The Birds (1963)

Let’s take a trip through the Jake Ehrlich archives and go all the way back to the 60’s. Known as one of the most thunderous and divisive decades in our world’s history, this era produced some banger flicks, including Planet of the Apes, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Sound of Music, In the Heat of the Night, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Graduate, Lawrence of Arabia, and so many others. Now, I get to add Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds to the list of films that I’ve seen from this decade. It’s not my favorite Hitchcock film (that would probably go to North by Northwest), but still an enjoyable one, to say the least. I’ve known about this movie for years and while the villains were no surprise, I was still impressed nonetheless. I won’t lie; the idea of this movie always sounded strange to me. And trust me, I know a lot about the word “strange.” I wasn’t even expecting to be scared because of that idea, but that’s what ended up happening anyway. Hitchcock wasn’t called “The Master of Suspense” for nothing. He took this bizarre concept and made it work. I cannot wait to delve deeper into this discussion so let’s get right to it.

     The story follows Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren), a young socialite who meets Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) in a San Francisco pet store and decides to follow him to the small Northern California town of Bodega Bay, hoping to surprise him. From that point on, things take a turn for the weird in the most bizarre way possible, when birds start attacking the people of the town. And that’s pretty much the plot of the movie. I’ve seen this idea made fun of before and I always got a big laugh out of it but I still found myself on the edge of my seat. The cast also includes Jessica Tandy as Lydia Brenner, Mitch’s mother; Suzanne Pleshette as Annie Hayworth, a school teacher at Bodega Bay School; and Veronica Cartwright as Cathy Brenner, Mitch’s younger sister. Like all Hitchcock movies, the cast is fantastic and the acting is equally as impressive. You can see and feel the terror that everyone is going through as the birds cause chaos. Before I watched this movie, I assumed the people would be like me and make a big deal out of nothing. But when you see how much danger everyone is put in and what the winged beasts are capable of, it actually makes a lot of sense. I thought Bodega Bay was an interesting choice for the setting and since I don’t actually live too far from there, I thought it seemed like a nice little place to visit. And I couldn’t have been more right. After taking a little drive through there recently, I thought it was one of the nicest spots in Northern California. I even drove by some spots where the movie was filmed. As someone who’s super crazy about movies (thank you, Asperger’s), I was ecstatic when I recognized these locations. Not only did I get to enjoy the nice sea air, but I also got see where this classic was filmed. Pretty good day if I do say so myself.

     There was so much to enjoy about this movie. Again, not my favorite Hitchcock film, but I still had a good time watching it like his other ones. This movie is solid proof that Alfred Hitchcock could take any type of story, no matter how strange or insane, and make it work. From what I’ve heard, Hitchcock was a difficult guy to work with, and I’m sure this was no exception. I even heard that the actors were scared on the set when real birds were used so I’m extremely impressed with what they brought to life. Overall, I give this movie a 9 out of 10. If you’re a fan of classic horror or Hitchcock, then go check this one out. You’ll be in for one wild and chaotic ride.