The Best Five Things About Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds"

This movie is for the boids! (Nyuk nyuk nyuk!)

(DON'T LOOK UP MOVIES ON THE INTERNET IF YOU'RE CONCERNED ABOUT SPOILERS. GET IT?  GOT IT? GOOD!)


5.  The Mere Fact That The Bad Guys Are Birds

Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" is quite the masterpiece.  Not only is it a great horror movie, but it's also a great look into the psychology of its characters, and conveys the fear all of us have of being ganged up on.  The fact that the enemies are birds is a great idea, as birds typically serve no threat to human beings.  In this movie they are not only threatening but downright terrifying.  Just as mysterious are the moments where the birds calm down, seemingly lulled by some unknown force.
     Then, when they begin acting up again, it is almost as though they reflect the growing insecurities of the characters -- particularly poignant when people start blaming it all on Tippi Hedron's character Melanie Daniels,who happens to be the stranger in town.  Things become claustrophobic.  Because of the mysterious quality, some speculate that the birds symbolize all kinds of things.  Some suggest the movie deals with femininity, as  women are quite prominent characters in it.  Some may feel the birds are simply nature trying to take mankind down a notch or two.  Others try not to overthink it and just bird watch.

4.  No One Is Safe



While I do not believe birds (or anything else) should attack children, we have to face it:  If this actually happened, children likely would not be spared, and would in fact be more vulnerable than the adults.  Not only does this increase the stakes for the story and make the birds seem more villainous, but it's scientifically accurate to think birds would prioritize weaker and more defenseless prey. That's how nature tends to work.  It's also pretty messed up to see birds diving and attacking kids running from their schoolhouse trying to find safety.  But that is horror.
 I should add that I don't believe birds should attack adults, either.

3.  Those Birds Are Brutal, Man

A picture can say 1,000 words.

Hitchcock and Hermann working on the film's score.

2.  The Brilliant Application of "Source Music"

It's easy to overlook this detail, but there is hardly any conventional music in The Birds, because it instead primarily uses source music (music that's part of the character's world) rather than a conventional score.  The only other musical aspect are the sound effects.  If you pay attention to the bird sounds, you realize that they actually do function as music throughout. Few movies could effectively employ this technique, but this one soars because of it (sorry).  This technique also emphasizes the rare moments where music actually does occur, such as the song at the schoolhouse.


1.  It's Actually A Love Story

What?  This is a movie about love?  Yes, it is.  In fact, that is one of the strongest aspects of The Birds.  Sure, there's a gas station explosion, someone gets his eyes pecked out, and numerous others die and get injured, but it is still a love story.  Mitch and Melanie try to play it cool and act like they're not actually in love, and obviously they have a little bird problem to deal with along the way, but there's every sign these two were made for each other, which is part of what makes this movie brilliant (also symbolized by the literal lovebirds in the movie, who are seemingly not violent like the other birds are).  So many movies try to pair a horror dynamic with a love story and fail quite miserably, yet Hitchcock made it seem like a walk in the angry bird-infested park.