On B List of Movie Reviews
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The Birds (1963)
Rate:
3
Viewed:
12/05, 12/13
12/05:
The Birds is a nice, memorable, and beautiful Hitchcock film, but, because of the running length, it's hard for me
to sustain attention long enough.
I like the acting the best which is especially strengthened by the intensity of the relationship between two female
characters: Melanie and Annie. Rod Taylor plays his part well and is sort of the Cary Grant type. However, Jessica
Tandy is so out of place as the mother that she doesn't blend in well with the others.
Although impressive, the bird scenes are too long, and they become tiresome, causing me to make fun of the special effects.
That's why Steven Spielberg made sure to show Bruce less often in
Jaws to heighten the suspense. Alfred Hitchcock
should've learned the concept of minimalism.
All in all, The Birds needs a better editor to do the film justice.
12/13:
There are many parallels between The Birds and Night of the Living Dead.
Both aren't different except the latter is superior to the former in all aspects. There are numerous flaws, and I shall
go through some of them.
One, the conversations among the characters are mindless drivel. Then, all of a sudden, they've become meaningless because
terror has taken over their lives.
Two, the frigid mother is the most laughable part. She thinks she's the Queen of England, but who cares about the stupid bitch?
Three, remember the scene when the blonde woman stood outside the schoolhouse, having a smoke while pretending to be cool?
After seeing the birds behind her, she runs inside and warns the teacher. Then, they lead the schoolchildren to outside. Now,
now, now...why the hell are they leaving the building for another when the first was sufficient to ensure their safety?
Four, I don't see anyone using a gun the entire time. Come on, can we have some common sense here?
Five, there isn't any explanation for the birds' behavior. It's probably a chemical attack. At least, George A. Romero learned
a valuable lesson from this mess by explaining why the people had been transformed into the living dead.
Six, why doesn't somebody ponder about driving right away to San Francisco?
Seven, I don't care about the characters. Whether they live or die, it doesn't matter.
Eight, the birds look fake. The double reel strip trick has aged a lot by now.
Nine, there isn't much of a plot. Birds attack people. Okay, so what? They'll go away soon.
Ten, remember the last scene when the blonde woman discovered birds in the room before being savagely attacked? The wise thing
for her to do is cracking open the door a bit to take a look inside before closing it fast. But what
does she do? She goes in there just out of fear like that. Why?
All in all, I would respect Alfred Hitchcock more if he fixed the tagline on the poster for The Birds:
"It could be the silliest motion picture I have ever made!"