Take the time to unravel the meaning of this masterpiece.

Rating: 10/10 (19 September 2016)

This movie seems to be so misunderstood by so many. Many don't understand it. Many that praise it need to also watch it again to have more to praise than suspense and special effects.
Begin with the characters.
Mitch Brenner is a unmarried successful San Francisco lawyer. I will cue you in here... today he would be able to legally marry his male partner. His double life is spent during the week in SF and weekends being a good son in Bodega Bay.
Lydia Brenner is Mitch's mother. Seemingly insecure since her husband died and left her with 2 children. Seemingly insecure, but really the domineering and overprotective mother shielding her boy from women like Melanie Daniels and Anne Heyward. Going as far as criticizing him for not being as smart and in control of it all, as his father. Chopping him down to a little boy, because his father would have known how to protect the family.
Anne Heyward the school teacher. Deep voiced and sexy. Ex-lover of Mitch that moved to Bodega Bay just to be near Mitch She reveals their relationship never got off the ground because of his mother as well as other reasons. One line of dialogue to Melanie was, "I don't think there has ever been anything between Mitch and any woman". She indicates that when she was no longer a threat to Lydia and her control over Mitch, Lydia and she became close friend and Mitch and her became like brother and sister.
Melanie Daniels. Wealthy, beautiful, chic, educated, fun party girl, world traveler, well groomed to 1962 perfection. Well guess who really never has a truly romantic moment with this cool, sophisticated, wealthy, party girl, blonde beauty? In the pet store scene one would expect any hunk of a healthy red blooded heterosexual male to be at least flirting with her, not intentionally making a fool out of her. I think his overall lack of interest in doing anything other than playing this unfriendly game reeks of a sarcastic distrust of woman... but he probably trusts his mother.
Miss Grundy. A local Bodega Bay ornithologist that is the only one that thinks all the incidents of bird attacks are ridiculous exaggeration. Grundy wears man tailored clothing. Her hairstyle, outfit, and demeanor is more of a masculine dignified Englishman than a Northern Californian elderly woman. She even smokes a pipe with butch gestures.
HOLD ON TO YOUR HATS EVERYONE... HERE COME THE BIRDS!!!! Explanation of the Birds... Mitch has now a second beautiful woman following and showing heavy interest in being with him. How many will he reject? How long can he hide, showing ambivalent feelings towards women as they arrive one after the other. Rivaling each other in attractiveness. How long before the towns people start calling him, Lydia's weird son that never married? The birds represent Mitch's homosexuality. They attack women and children mostly. First Melanie. Then the gull smashes Anne's door where those two women are just relaxing. Anne says, Poor thing must have got confused and flew into the light". The children's birthday party. In the house after dinner through the fire place. Only one single male farmer was attacked in a detailed scene. He could be someone one else that may have known about Mitch. The school children. The decent on the whole town. Anne's death. Melanie, Lydia, and Anne certainly had more than a real good hint about Mitch. You can't hide it anymore Mitch. It's come home to roost! So Melanie hears some rustling upstairs while the others sleep. Melanie should know what that means. She has to have figured out by now where Mitch is concerned, something is wrong in the bedroom. Obviously his bedroom has not seen much action with women. She opens the door and is attacked and nearly killed by the birds... they peck at her and make shrieking, and scowling noises. Rescued by Mitch and Lydia she is in a state of shock. One gets the feeling as they drive away that they may never return to Bodega Bay. Lydia holds Melanie in the back seat of the car reminiscent of the Blessed Mother cradling Jesus in Michael Amgelo's statue, The Pieta. Could you ever imagine Mitch and Melanie ever being in a relationship ever again? Seems like Mitch has turned another woman into a sister.