THE BIRDS (1963, USA, 119m, 15) ****½
Horror, Thriller
dist. Universal Pictures; pr co. Universal Pictures / Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions; d. Alfred Hitchcock; w. Evan Hunter (based on the story by Daphne Du Maurier); pr. Alfred Hitchcock; ph. Robert Burks (Technicolor | 1.85:1 (USA); 1.66:1 (Europe)); ed. George Tomasini; pd. Robert F. Boyle.
cast: Rod Taylor (Mitch Brenner), Jessica Tandy (Lydia Brenner), Suzanne Pleshette (Annie Hayworth), Tippi Hedren (Melanie Daniels), Veronica Cartwright (Cathy Brenner), Ethel Griffies (Mrs. Bundy), Charles McGraw (Sebastian Sholes), Ruth McDevitt (Mrs. MacGruder), Lonny Chapman (Deke Carter), Joe Mantell (Travelling Salesman at Diner’s Bar), Doodles Weaver (Fisherman Helping with Rental Boat), Malcolm Atterbury (Deputy Al Malone), John McGovern (Postal Clerk), Karl Swenson (Drunken Doomsayer in Diner), Richard Deacon (Mitch’s City Neighbour), Elizabeth Wilson (Helen Carter), Bill Quinn (Sam), Doreen Lang (Hysterical Mother in Diner).
This classic Hitchcock thriller sees Melanie Daniels (Hedren) meet Mitch Brenner (Taylor) in a San Francisco pet store and decide to follow him home. She brings with her the gift of two love birds and they begin a romance. One day birds start attacking children at Mitch’s sister’s party and then a huge assault on the town follows. The protracted set-up may be a tad drawn out but once the bird action starts the suspense never lets up. Hitchcock’s inventive use of tracking and point-of-view camera setups takes his audience into the centre of the horror as it unfolds. Taylor and Hedren are likeably eccentric leads and Tandy also registers as Taylor’s overly-protective widowed mother. Oskar Sala and Remi Gassmann designed the squawking bird sound effects with the help of composer Bernard Herrmann, who recommended that Hitchcock proceed without a musical score. Followed by the TV movie THE BIRDS II: LAND’S END (1994).
AAN: Best Effects, Special Visual Effects (Ub Iwerks)
