Near perfect Hitchcock

Rating: Null/10 (14 January 2006)

No music - an original touch (as far I as I know).
A bit dated, but so what? Tipi was a little much with the furs and heels and all in a resort town. And the ending could have been stronger if they had gone with the original idea of having the birds shown massed on the Golden Gate bridge in SF to show the extent of the horror. Those are my negatives, but otherwise the film was scary and vintage Hitch, always with the "master's touch". His humor is often not far below the surface.
The screenplay is superior to DeMaurier's short story in that it broadened the scope a bit and brought real people into the mix. The special effects were spectacular and the acting convincing. The town of Bodega Bay as presented by Hitchcock was in perfect bucolic juxtaposition to the terrifying concept of nature gone wrong. I've seen this film many times and could watch it again and again. I can't say that about too many movies. Recommended!