Unit 4 - The Birds (1963)

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Melanie Daniels goes and returns the favor to Mitch at Bodega Bay who played a joke on her. As she stayed around for a couple of days, the birds of all species started to act strangely. Attacking anyone who is outside their own homes, meaning the people have to get their survival skills ready.

How the movie shows it's title, it uses camera shots of birds in many species. Defiantly Crows and Seagulls. The camera shots like to use what it is known as a Pre-Viz. Having conversations that shows half of the full body view to the shoulder view. However, the pre-viz shots are used for those that are not in conversations like to Full View, Half View and Head View, also Pan shots were used as well.








(Hitchcock, Alfred. (1963). The Birds. http://www.horrordvds.com/reviews/a-m/birds/birds_shot1l.jpg (Accessed 11th February 2011))

(Hitchcock, Alfred. (1963). The Birds. http://www.alfred-hitchcock-films.net/Images/Birds-Hedren-First-Attack-590x320.jpg (Accessed 11th February 2011))

(Hitchcock, Alfred. (1963). The Birds. http://leetleech.org/images/66583942828913013959.png (Accessed 11th February 2011))

(Hitchcock, Alfred. (1963). The Birds. http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/universal_pictures/the_birds/tippi_hedren/birds13.jpg (Accessed 11th February 2011))


As Alfred Hitchcock does with his films, he added a surprise to make us think what was the reason for the birds to attack the first place. Many viewers look at it and try to think of the most obvious solution and that is the love birds. It cannot be that the birds will attack as no one in the film harmed them so the soloution may have to be the love birds. The crows, seagulls, etc, in Bodega Bay may have seen the love birds and went on an attacking spree to tell the humans to free those two love birds.

Beside that, the narrative of this is the threat is coming off these birds are unexpected and uncontrollable. Outside the film, the birds are completely harmless but inside the film itself, they are used as a threat which creates the uncanny. What makes them fearful is that Hitchcock used the familiar to create a fear that the characters will be afraid of for a long time.





(Hitchcock, Alfred. (1963). The Birds. http://i30.tinypic.com/3c4th.jpg (Accessed 11th February 2011))

(Hitchcock, Alfred. (1963). The Birds. http://readingeagle.com/BlogUploads/68/birds%20tv%20cin.jpg (Accessed 11th February 2011))


"The idea of birds, a type of animal that isn't aggressive, attacking humans despite living with us for millions of years is preposterous and is never likely to happen. However; it is here where the film's horror potency lies. Birds live with us in harmony; we're so used to them that for the most part we don't even realise that they're there, and the idea of something that we don't notice suddenly becoming malicious is truly terrifying."
(The_Void; 2004)

To add things up, this film shows the narrative of women of being birds, the reason for that as at the beggining, you see Melaine wanting to buy a bird at the pet shop until she brought two love birds for Mitch who she took to his home at Bodega Bay. As you see her trying to get a bird out of its cage in the pet shop but escaped from her hand, you start to realise that the fear of birds that the film shows later on, came from her. Allowing young viewers to watch this is not recommended for them as it will give them fear towards birds on how this horrific film shows it in a narrative way.