Classic Chiller With An Apocalyptic Feel.

Rating: 10/10 (20 November 2007)

"The Birds" is about a San Francisco woman named Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren), a flirtatious woman who meets a charming man, Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) in a bird shop of all places. Melanie decides to pursue Mitch and follows him to the rural seaside community of Bodega Bay, where Melanie stays with Mitch and his frantic mother, Lydia (Jessica Tandy) and his sister Cathy (Veronica Cartwright). But the calm town of Bodega Bay has no idea what it's in for, when birds begin savagely attacking for no reason - swooping from the sky and chasing, flapping, and pecking people to death, causing chaos among the city - is it possible for Melanie to survive the birds?
Most of today's modern audiences would look at this film and likely laugh, deeming the plot ridiculous, which is understandable. I'd assume there wasn't a scary bone in the entire film as well. But if you really put some thought into it, you'll understand just how scary it would be if our feathered friends actually came down from the sky and started attacking us - it's a scary concept. Loosely based on a story by Daphne DuMaurier, the script is adapted with little in common with the story besides the fact that birds are randomly attacking people. However, the crafting of the story is well done and the writing is really great - I think that the writers did a solid job making their own tale out of it.
The special effects are a bit dated in moments, but in others I was surprised how well-done they were, especially considering the time. One thing I really liked about this film that stood out to me was its atmosphere. The film has an overall apocalyptic undercurrent that runs through all of it. The man versus nature scenario gives the film an end-of-the-world type feel, as well as a communal sense of fear and will of survival (which is brought through clearly in the restaurant scene). It's all very greatly done, and I was on the edge of my seat, to my surprise. Hitchcock was a clever filmmaker, and he uses countless camera tricks and allusions which are really genius.
Tippi Hedren, mother of actress Melanie Griffith, leads our cast as the playful, stylish California girl who ends up caught in a terrifying and random situation. Rod Taylor plays Mitch well, and Jessica Tandy is great as his semi-looney mother. A young Veronica Cartwright is interesting to see as well. Sure, the acting is hammy at times, but not enough so to take the film down. I was stunned by the end of this movie, because of how ambiguous it was, and how it failed to resolve much. It leaves you with more questions than answers, and you have no idea why what was happening was. Some may take this as a good or bad thing, but I personally love it when films do that, so I appreciated it immensely.
Overall, "The Birds" is a great little thriller from the early '60s that is one of Hitchock's best-known works. The simplicity and randomness of its story is what makes it so powerful, and it manages to pack a doomsday-feel throughout, closing without ever really resolving (in this case, the ambiguity is a good thing of course). If you don't like birds to begin with, I'd advise you to steer clear of this movie. But if you enjoy man versus nature type scenarios, then it's a great treat. For whatever reason it may be, "The Birds" is one of those few films that I feel like watching whenever, wherever, no matter what. 10/10.