has gone to his family's farm for the weekend. Melanie is directed to the local teacher, Annie Hayworth, to learn Cathy's name. Annie previously dated Mitch but ended it due to Mitch's cold, overbearing mother, Lydia, who dislikes any woman in Mitch's life. Melanie rents a boat in town and crosses the bay to leave the lovebirds at the Brenner farm discreetly. Mitch spots Melanie during her retreat and drives into town to meet her at the dock. As Melanie approaches the wharf, a
gull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century ...
attacks her. Mitch tends to her head wound inside a diner. Lydia arrives, meets Melanie, and Mitch announces to Lydia that he is inviting Melanie to dinner. Melanie returns to Annie's house and asks to spend the night. At the farm, Lydia's hens are suddenly refusing to eat. Lydia expresses her disapproval of Melanie to Mitch due to her exaggerated reputation, as reported in gossip columns. Mitch calls Melanie and invites her to Cathy's birthday party being held the next day. Shortly after, there is a violent thud at Annie's front door. A dead gull is found at the threshold. At Cathy's party, Melanie privately tells Mitch about her troubled past and her mother running off with another man when Melanie was Cathy's age. During a game, the children are attacked and some injured by gulls. Later that evening, as Melanie dines with the Brenners,
sparrow Sparrow may refer to: Birds * Old World sparrows, family Passeridae * New World sparrows, family Passerellidae * two species in the Passerine family Estrildidae: ** Java sparrow ** Timor sparrow * Hedge sparrow, also known as the dunnock or hed ...
s swarm the house through the
chimney A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typ ...
. Later, Mitch insists she delay driving back to San Francisco and stay the night. The next morning, Lydia visits her neighbor to discuss why their chickens will not eat. She discovers his eyeless corpse, pecked lifeless by birds, and flees in horror. As Lydia recovers at home, she fears for Cathy's safety, and Melanie offers to pick her up at school. As Melanie waits outside the schoolhouse, a large flock of crows slowly engulfs the
jungle gym A jungle gym (called a climbing frame in British English) is a piece of playground equipment made of many pieces of material, such as metal pipes or ropes, on which participants can climb, hang, sit, and—in some configurations—slide. Monkey ...
behind her. Anticipating an attack, she warns Annie. As they evacuate the children, the crows attack, injuring several children. Mitch finds Melanie at the diner. When gulls attack a gas station attendant, Mitch and several other men assist him outside. Spilled
gasoline Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic c ...
ignites, causing an explosion. During the escalating fire, Melanie and others rush out. More gulls attack, and Melanie takes refuge in a telephone booth. Mitch rescues her, and they get back inside the diner. A distraught woman blames Melanie for the attacks, claiming they began with her arrival. Mitch and Melanie go to Annie's house to fetch Cathy. They find Annie's body outside, killed by the crows while protecting Cathy. That night, Melanie and the Brenners barricade themselves in the family home, which is attacked by waves of birds that nearly breach the boarded-up doors and windows. During a lull, Melanie investigates a fluttering sound in the attic bedroom. After discovering that the birds have pecked their way in through the roof, Melanie is violently attacked, trapping her until Mitch pulls her out. Melanie is badly injured and traumatized; Mitch insists they all drive to San Francisco to take Melanie to a hospital. As Mitch readies Melanie's car for their escape, a menacing sea of birds has quietly gathered around the Brenner house. The car radio reports bird attacks on nearby communities such as
Santa Rosa Santa Rosa is the Italian, Portuguese and Spanish name for Saint Rose. Santa Rosa may also refer to: Places Argentina * Santa Rosa, Mendoza, a city * Santa Rosa, Tinogasta, Catamarca * Santa Rosa, Valle Viejo, Catamarca *Santa Rosa, La Pampa * S ...
, and the military may intervene. Cathy retrieves her lovebirds (the only birds who do not attack) from the house and joins Mitch and Lydia as they carefully escort Melanie past a mass of birds and into the car. The car slowly drives away as thousands of birds are ominously perching.


Cast

Tippi Hedren as Melanie
Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...
makes his signature cameo as a man walking dogs out of the pet shop at the beginning of the film. They were two of his own
Sealyham Terrier The Sealyham Terrier ( cy, Daeargi Sealyham) is a rare Welsh breed of small to medium-sized terrier that originated in Wales as a working dog. It is principally a white-bodied, rough-coated breed, developed in the mid-to-late-19th century by ...
s, Geoffrey and Stanley.


Real-life event inspiration

''The Birds'' film was partly inspired by the true events of a mass bird attack on the seaside town of Capitola in California on August 18, 1961, when "Capitola residents awoke to a scene that seemed straight out of a horror movie. Hordes of seabirds were dive-bombing their homes, crashing into cars and spewing half-digested anchovies onto lawns". Alfred Hitchcock heard of this event and used it as research material for this film which was then in progress. The real cause of the birds' behavior was toxic algae, but that was not known back in the 1960s.


Production


Development

The screenplay for the film is based on
Daphne du Maurier Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, (; 13 May 1907 – 19 April 1989) was an English novelist, biographer and playwright. Her parents were actor-manager Sir Gerald du Maurier and his wife, actress Muriel Beaumont. Her grandfather was Geo ...
's novella " The Birds", which was first published in her 1952 short story collection '' The Apple Tree''. The protagonist of the novella is a farm hand living in Cornwall, and the conclusion of the story is far more pessimistic than that of the film. It was adapted by
Evan Hunter Evan Hunter, born Salvatore Albert Lombino,(October 15, 1926 – July 6, 2005) was an American author and screenwriter best known for his 87th Precinct novels, written under his Ed McBain pen name, and the novel upon which the film ''Blackbo ...
, who had written previously for ''
Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine ''Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine'' (AHMM) is a bi-monthly digest size fiction magazine specializing in crime and detective fiction. ''AHMM'' is named for Alfred Hitchcock, the famed director of suspense films and television. History ''AHMM' ...
'', and the television anthology series ''
Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, aired on CBS and NBC between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers and mysteries. Between 1962 and 1965 it was r ...
''. The relationship between Hunter and Hitchcock during the creation of ''The Birds'' was documented by the writer in his 1997 autobiography, '' Me and Hitch'', which contains a variety of correspondence between the writer, director and Hitchcock's assistant, Peggy Robertson. Hunter began working on the screenplay in September 1961. He and Hitchcock developed the story, suggesting foundations such as the townspeople having a guilty secret to hide, and the birds an instrument of punishment. He suggested that the film begin using some elements borrowed from the screwball comedy genre, then have it evolve into "stark terror". This appealed to Hitchcock, according to the writer, because it conformed to his love of suspense: the title and the publicity would have already informed the audience that birds attack, but they do not know when. The initial humor followed by horror would turn the suspense into shock. At first, Hunter wanted the protagonist to be a school teacher, but this ended up being the basis for Annie Hayworth's character instead. Hunter organised his scripts by shots instead of scenes, although this did not affect the final film. Hitchcock solicited comments from several people regarding the first draft of Hunter's screenplay. Consolidating their criticisms, Hitchcock wrote to Hunter, suggesting that the script (particularly the first part) was too long, contained insufficient characterization in the two leads, and that some scenes lacked drama and audience interest. Hitchcock, at later stages, consulted with his friends,
Hume Cronyn Hume Blake Cronyn Jr. OC (July 18, 1911 – June 15, 2003) was a Canadian-American actor and writer. Early life Cronyn, one of five children, was born in London, Ontario, Canada. His father, Hume Blake Cronyn, Sr., was a businessman an ...
(whose wife Jessica Tandy was playing Lydia), and
V. S. Pritchett Sir Victor Sawdon Pritchett (also known as VSP; 16 December 1900 – 20 March 1997) was a British writer and literary critic. Pritchett was known particularly for his short stories, collated in a number of volumes. His non-fiction works incl ...
, who both offered lengthy reflections on the work. This is something that Hunter found difficult. Hitchcock cut the last 10 pages of the screenplay, although some sources say possibly more, in order to create a more ambiguous ending. Originally, he wanted the film to end without a "The End" card, but he was forced to include one before the film's full release.


Birds used in the film

The majority of the birds seen in the film are real, although it is estimated that more than $200,000 was spent on the creation of mechanical birds for the film. Ray Berwick was in charge of the live birds used in the production, training and catching many of them himself. Some of the "crows" were actually ravens. The gulls were caught in the San Francisco garbage dump and the sparrows were caught by John "Bud" Cardos. However, the captured sparrows had to be used alongside birds from pet shops to achieve full effect in the scene where they invade the house.


Soundtrack

Hitchcock decided to do without any conventional incidental
score Score or scorer may refer to: *Test score, the result of an exam or test Business * Score Digital, now part of Bauer Radio * Score Entertainment, a former American trading card design and manufacturing company * Score Media, a former Canadian ...
. Instead, he made use of sound effects and sparse source music in counterpoint to calculated silences. He wanted to use the electroacoustic Mixtur-Trautonium to create the bird calls and noises. He had first encountered this predecessor to the
synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...
on Berlin radio in the late 1920s. It was invented by Friedrich Trautwein, and further developed by Oskar Sala into the Trautonium, which would create some of the bird sounds for this film. The director commissioned Sala and Remi Gassmann to design an electronic soundtrack. They are credited with "electronic sound production and composition", and Hitchcock's previous musical collaborator,
Bernard Herrmann Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in composing for films. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely r ...
, is credited as "sound consultant". Source music includes the first of
Claude Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most infl ...
's ''
Deux arabesques The Two Arabesques (''Deux arabesques''), L. 66, is a pair of arabesques composed for piano by Claude Debussy when he was still in his twenties, between the years 1888 and 1891. Although quite an early work, the arabesques contain hints of Debu ...
'', which Tippi Hedren's character plays on
piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
, and "Nickety Nackety Now Now Now" by folk musician
Chubby Parker Frederick R. "Chubby" Parker (1876–1940) was an American old-time and folk musician and early radio entertainer. Background Parker was born in Lafayette, Indiana in 1876. His grandparents were from Kentucky, and his father was the deputy trea ...
, which is sung by the schoolchildren.


Special effects

Once the crow attack and attic scenes were assembled by the film's editor,
George Tomasini George Tomasini (April 20, 1909 – November 22, 1964) was an American film editor, born in Springfield, Massachusetts, who had a decade long collaboration with director Alfred Hitchcock, editing nine of his movies between 1954 and 1964. Tomasin ...
, they were sent to the special effects department for enhancement. The film required myriad special effects and Hitchcock commissioned the help of various studios. The special effects shots of the attacking birds were completed at Walt Disney Studios by animator/technician Ub Iwerks, who used the
sodium vapor process The sodium vapor process (occasionally referred to as yellowscreen) is a photochemical film technique for combining actors and background footage. It originated in the British film industry in the late 1950s and was used extensively by Walt Disne ...
("yellow screen"), which he had helped to develop. The SV process films the subject against a screen lit with narrow-spectrum sodium vapor lights. Unlike most compositing processes, SVP shoots two separate elements of the footage simultaneously using a beam-splitter. One reel is regular film stock and the other a film stock with emulsion sensitive only to the sodium vapor wavelength. This results in very precise matte shots compared to blue screen special effects, necessary due to "fringing" of the image from the birds' rapid wing flapping. At Disney, Iwerks worked on the following scenes: the children's party, Melanie driving to Bodega Bay, and the first two cuts of the crow attack sequence. One of the biggest challenges facing Iwerks was the scene where a number of sparrows fly in through the chimney of the family home. Utilizing an
optical printer An optical printer is a device consisting of one or more film projectors mechanically linked to a movie camera. It allows filmmakers to re- photograph one or more strips of film. The optical printer is used for making special effects for mot ...
, his superposition of a group of small birds flying inside an enclosed glass booth made it possible to multiply the birds in the living room. Most of the special effects work done at Disney was completed in the Process Lab on printer 10, which was made from Iwerks' own original design. At MGM, Bob Hoag was put in charge of the optical effects for the sequence where Melanie hides inside a telephone booth as it is attacked by the birds. Hitchcock had requested that Hoag remove any shot where Melanie looked placid and urged that she be in constant movement instead. Hoag, along with a team of 30, worked together on the blue backing and sodium matte shots. Linwood Dunn, a founder of Film Effects of Hollywood, was commissioned to work on the attic scene. He was asked to produce a rough cut of the sequence before Hitchcock left for Berlin in December 1962. Bill Abbott, at Fox, was in charge of the optical effects for the crow attack sequence, which would take six weeks to finish. Abbott organised two teams—both working 11 hours a day—to work on the sequence simultaneously. Abbott's biggest challenge was size ratio, as he had to ensure that the birds looked like they were attacking the children. He achieved this by placing the birds within frame and zooming in on them to make them the correct size in proportion to the children. At
Universal-International Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...
, associate editor Ross Hoffman and matte artist Albert Whitlock both worked on designing the town's backdrop, including the birds in the trees and the scenery for the river shots of Melanie's car arriving in Bodega Bay. ''The Birds'' featured 370 effects shots, the final shot being a composite of 32 separate elements.


Themes and style


Themes

Among the central themes explored in ''The Birds'' are those of love and violence. The representation of the birds in the film constantly changes to reflect the development of these themes, and the story itself. At first, the lovebirds in the pet store signify the blossoming love between Melanie and Mitch, and the
sexual tension Sexual tension is a social phenomenon that occurs when two individuals interact and one or both feel sexual desire, but the consummation is postponed or never happens. A common scenario is where the two individuals function in proximity, such as c ...
between the two. However, the birds' symbolism changes once they begin to attack Bodega Bay. Hitchcock stated in an interview that the birds in the film rise up against the humans to punish them for taking nature for granted. Another theme explored within the film is the entrapment of civilians. This is because the birds attack anyone who goes outside, consequently leaving people trapped inside their homes. Humanities scholar
Camille Paglia Camille Anna Paglia (; born April 2, 1947) is an American feminist academic and social critic. Paglia has been a professor at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, since 1984. She is critical of many aspects of modern cultu ...
wrote a monograph about the film for the BFI Film Classics series. She interprets it as an ode to the many facets of female sexuality and, by extension, nature itself. She notes that women play pivotal roles in it. Mitch is defined by his relationships with his mother, sister, and ex-lover—a careful balance that is disrupted by his attraction to the beautiful Melanie.


Style

Montage editing and slow pacing are used within the film to build suspense and elicit a greater emotional response from the audience during the attack scenes: "The pattern of ''The Birds'' was deliberately to go slow". This is exemplified in the scene where the birds gradually gather outside of the school, while an unobservant Melanie sits and waits on the bench. The camera then cuts between her and the increasing number of birds that swoop down onto the jungle gym behind her until they finally attack.
Eyeline match An eyeline match is a film editing technique associated with the continuity editing system. It is based on the premise that an audience will want to see what the character on-screen is seeing. An eyeline match begins with a character looking at so ...
es and point-of-view (POV) shots within the film encourage audience identification with particular characters and their subjective experiences. This is achieved by cutting between the character and the object of their gaze. For example, when Melanie crosses the bay near the beginning of the film, the camera cuts between close-ups of her face and shots of the Brenner house from her perspective, as she watches Mitch fall for her prank. The focus on editing and visuals rather than dialogue is also an element of
pure cinema Pure may refer to: Computing * A pure function * A pure virtual function * PureSystems, a family of computer systems introduced by IBM in 2012 * Pure Software, a company founded in 1991 by Reed Hastings to support the Purify tool * Pure-FTPd, ...
that Hitchcock largely uses throughout his work.


Release and accolades

The film premiered March 28, 1963, in New York City. The
Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of t ...
hosted an invitation-only screening as part of a 50-film retrospective of Hitchcock's film work. The MOMA series had a booklet with a
monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monogra ...
on the director written by
Peter Bogdanovich Peter Bogdanovich (July 30, 1939 – January 6, 2022) was an American director, writer, actor, producer, critic, and film historian. One of the " New Hollywood" directors, Bogdanovich started as a film journalist until he was hired to work on ...
. The film was screened out of competition in May at a prestigious invitational showing at the 1963 Cannes Film Festival with Hitchcock and Hedren in attendance. As a special favor to Hedren, Hitchcock allowed her to take a copy of the film with her when she visited her hometown of
Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origin ...
after the film premiered in New York City. On April 1, Hedren hosted her parents and about 130 residents of Lafayette, Minnesota, where her parents lived when she was born, to an exclusive screening of the film at the local neighborhood theater Hedren frequented in her youth, The Westgate, in
Morningside, Minnesota Morningside is a distinct geographical and architectural neighborhood in Edina, Minnesota Edina ( ) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States and a first-ring suburb of Minneapolis. The population was 53,494 at the 2020 censu ...
, a suburb of Minneapolis, where Hedren grew up. The theater was demolished in 2019. Ub Iwerks was nominated for an
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
for Best Special Effects. The winner that year was ''
Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...
''. Tippi Hedren received the
Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress The Golden Globe for New Star of the Year – Actress was an award given by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association at their annual Golden Globe Awards. History The award was first introduced at the 5th Golden Globe Awards in 1948 where it wa ...
in 1964, sharing it with
Ursula Andress Ursula Andress (born 19 March 1936) is a Swiss-German actress, former model and sex symbol who has appeared in American, British and Italian films. Her breakthrough role was as Bond girl Honey Ryder in the first James Bond film, '' Dr. No'' (1962 ...
and
Elke Sommer Elke Sommer (; born Elke Baronin von Schletz, 5 November 1940) is a German actress. She appeared in numerous films in her heyday throughout the 1960s and 1970s, including roles in '' The Pink Panther'' sequel '' A Shot in the Dark'' (1964), th ...
. She also received the Photoplay Award as Most Promising Newcomer. The film ranked No. 1 of the top 10 foreign films selected by the
Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards commonly referred as BFJA Awards, is given by The Bengal Film Journalists' Association. The BFJA is the oldest association of film critics in India, founded in 1937 to serve the developing film journalism ...
. Hitchcock also received the Association's Director Award for the film. It also won the Horror Hall of Fame Award in 1991.


Reception

''The Birds'' received mixed reviews upon its initial release. Bosley Crowther of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' was positive, calling it "a horror film that should raise the hackles on the most courageous and put goose-pimples on the toughest hide". Crowther was unsure whether the birds were meant to be an allegory because "it isn't in Mr. Hitchcock's style to inject allegorical meanings or social significance in his films", but he suggested that they could represent the Furies of Greek mythology who pursued the wicked upon the earth. Stanley Kauffmann of ''
The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hu ...
'' called ''The Birds'' "the worst thriller of his itchcock'sthat I can remember".
Richard L. Coe Richard Livingston Coe (New York City, November 8, 1914 – Washington, D.C., November 12, 1995) was a theater and cinema critic for The Washington Post for more than forty years. Coe became known as one of the most influential theater critics outsi ...
of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...
'' called it "gorgeous good fun" in the vein of Hitchcock's earlier black comedy '' The Trouble with Harry'', adding: "I haven't had this kind of merriment since King Kong toppled from the Empire State Building". '' The Monthly Film Bulletin'' wrote: "For all the brilliance of scenes like the attack down the chimney, one rarely has a chance to suspend disbelief", but the review still thought that "there is still a great deal more to enjoy than carp at". The film ranked second on
Cahiers du Cinéma ''Cahiers du Cinéma'' (, ) is a French film magazine co-founded in 1951 by André Bazin, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, and Joseph-Marie Lo Duca.Itzkoff, Dave (9 February 2009''Cahiers Du Cinéma Will Continue to Publish''The New York TimesMacnab ...
's Top 10 Films of the Year List in 1963. Andrew Sarris of
The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...
praised the film, writing: "Drawing from the relatively invisible literary talents of Daphne DuMaurier and Evan Hunter, Alfred Hitchcock has fashioned a major work of cinematic art". Philip K. Scheuer of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'' was among the critics who panned the film, writing that Hitchcock "was once widely quoted as saying he hated actors. After his 1960 ' Psycho' and now ''The Birds'', it must be fairly obvious that he has extended his abhorrence to the whole human race. For reasons hardly justified either dramatically or aesthetically, the old master has become a master of the perverse. He has gone all out for shock for shock's sake, and it is too bad". '' Variety'' published a mixed assessment, writing that while the film was "slickly executed and fortified with his characteristic tongue-in-cheek touches", Hitchcock "deals more provocatively and effectively in human menace. A fantasy framework dilutes the toxic content of his patented terror-tension formula, and gives the picture a kind of sci-fi exploitation feel, albeit with a touch of production gloss". Brendan Gill of ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' called the film "a sorry failure. Hard as it may be to believe of Hitchcock, it doesn't arouse suspense, which is, of course, what justifies and transforms the sadism that lies at the heart of every thriller. Here the sadism is all too nakedly, repellently present". It is the only Hitchcock movie to have been featured in '' Mad'' magazine (as "For the Birds", issue 82, October 1963, by Mort Drucker,
Arnie Kogen Arnie Kogen is an American comedy writer and producer. He has written for TV, film, and is a longtime writer for ''Mad Magazine''. Among his hundreds of ''Mad'' bylines, Kogen has written more than 100 film or television parodies. Born in Brookl ...
, and Lou Silverstone). In the ''Mad'' spoof, it is "revealed" that the birds are controlled by
Burt Lancaster Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor and producer. Initially known for playing tough guys with a tender heart, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-yea ...
as revenge for his not having won an
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
that year for his starring role in ''
Birdman of Alcatraz Robert Franklin Stroud (January 28, 1890 – November 21, 1963), known as the "Birdman of Alcatraz", was a convicted murderer, American federal prisoner and author who has been cited as one of the most notorious criminals in the United S ...
''. The film's first television broadcast was in Canada on
CTV CTV may refer to: Television * Connected TV, or Smart TV, a TV set with integrated internet North America and South America * CTV Television Network, a Canadian television network owned by Bell Media ** CTV 2, a secondary Canadian televisio ...
television on December 30, 1967. Its subsequent U.S. appearance was on NBC television on January 6, 1968, and became the most watched film on television surpassing ''
The Bridge on the River Kwai ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' is a 1957 epic war film directed by David Lean and based on the 1952 novel written by Pierre Boulle. Although the film uses the historical setting of the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942–1943, th ...
'' with a Nielsen rating of 38.9 and an audience share of 59%. The record was beaten in 1972 by ''
Love Story Love Story or A Love Story may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres * Romance (love) ** Romance film ** Romance novel Films * ''Love Story'' (1925 film), German silent film * ''Love Story'' (1942 film), Italian drama film * ''Love ...
''. With the passage of time, much like many other of Hitchcock's works, the film's standing among critics has much improved. The film has been very influential on the horror genre inspiring filmmakers like
Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born October 9, 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and actor. He directed the Academy Award–winning fantasy films ''Pan's Labyrinth'' (2006) and '' The Shape of Water'' (2017), winning the Academy Awards for ...
and John Carpenter. On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
it has a "Certified Fresh" 93% rating based on reviews from 59 critics, with an average rating of 8.20/10, and the website's consensus states: "Proving once again that build-up is the key to suspense, Hitchcock successfully turned birds into some of the most terrifying villains in horror history". On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
it has a score of 90 out of 100, based on reviews from 15 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Film critic David Thomson refers to it as Hitchcock's "last unflawed film". Italian film maker
Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most ...
ranked the film among his top ten favourite films of all-time list.
Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed thirty films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dyna ...
ranked the film at No. 55 on his ''Top 100 favourite films of all time'' list. In 2000,
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
ranked the scene where the crows gather on the climbing frame at No. 16 on their list of "The top 100 film moments". The scenes where birds are attacking humans viciously were collectively ranked at No. 96 on Bravo's '' The 100 Scariest Movie Moments''. In 2021, the film was ranked at No. 29 by
Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an engine ...
on their list of "The 100 best horror movies". The film was honored by the
American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Lead ...
as the seventh greatest thriller in American Cinema.


Controversy

There was controversy in relation to the nature of Alfred Hitchcock and Tippi Hedren's relationship during the filming of ''The Birds''. Hedren maintained that there were several incidents where Hitchcock acted inappropriately towards her. The cast and crew described his behaviour as "obsessive", and Hedren claimed that "he suddenly grabbed me and put his hands on me. It was sexual". Hedren stated that she rejected Hitchcock's advances on numerous occasions. Following the alleged rejection, Hedren was injured during the filming of the phone booth attack scene, and consequently suffered cuts to her face from a pane of glass shattering on her. Further, she insisted she was misled about the logistics of the final attack sequence, where mechanical birds were replaced with real ones at the last minute. It has been suggested that "Hitchcock's deliberate inflicting of injury was revenge for Hedren's spurning of his advances". Hitchcock also signed Hedren to a seven-year contract, which she stated restricted her ability to work. These allegations were not brought to light until after Hitchcock's death. Although they have never been confirmed, they have widely been reported, including by Hedren's co-star, Rod Taylor. Hedren would later claim during a 2016 interview with Larry King that " he sexual advancesdidn't happen until we were almost finished with ''Marnie''", that they had not started during ''The Birds'', and that up until the end of ''Marnie'' Hitchcock had been "easy to work with", but in her memoir released around the same time, she repeated the earlier allegations, though clarified that the sexual assaults didn't begin until ''Marnie''. The controversy of this relationship is explored in the 2012 HBO/ BBC film '' The Girl''. Hedren's daughter
Melanie Griffith Melanie Richards Griffith (born August 9, 1957) is an American actress. She began her career in the 1970s, appearing in several independent thriller films before achieving mainstream success in the mid-1980s. Born in Manhattan, New York City, ...
claims that Hitchcock's abuse extended to her when he played a "prank" by gifting six-year-old Melanie with a wax figure of her mother in a miniature coffin. Supposedly, Daphne du Maurier disliked the film, as Hitchcock had changed the location from a farm in England to a sleepy beach community in Northern California.


Sequel

A poorly received television sequel, '' The Birds II: Land's End'', was released in 1994. Director Rick Rosenthal removed his name from credit and used the Hollywood pseudonym
Alan Smithee Alan Smithee (also Allen Smithee) is an official pseudonym used by film directors who wish to disown a project. Coined in 1968 and used until it was formally discontinued in 2000, it was the sole pseudonym used by members of the Directors Guild ...
. The sequel featured entirely new characters and a different setting, with Bodega Bay only mentioned once. Tippi Hedren returned in a supporting role, but not as her original character.


See also

*
List of American films of 1963 A list of American films released in 1963. ''Cleopatra'' - the highest-grossing film of 1963. __TOC__ A-C D-G H-M N-S T-Z See also * 1964 in the United States External links 1963 filmsat the Internet Movie Database IMDb (an ...


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * . * * * * * Raubicheck, Walter; Srebnick, Walter, eds. (1991). ''Hitchcock's Rereleased Films: From Rope to Vertigo''. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. . * * * *


External links

* * * * * *
Monograph
on ''The Birds'' at ''
Senses of Cinema ''Senses of Cinema'' is a quarterly online film magazine founded in 1999 by filmmaker Bill Mousoulis. Based in Melbourne, Australia, ''Senses of Cinema'' publishes work by film critics from all over the world, including critical essays, career ...
''
Analytical summary
by Tim Dirks at AMC
Filmsite Filmsite is a film-review website established in 1996 by senior editor and film critic-historian Tim Dirks, and continues to be managed and edited by him for over two decades. Overview The site contains over 300 detailed reviews of English langu ...

Film script
Streaming audio
''The Birds''
on Lux Radio Theater: July 20, 1953
''The Birds''
on
Escape Escape or Escaping may refer to: Computing * Escape character, in computing and telecommunication, a character which signifies that what follows takes an alternative interpretation ** Escape sequence, a series of characters used to trigger some s ...
: July 10, 1954 {{DEFAULTSORT:Birds, The 1963 films 1963 horror films 1960s American films 1960s English-language films 1960s horror thriller films American horror thriller films American natural horror films Bodega Bay Films based on horror novels Films based on short fiction Films based on works by Daphne du Maurier Films directed by Alfred Hitchcock Films produced by Alfred Hitchcock Films set in San Francisco Films set in the San Francisco Bay Area Films shot in California Films with screenplays by Evan Hunter Horror films about birds United States National Film Registry films Universal Pictures films