"They're birds, aren't they? "

"The Birds" (1963) is a film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and that fact alone should be enough to make you want to read the rest of this review :)

The plot is simple, but effective. Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren), a beautiful woman with a lot of time on her hands, decides to follow Mitch (Rod Taylor), a man she just met, when he visits his hometown for the weekend. Melanie doesn't know Mitch very well, but she believes that they could begin a relationship, as they are quite attracted to each other. However, once Melanie arrives to Mitch's small town, something strange happens: a gull attacks her without any kind of provocation. That kind of behaviour is extremely unusual in gulls, according to local people. But will that be the last weird thing to happen? Well, just wait and see.

From my point of view, "The birds" is one of Hitchcock's best films, even though my personal favorite is "Vertigo". I would like to highlight the fact that this film manages to mix suspense, action and terror, throwing in a developing love story and some characters that you cannot help but care about. In a nutshell, the kind of movie you should watch, unless you are already really (really) afraid of birds. Recommended!

Belen Alcat

Was there ever a scarier movie?

I saw this movie again a few years ago and found that I could not view the scenes of the birds attacking the house or the telephone booth. And the scene with the birds occupying just about every available space near the school yard once again gave me the heebie-jeebies!

I did not give it 5 stars simply because it is starting to show its age. It would be interesting to discover what someone thought who was seeing it for the first time (an older person, since kids today have been inundated with quick cuts and plenty of action. This film is not about action.)

The Birds is Still A Great Film

I've seen The Birds many times, and still love it everytime. It is probably my favorite Hitchcock film.

The scenes where the birds fly out from behind the school to attack the children, and when Melanie is trapped in the phone booth while the birds launch a huge attack on Bodega Bay, are two of the best scenes ever filmed in my opinion.

It still bothers me that there is no explanation as to why the birds are doing this,and that many of the townspeople seem to blame Melanie for what is going on. But she is just an unfortunate victim in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The movie still stands up against movies of today for the great story, cast, and special effects of it's time.