*** out of ****

Rating: 7/10 (2 September 2002)

Not one of Hitchcock's best, "The Birds" is about two people (Tippi Hendren and Rod Taylor) who are in a small seaside town when the birds begin to attack people. The filmmaking is brilliant, creating suspense with many of Hitchcock's trademark techniques. The fault of the movie lies in the lack of any substance. Sure, it is suspenseful, but it doesn't offer anything insightful like "Vertigo" or "Rear Window", and the quality of the plot falls short of the likes of "North by Northwest". The two leads are far less charismatic then the normal Hitchcock leads such as Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, Ingrid Bergman or Grace Kelly. Good for little more than a couple hours of decent entertainment, and one that every Hitchcock buff should see.