Not as Good as the Rating

Rating: 7/10 (5 July 2001)

I guess the people who give this a high rating are those who have bought into the self-promotion and Hitchcock hype over the years. The generous rating for "The Birds" seems to bear this out. An interesting "what if" premise is spoiled by the incessant lapses in logic and cheesy special effects.
The Bodega Bay setting is lovely and the characters attractive, if a little dim. As is typical with Hitchcock, the pacing is excellent and the shots well framed; and the editing is excellent, as indeed it must be to fake so much of the action.
Whatever their ulterior motives, and I have little doubt they have them, the Motion Picture Academy was correct in never bestowing an Oscar on Hitchcock. Most of his films are entertaining, but few of them, such as "Foreign Correspondent," "Dial M for Murder," and "Frenzy," are very good.