Grow up and think!

Rating: Null/10 (31 October 2003)

As per usual when confronted with a really challenging movie most viewers are lost.
Pay attention I say.
One wonders what was Hitch's intent? More than likely it was to make an open ended movie that one can interpret multiple ways. There is no explanation of why the Birds are attacking and the ending leaves no clues as to whether they will continue to attack.
The Birds becomes more interesting everyday foreshadowing the environmental consciousness and animal rights consciousness. Revolutionary at that time.
There are no human hero's here. Almost every character has glaring flaws, petulance, jealousy, callousness, egotistical, lust. Melanie is a rich spoiled brat, Mitch is a lawyer who has lust for Melanie and is not very nice to her at the start, Annie is jealous, and Mitches mother is weak and clinging. The Bar scene is especially delicious, every one who speaks is a jerk, from a self important "expert" ornithologist to a drunken bible thumper. Hitchcock, of course, was a master at exposing flaws in human psychology.
Metaphors fly right from the start, as the protagonist human brings caged love birds ostensibly as a present but really to buy into a sexual relationship.
We hear a lot about how good the shots were and the special effects, and they are good especially for the time. But the true story is really how Hitch was able to get us to watch a film with no ending.
Like most truly great film this film presents plenty of questions but gives no answers. That's what's what is really interesting about this film. You don't just sit there and get entertainment spoon fed to you like a baby, you have to interact with the film.
That's what most people don't get. Art is about questions not answers.