The Birds
In THE BIRDS, Alfred Hitchcock's heart-pounding follow-up to PSYCHO, the director couples a tone of rigorous morality with dark humour to create a thriller that begins as a light comedy and ends as an apocalyptic allegory. Wealthy, reformed party girl Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) enjoys a brief flirtation with lawyer Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) in a San Francisco pet shop and decides to follow him to his Bodega Bay home. Bearing a gift of two lovebirds, Melanie quickly strikes up a romance with Mitch while contending with his possessive mother and boarding at his ex-girlfriend's house. One day, during a birthday party for Mitch's younger sister, a flock of birds attacks the children in what seems to be a random incident. In fact, it signals the beginning of a massive avian assault on the residents of the town--a mysterious assault that no one can explain and from which no one might come out alive. Hedren (Melanie Griffith's mother) carries the picture in her first film role ever, embarking on a career as an icy-cool leading lady. Loosely based on a Daphne du Maurier story and a Santa Monica newspaper story, "Seabird Invasion Hits Coastal Homes," THE BIRDS also features ground-breaking special effects.
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Critic's review of The Birds
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A curiously absorbing work which begins as light comedy and ends as apocalyptic allegory, this piece of Hitchcockery has no visible point except to tease the audience and provide plenty of opportunity for shock, offbeat humour and special effects (which d
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31080
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- Halliwell's Film Guide
- 02 Mar 2006 at 15:42
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Most helpful member's review of The Birds
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I am a massive fan of psycho! it is one of my favourite films of all time! so this had a lot to live up to! some people will think i am harsh with my review, ...
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182070
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[Highly rated reviewer]
- Stephen Daniels
- Swindon
- 06 Dec 2005 at 07:13
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Most recent members' reviews of The Birds
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Most of Hitchcock's films seem to survive the passing of time very well but 'Birds' is not one of them. It just looks too clunky now and fails to ...
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1072379
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[Highly rated reviewer]
- Flikks
- 19 reviews
- Seaton
- 11 Dec 2011 at 14:31
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This is a classic of course, and you can see why. It starts off as some sort of strange comic/love story, and ends up being a disturbing film.
There ...
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1040416
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- exetertim
- 11 reviews
- London
- 13 Sep 2011 at 19:21
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really enjoyed it
the characters are so cutesie! just what i love most about older films.
the famous jungle-jim scene was just brilliant! ...
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1039821
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- Mekua
- 2 reviews
- Bournemouth
- 12 Sep 2011 at 15:15
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News and features
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Miller to play Hedren in new movie
- WENN Newsdesk
- 04 Dec 2011
Sienna Miller has reportedly signed up to bring movie legend Tippi Hedren back to the big screen in a new film about her relationship with Alfred Hitchcock. Hedren shot to fame as the star of the director's 1963 horror The Birds, and she also appeared in his thriller Marnie a year later (64). A new film based on biographer Donald Spoto's book, Spellbound By Beauty, will explore Hedren's relationship with the famed director, who allegedly became infatuated with the blonde beauty while they were
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