The Birds (1963)
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A mysterious and violent wave of bird attacks strikes the residents of Bodega Bay, California.
The story
In a San Francisco pet store, socialite Melanie Daniels meets lawyer Mitch Brenner, who is looking for lovebirds for his sister's birthday. After a brief interaction, Melanie travels to Bodega Bay to deliver the birds to Mitch's family farm. Upon her arrival, she encounters a local teacher, Annie Hayworth, and meets Mitch's overbearing mother, Lydia. The atmosphere of the coastal community begins to shift as the first signs of a bizarre and violent phenomenon emerge: a series of unexplained bird attacks begin to plague the residents of the town, creating a sense of growing dread and uncertainty.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After Melanie delivers the lovebirds to the Brenner farm, she is attacked by a gull and later witnesses a series of escalating avian assaults. During a birthday party for Mitch's sister, children are injured by gulls, and sparrows swarm the house. The following day, Lydia finds a neighbor's body pecked by birds. As the attacks intensify, Melanie is caught in a swarm of crows at a school and later survives a gas station explosion caused by a fire. After a frantic search, Mitch and Melanie find Annie's body outside her home. They take the traumatized child, Cathy, to the farm, where they barricade themselves inside. The house is besieged by birds, and Melanie is severely wounded. As they attempt to flee in a car, a massive swarm of birds surrounds the house. The film ends with the trio driving away as the birds watch.
- First release year
- 1963
- Runtime (minutes)
- 119
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Alfred Hitchcock
- Writers
- Evan Hunter · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Rod Taylor; Jessica Tandy; Suzanne Pleshette; Tippi Hedren
- Genres
- natural horror; thriller
- Themes
- love and violence; nature's retribution
- Tone and mood
- suspenseful; terrifying
- Premise and plot tags
- nature horror; siege; suspense
- Source material / true-story basis
- The Birds (1952 short story) by Daphne du Maurier
- Reception
- Initially received mixed reviews, its reputation improved over time, and it is now considered one of the greatest horror films of all time.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 95% · scale: percentage · review count: 73; Metacritic · score: 90 · scale: 100 · review count: 15
- Awards and nominations
- Golden Globe Award · New Star of the Year – Actress · win; Academy Award · Best Special Effects · nomination; Photoplay Award · Most Promising Newcomer · win; Association's Director Award · Director Award · win; Horror Hall of Fame Award · Hall of Fame · 1991 · win
- Production trivia
- The film was inspired by a real-life mass bird attack in Capitola, California, in 1961.; The majority of the birds seen in the film are real.; The film was the most-watched film on television to that time in 1968.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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