Review- The Birds (1963)
3
Written by Emily Clarkson The Birds (1963) (Fig1) ‘The Birds’ is a horror film, but more specifically an ‘Animal Attack film’ that was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and was adapted from a novel, written by Daphne du Maurier. The story begins with a socialite, Melanie Daniels as played by ‘Tippi’ Hedren, in a pet shop, attempting to purchase a bird. A young gentleman walks into the store and demands Melanie help him find a pair of lovebirds for his sister. Shortly after a jesting prank backfires on Melanie, the grinning gent leaves without his lovebirds. With her interest piqued, Melanie gives chase. This little quest to know more and ensnare the interesting man results in a lot more than Melanie bargained for. If there is one thing to be noticed about this film, it is the lengthy build up, ‘In his most insolently insidious fashion Mr. Hitchcock begins with throwaway social comedy shading little by little into drama.’ (The Alfred Hitchcock Wiki, 2012) As is pointed out by The Times article (from ‘The Alfred Hitchcock Wiki’), Melanie’s pursuit of Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) leads the audience to the films main location, Bodega Bay and also the relationship of its main characters. ‘[The first act] is an uncomfortable buildup of tension (both sexual and social), an ongoing joust of loaded glances and teasing evasions.’ (Brooks, 2012) The beginning see’s the introduction of a slightly jealous ex‐girlfriend of Mitch’s named Annie, but also Mitch’s possessive mother. The social interactions of all these characters go on just long enough for the audience to lull and almost, but not quite forget that something is wrong with the birds. There is no explanation and no obvious reason for the first major bird attack, or even those that follow, it just incurs a mild sense of dread as gradually
-
Upload
emily-clarkson -
Category
Documents
-
view
163 -
download
1
description
A picture from the great Alfred Hitchcock's prime in film making. A review on the animal attack drama, 'The Birds'
Transcript of Review- The Birds (1963)
WrittenbyEmilyClarkson
TheBirds(1963)
(Fig1)
‘TheBirds’isahorrorfilm,butmorespecificallyan‘AnimalAttackfilm’thatwasdirectedbyAlfredHitchcockandwasadaptedfromanovel,writtenbyDaphneduMaurier.Thestorybeginswithasocialite,MelanieDanielsasplayedby‘Tippi’Hedren,inapetshop,attemptingtopurchaseabird.AyounggentlemanwalksintothestoreanddemandsMelaniehelphimfindapairoflovebirdsforhissister.ShortlyafterajestingprankbackfiresonMelanie,thegrinninggentleaveswithouthislovebirds.Withherinterestpiqued,Melaniegiveschase.ThislittlequesttoknowmoreandensnaretheinterestingmanresultsinalotmorethanMelaniebargainedfor.
Ifthereisonethingtobenoticedaboutthisfilm,itisthelengthybuildup,‘InhismostinsolentlyinsidiousfashionMr.Hitchcockbeginswiththrowawaysocialcomedyshadinglittlebylittleintodrama.’(TheAlfredHitchcockWiki,2012)AsispointedoutbyTheTimesarticle(from‘TheAlfredHitchcockWiki’),Melanie’spursuitofMitchBrenner(RodTaylor)leadstheaudiencetothefilmsmainlocation,BodegaBayandalsotherelationshipofitsmaincharacters.‘[Thefirstact]isanuncomfortablebuildupoftension(bothsexualandsocial),anongoingjoustofloadedglancesandteasingevasions.’(Brooks,2012)Thebeginningsee’stheintroductionofaslightlyjealousex‐girlfriendofMitch’snamedAnnie,butalsoMitch’spossessivemother.Thesocialinteractionsofallthesecharactersgoonjustlongenoughfortheaudiencetolullandalmost,butnotquiteforgetthatsomethingiswrongwiththebirds.
Thereisnoexplanationandnoobviousreasonforthefirstmajorbirdattack,oreventhosethatfollow,itjustincursamildsenseofdreadasgradually
WrittenbyEmilyClarkson
birdsbegintomass,withsimplythesoundofrufflingfeathers.Thelackofsoundtrackhereonlyemphasizestheuneaseofflockingbirdsuntiltheattackitself.Justasspookyasthebirdsmassing,istheirexit;thereisnoclearreasonfortheirleavingasmuchastherewastheirarrival,resultingintheconclusionthiscouldhappenagainatanytime.
ManycriticshaveexploredthereasonbehindthebirdattacksandsometaketheleadfromacompletelyhystericalwomaninthefilmwhoblamedMelaniefortheavianplague.Suchcriticshavegoneontodrawconclusionssuchasthefollowing,‘thebirdsareamanifestationofsex,somegalvanichormonalstormthatwhiskssleepyBodegaBayintoagreatcommunallather.’(Brooks,2012).Suchanotioncouldquiteeasilyfitwiththeprolongedintroduction.MelanieisthealieninBodegaBay,whowenttoslightlyunreasonablelengthstofindoutwhoMitchwasandwherehelived.Suchbehaviourindicatingintheleastakeeninterestifofnotanobsessionwithhim.
Incontrasttothesexualtheory,itcouldbeanideaHitchcockadaptedthatderivedfromhumanity’sviewofthenaturalorder.‘Whatwouldhappenifsomethingwentwrongandthebalanceofpowerwesocasuallytakeontrustwerechangedovernight?‘suggeststheTimesArticle‘Weareusedtosupposingthatnatureisthereforus…andmereanimalsandplantsknowtheirplaces.’TheTimesArticlecontinues,(AlfredHitchcockWiki,2012)ItisaveryvalidpointthatHitchcockmaywellhavedippedintowith‘TheBirds’.Themassingoffeatheredfiendssawhumansironicallycagedindoorstoprotectthemselves,despitebirdsbeingsovery‘inferior’tohumanintelligence.AtraitthatoccursfrequentlythroughoutthefilmspottedbyreviewerGeoffDyer.‘TheBirdsstartsoutinapetshopwithbirdsintheircages;itendswithhumansbesiegedintheirhomewithwindowsanddoorsboardedupsothatnobirds(orlight)cangetin.’(Dyer,2012)Thisthemeofentrapmentissymbolicthroughoutthefilm,seeninthefishingnetsonthequaysideaswellastheliteralbirdcageinFig2.
(Fig2)
WrittenbyEmilyClarkson
‘TheBirds’isafilmthatcertainlyleavesitsaudienceguessingandleavesthemallinanuncomfortablesilenceforincreasinglylongperiods.Itmightleadthemtowarilywatchthemostordinaryofbirdswhenpassingby.Althoughthe‘gory’horrorofthebirdsisdated,theideaofanentirespeciesturningonmankindisonethatcannotbeeasilyeradicatedfromthemindanditisagenrethathasgeneratedmanyafilmsince.
BibliographyDyer,Geoff(2012)MyfavouriteHitchcockfilm:TheBirdsbyGeoffDyerhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2012/jun/17/my‐favourite‐hitchcock‐film‐the‐birds‐geoff‐dyerTheAlfredHitchcockWiki(2012)TheTimes(29/Aug/1963)TheBirds:MrHitchcockgoesthesubtlewaytomakeusafraidhttp://www.hitchcockwiki.com/wiki/The_Times_%2829/Aug/1963%29_‐_The_Birds:_Mr_Hitchcock_goes_the_subtle_way_to_make_us_afraidBrooks,Xan(2012)MyfavouriteHitchcock:TheBirdshttp://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2012/jul/31/my‐favourite‐hitchcock‐the‐birdsPicturesBfi(2012)TheBirdshttp://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b6a535bee
