Cinematic bliss

Rating: 9/10 (31 March 2018)

I've just watched THE BIRDS on Blu-ray for the first time and ended up loving it more than ever. I can now safely say that this is an excellent Hitchcock film, perhaps not one of his very best, but certainly up there among them. It comes second only to JAWS as my favourite animal attack film, and is expertly made. The whole first hour takes time to get to know the characters and feels much like a Doris Day-style romantic comedy (helped by Rod Taylor's presence) before Hitchcock lets rip with the full-blooded horror in the second half.
Some might complain that the first hour is a little slow, but when the direction's this good I didn't mind at all. Still, once the birds DO attack, things really hot up. The shock scenes do just that - the bit with the chimney is an example of a good, solid cinematic moment. The attack on the children's party is another. Characters hole up in a bar, and things remain just fine until the end. Hitchcock choreographs an excellent 'out of control' set-piece as the town is destroyed, full of flames and broken glass and chaos. We get a mini siege scenario at the end, no doubt inspiring the likes of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and all that's come since. The special effects are still pretty good to this day and Hitchcock doesn't skimp on the sadism in the bloody attacks, either. This might well be one of the first of the Hollywood FX blockbusters.
The cast is very good too. Taylor is as perfect as the everyman hero as he was in THE TIME MACHINE. Jessica Tandy is excellent, playing a very irritating character and giving her some warmth and life despite her bad points. Veronica Cartwright is convincingly menaced, just as she was years later in ALIEN and INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS. I didn't care much for Tippi Hedren's cold character the first couple of times I saw this, but her presence has subsequently grown on me in the intervening years.