Don't look up or down, birds fly amok! As it's wing flying terror in Hitchcock's visual masterpiece.

Rating: 8/10 (6 June 2011)

I've been a big fan of Hitch over the years I especially admired his master suspense work in "Psycho". And finally after many years I viewed "The Birds" for the first time and I must say that for it's day the film was a visual and mechanical masterpiece a well done work. As many of the scenes just all of a sudden start you with fear that's unexpected like the flock full of birds on the school playground and the quickness of the birds flying from the sky to peck a victim! Set in San Francisco a wealthy and attractive single lady Melanie Daniels(Tippi Hedren a beautiful screen lady for her day)decides to follow the path of a prospective lover a powerful man attorney Mitch Brenner(Rod Taylor)to his northern California home on the island of Bodega Bay. Upon arriving to his home on the other side of the sea past a little schoolhouse with two love birds and her meeting of his daughter and mother, Melanie plans to stay right up.
Slowly and one by one when the residents look up they notice the sky above is different as Melanie can remember from her San Francisco days a flock that looked familiar, it's like these birds flew north for her venture! The scenes of the bird attacks and gatherings are master works for Hitch as his camera use put the audience in terror. The mechanical birds worked to a perfect fit to bring terror and blood to the humans of Bodega Bay! Overall not Hitchcock's best, but effective as it made us think to take cover the next time we saw a bird no matter if it was up high in the sky or down low on the ground!