The Birds (1963)

 Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds"

Going into Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 film "The Birds," I almost suspected that I would be watching a film that would have my eyes rolling. Birds attacking? The story seems rather silly. However, perhaps by lowered expectations allowed me to enjoy the film simply for what it is. The film comes at the very tail end of Hitchcock's career, and the idea behind the story seems to fit in perfectly with where he was at this point. 

A Hitchcockian film usually consists of an everyday character going about their life who suddenly has a dramatic and often fatal incident occur. This incident forces them away from their normal life and responsibilities to address a far more existential one. It can often consist of a political conspiracy, like in "The Man Who Knew Too Much," "The 39 Steps," "The Lady Vanishes," or "Notorious." More often than not, it has to do with attempting to stop a murder of some sort, like in "Suspicion," "Shadow of a Doubt," "Strangers on a Train," or "Rear Window." However, in "The Birds," the existential threat that exists is simply that - an existential threat. 

The first hour of the film's runtime is spent with the lives of the characters in the story. A socialite named Melanie meets a lawyer named Mitch in a bird store. Showing interest in each other, Melanie goes to Bodega Bay to spend time with Mitch. However, things get tricky as she has to deal with Mitch's ex-girlfriend who still loves him (although she is friendly to Melanie and allows her to stay in her home) and Mitch's mother who is possessive of Mitch. However, the story gets interrupted when all of the birds in the town begin to attack the residents. The bird attacks are so violent that many end up dead. Escaping the town proves difficult and everyone begins to panic. Suddenly, the melodrama of the lives of the characters becomes moot. That which we thought was important in the beginning suddenly becomes the last thing we care about - as would be the case in any real existential threat. The reason this fits so perfectly into the final stretch of Hitchcock's career is because this structure that he's so exquisitely brandished for over 40 years has now reached its maximalist conclusion. The final tier of that which could disrupt your life is one in which the world seems to be ending and your very existence (as well as the existence of everyone else) could become obsolete. 

There is even a character in the film who shouts about it being the apocalypse. His vision of the end of the world seems to come to fruition in the following scene. The birds begin to attack again and this time, gasoline gets spilled all over a parking lot. When a man drops his cigarette, the entire parking lot which includes all the vehicles, ignite. As Melanie is trapped in a phone booth, it does seem like the apocalypse - the image of nature is turning against humanity complete with mountainous flame. Its an image of doom. It seems as though Hitchcock's themes have reached their natural conclusion - the apocalypse. 

To further establish the apocalyptic nature of the film, he ending seems to also suggest this. Even though Mitch is able to get Melanie, his mother, and his daughter out of the town, we hear on the radio in an earlier moment that birds have started to attack in other cities. Despite the characters securing their safety from the immediate threat, it seems as though the end is truly nigh. However, as the last shot of the film (below) suggests, perhaps this is a good thing. In the below image, we see the characters driving away from the danger they faced - surely headed for more danger. However, the beams of light coming from the heavens (as it were), along with the many birds in the foreground of the shot seem to suggest that nature is made whole again. According to Hitchcock, one of the prominent themes in the film is taking nature for granted. The characters were so obsessed and self-indulgent in their lives that they never truly appreciated anything. As film historian Andrew Sarris noted in 1998, "the theme, after all, is complacency, as the director has stated on innumerable occasions. When we first meet each of the major characters, their infinite capacity of self-absorption is emphasized. Tippi Hedren's bored socialite is addicted to elaborately time-consuming practical jokes. Rod Taylor's self-righteous lawyer flaunts his arrogant sensuality, Suzanne Pleshette, his ex-finance, wallows in self-pity, and Jessica Tandy, his possessive mother, cringes from her fear of loneliness. With such complex, unsympathetic characters to contend with, the audience begins to identify with the point of view of the birds, actually the inhuman point of view." It seems as though nature is making itself whole again. As Hitchcock's oeuvre has extensively pointed out, humanity is evil and violent. Hitchcock's whole filmography explores these concepts and "The Birds" is his attempt to bring balance back to the world and rid it of all humanity's needless absurdity.

Not only did the themes of the film catch me off-guard, but some of the special effects in the film are incredible for its time period. Along with having thousands of actual birds on set, $200,000 worth of mechanical birds were also created. Getting it to look like these birds were realistically attack the humans was a true challenge. Hitchcock needed the use of Disney Studios. Disney's animator/technician Ub Iwerks created many of the effects in the film. He used a sodium vapor process that he helped develop. Subjects were filmed against a screen lit with narrow-spectrum sodium vapor lights. Using this and combining it with regular stock footage resulted in very precise matte shots. This was necessary due to the fringing of the image from the birds' rapid wing flapping. Using optical printers, the images were superpositioned. The results look incredible, as it does look like the birds are attacking. Obviously, contemporary viewers would recognize the fabrication of the image, as our eyes have been adjusted to far superior mechanisms of special effects. However, you have to admit that, for 1963, it was as good as the technology would allow. 

Despite being a technical achievement in filmmaking, along with a thematic conclusion to Hitchcock's filmography (despite going on to make 5 more films in his life), the film does seem to be a Hollywood film that can appear old-fashioned. This is especially true in 1963 when French New Wave was starting to demonstrate the infinite directions that filmmaking could go. Despite being remembered as a Hitchcockian classic, "The Birds" is a blockbuster spectacle piece that represented 'Old Hollywood.' It represented an aging master reaching nature conclusions in his career. Despite this, the elevated action and apocalyptic terror of the film would prove to be an inspiration to films only 15 years later. With films like "Jaws" and "Star Wars" essentially creating the very concept of the modern 'blockbuster,' "The Birds" demonstrates that that despite being a relic of Hollywood, it would prove to be more timeless and essentially than anyone anticipated.