The Birds – Movie Review
Of all the things to do on a Friday night, I didn’t think I would be staying up to watch The Birds. Oh, was I wrong.
Plot
The Birds starts out in an innocent enough way. In a pet shop in San Francisco, Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) runs into Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor), a gentleman looking for lovebirds. She thinks she’s playing him by pretending to work at the pet shop even though she clearly has no idea what lovebirds are, but he’s seen her in the newspapers and was messing with her the whole time. You see, Melanie has historically enjoyed being a free spirit, and among other things she is known for jumping into a fountain in Rome… nude. Sounds like a good time, but not when you get caught.
After the mysterious guy leaves the pet shop without buying anything, Melanie does what any sensible woman would do… and stalks him to the extent that if this was a modern movie it would be heralded as a horror for a completely different reason. Accompanied by a pair of lovebirds she purchased, Melanie uses her contacts to figure out this poor man’s home address and tracks him to his apartment. Unfortunately, he has gone on a trip and will be away for a few days, so naturally Melanie stalks him to his hometown where he’s visiting his mother and sister.
Once there she gleans information about his sister from people around town, even going as far to talk to her schoolteacher. Satisfied that she has all the deets, Melanie rents a tiny boat to sneak across the lake so she can get to Mitch’s mother’s house quietly, without her vehicle being seen. This lady really thought all this through and never once saw an issue with it.
Once across the lake, Melanie then breaks into the house after seeing Mitch going to the barn and leaves the lovebirds in the living room with a letter to Mitch’s little sister who she only knows about because she’s been gleaning information about Mitch around town. Creepy. Mitch soon afterwards goes inside the house and finds the lovebirds. Rushing back outside, he sees Melanie rowing back across the lake. Strangely, instead of being threatened and massively creeped out, he seems to think her stalking is adorable. Speeding into town to catch her as she reaches the dock, he helps her after a seagull attacks her head randomly. Then he asks her to dinner. And after the dinner, invites her to his sister’s party the next day. And after the party she’s just kind of stuck there because THE BIRDS ARE FREAKING KILLING PEOPLE.
Does Melanie make it out of town alive? Does she weirdly succumb to a bird attack, leaving Mitch to heroically save her? Will anyone in this movie learn to just SHUT ALL THE DOORS AND LEAVE THEM SHUT??? Find out by watching The Birds.
My Thoughts
Given that this movie was made in 1963, I don’t think I can rate it like modern movies. Yes, the green screen is freaking terrible, and the birds look super fake when they’re moving, but I have to trust that at the time this was top quality cinematography.
I do think that the movie could have been a bit better. It’s never explained what’s going on with the birds, but I don’t think there is a “reason” other than birds banding together to attack people for all the injustices against them sounds interesting. Also, Melanie’s behavior at times was a bit… strange. Even completely overlooking her stalking, at one point she’s stuck in a phone booth being attacked by birds and she keeps randomly opening the door then shutting it. Again, when she’s being attacked in the house, instead of instantly leaving the room she just crumples in front of the door as the birds attack her, accepting her fate. It’s a bit weird, but once again, it’s a super old movie so I’m not judging it too harshly.
Honestly, I liked the movie. It was more silly than scary, but it was entertaining. Am I going to cower in horror next time I see one of those massive flocks of crows chilling someplace random, probably not, but thinking about the movie might give me a giggle.
That’s it! If you’re a fan of older movies, pop some popcorn and give The Birds a try!
