Technically brilliant, inconsistent Hitchcock thriller

Rating: 7/10 (24 September 2000)

"The Birds" truly shows Hitchcock's directing skills. He builds up suspense very effectively, and the film is technically (camera work, editing, sound effects, etc.) brilliant. But, as a whole, it's disturbingly inconsistent. It feels as if two different movies have been put together; other about birds attacking people, and other about the characters and their problematic relations. This doesn't quite work because of the missing link between them. What's more, the characters are cold and uninteresting.
"The Birds" is undeniably a classic piece of cinema history, but it's not one of Hitchcock's top achievements.