Open to interpretation

Rating: 9/10 (23 November 2003)

I agree with "cordedpoodle" in that The Birds is a metaphor for nature and chaos conflicting with human society. I enjoyed the open-ended story such as it is and found the characters to be very convincingly portrayed by the actors. The chemistry between Hedren and Taylor was terrific and their relationship developed in a very satisfying manor. The periphery characters of Mitch's 'clinging' mother and in his still jealous previous love interest were also first-rate characterizations. The only character I thought was somewhat extraneous was Mitch's daughter. The direction and pure craftsmanship of the film were also of the first order. I think Hitchcock said that he used 371 trick shots or so in the film. The Hitchcock Collection DVD I watched had excellent supplementary materials and the picture and sound were very sharp. Another feather in the cap of The Master. 9/10.