Terrific Visuals And Special Effects

Rating: 10/10 (2 November 2014)

Gripping and unnerving, Hitchcock's "The Birds" is one of the great films of all time. In more recent movies, special effects are the sole reason to see the film; there is no real story. What makes "The Birds" so eloquent is that the special effects enhance an already masterful story.
One could reasonably argue that Hitchcock's classic was one of the first, if not the first, films to explore an environmental apocalypse. As such, it has great thematic depth. The story shows how we take for granted simple features of our everyday world, and how unsettling it would be not to have control over these mundane environmental features.
Characters are multidimensional; we care about them; they clearly display their humanity. And the dialogue is excellent. My favorite character is the amusingly intellectual ornithologist. Mrs. Bundy, so sure of herself in the Café scene: "I hardly think that either species (of birds) would have sufficient intelligence to launch a mass attack; their brain pans are not big enough".
Plot structure is fine, although it's not unreasonable to state that the story is a bit slow to develop; perhaps a few scenes in the first twenty minutes could have been deleted or shortened. The film's ending is sufficiently clear without being explicit.
There are so many good visuals it's hard to know where to begin. A favorite of mine is the scene where Melanie sits in front of a jungle-gym smoking a cigarette; birds casually and innocently gather behind her. After a time when she has finished her cigarette, the camera reverts back to the jungle-gym; this time it has been overrun by an ominous army of birds; the scene is rendered even more effective by having no dialogue.
Another factor that makes this film good is the absence of background music; the story doesn't need it. Ambient sounds alone enhance suspense and realism. The sounds of flapping and squawking birds are eerie and effective. Casting is almost ideal. Tippi Hedren may be a bit prim and proper but she does a good job with her role. I don't recall a weak performance anywhere.
"The Birds" is probably my favorite Hitchcock film. Aside from possibly a slow start, it's a well-made film, using technically difficult visual effects. It is not only entertaining but also thought-provoking in its underlying environmental theme.