An evergreeen psychological horror story that’s approaching it’s 60th birthday. Regarded by many as the essential Alfred Hitchcock feature, The Birds sees the unexplained phenomenon of birds of every species turning en masse against people.
Centred around the small Californian coastal fishing village of Bodega Bay, what starts as the occasional swoop by a seagull as San Francisco socialite Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) arrives in town to play a practical joke on local resident Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) soon develops into more. Much more as attacks, accidents and deaths mount.
It’s all very Freudian of repressed sexual tension and desire, guilt and environmental awareness, but Hitchcock builds the suspense from the expectation of horror as much as the actual horror itself. It’s complex and fascinating – yet it’s also difficult to watch The Birds nearly 50 years after it was made without a more than passing judgement on its portrayal of women as the birds attack – particularly Hedren and Jessica Tandy as Mitch’s mother.
Nominated for best visual effects Oscar in 1964.
Rating: 71%
Director: Alfred Hitchcock (Psycho, Rear Window)
Writer: Evan Hunter (Strangers When We Meet, Walk Proud) – adapted from the story by Daphne Du Maurier
Main cast: Tippi Hedren (Marnie, I Heart Huckabee), Rod Taylor (The Time Machine, Separate Tables), Jessica Tandy (Driving Miss Daisy, Fried Green Tomatoes)
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