Birds

UPC: 025192027529

Studio: Universal Studios

MPAA Rating: PG13   Contains:[Violence, Questionable for Children]

Summary: The story begins as an innocuous romantic triangle involving wealthy, spoiled Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren), handsome Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor), and schoolteacher Annie Hayworth (Suzanne Pleshette). The human story begins in a San Francisco pet shop and culminates at the home of Mitch's mother (Jessica Tandy) at Bodega Bay, where the characters' sense of security is slowly eroded by the curious behavior of the birds in the area. At first, it's no more than a sea gull swooping down and pecking at Melanie's head. Things take a truly ugly turn when hundreds of birds converge on a children's party. There is never an explanation as to why the birds have run amok, but once the onslaught begins, there's virtually no letup. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Category: Horror

Awards: New Star of the Year - Female – null Best Visual Effects – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences New Star of the Year - Female – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Features: All About "The Birds"
Deleted scenes
Original ending
Storyboard sequence
Tippi Hendren's screen test
"The Birds Is Coming" [Universal international newsreel]
"Suspense Story: National Press Club Hears Hitchcock" [Universal International newsreel]
Production photographs
Production notes
Cast and filmmakers
Theatrical trailer
Universal web link

Birds

Format: DVD

Release Date: 03/28/2000

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Theatre Wide-Screen

Audio: 5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, 1 USA & territories, Canada

Runtime: 120 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,French

Subtitles: English

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 --
0. Chapter List
1. Main Titles [:09]
2. At the Pet Store [1:34]
3. The Love Birds [7:51]
4. Bodega Bay [8:34]
5. Meeting Mrs. Brenner [1:53]
6. The Chickens Won't Eat [6:07]
7. At Annie's House [3:21]
8. Cathy's Party [2:40]
9. Dinner [1:22]
10. Dan Fawcett's Farm [7:20]
11. The School [:30]
12. At the Restaurant [6:18]
13. The Gas Station [4:08]
14. The Phone Booth [1:14]
15. Laying Blame [:49]
16. Where's Cathy? [4:50]
17. Under Seige [1:33]
18. Upstairs [7:48]
19. Evicted [:35]
20. The Only Way Out [6:56]

Brendon Hanley

The Birds features a classic Alfred Hitchcock setup: average people placed in circumstances turned upside down. And of course, there are the requisite dark insinuations and strange psychological underpinnings. Though we're never sure why the birds are rising up, their behavior seems to be a response to humankind's complacency and arrogance. It's a frightening yet sportive vision of Judgment Day. As in Psycho, Hitchcock's previous film, the normalcy of the setting is allowed to set in before the audience is thrown into the perverse drama. When the bird violence comes, Hitchcock pulls out all the stops to make it as realistic as one could imagine. There are 371 trick shots in the film. Some have dated, but for the most part the effects are still effective. The last shots are especially memorable. And the movie features a unique soundtrack from frequent Hitchcock collaborator Bernard Herrmann: no music, only bird sounds organized as if they were music, for maximum creepy impact. The Birds stands as the end of an unprecedented period when Hitchcock could no wrong; he made only five more features, with decidedly mixed artistic and financial results. ~ Brendon Hanley, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Darlene Conley  Actor 
Dal McKennon  Actor 
Bill Quinn  Actor 
Suzanne Cupito  Actor 
Doodles Weaver  Actor 
Norman Deming  Producer 
Alfred Hitchcock  Director 
Alfred Hitchcock  Producer 
Evan Hunter  Screenwriter 
Rod Taylor  Actor 
Tippi Hedren  Actor 
Jessica Tandy  Actor 
Suzanne Pleshette  Actor 
Veronica Cartwright  Actor 
Ethel Griffies  Actor 
Charles McGraw  Actor 
Ruth McDevitt  Actor 
Joe Mantell  Actor 
Malcolm Atterbury  Actor 
Karl Swenson  Actor 
Elizabeth Wilson  Actor 
Lonny Chapman  Actor 
John McGovern  Actor 
Richard Deacon  Actor 
Doreen Lang  Actor 

Country: USA