The Birds
1 Oscar Nominations·National Film Registry
Rent/Purchase
Thousands of birds flock into a seaside town and terrorize the residents in a series of deadly attacks.
What critics thought
Greeted with sharply divided reviews on release — with some critics calling it Hitchcock's worst and others ranking it among his finest — The Birds has steadily climbed in reputation over the decades until it now sits near the top of his canon. The core debate was never really about the bird attacks themselves but about whether Hitchcock subordinated human drama to spectacle, and whether the film's refusal to explain itself was a masterstroke of dread or a dramatic void.
“a sorry failure. Hard as it may be to believe of a Hitchcock, it doesn't arouse suspense, which is, of course, what justifies and transforms the sadism that lies at the heart of every thriller. Here the sadism is all too nakedly, repellently present”
Brendan Gill·The New Yorker
“Drawing from the relatively invisible literary talents of Daphne du Maurier and Evan Hunter, Alfred Hitchcock has fashioned a major work of cinematic art”
Andrew Sarris·The Village Voice
“slickly executed and fortified with his characteristic tongue-in-cheek touches”
Variety
“For all the brilliance of scenes like the attack down the chimney, one rarely has a chance to suspend disbelief”
The Monthly Film Bulletin
Genres
Drama, Horror, Mystery
Cast & Crew
DirectorAlfred Hitchcock
StarringTippi Hedren, Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Pleshette, Veronica Cartwright
The Birds
1 Oscar Nominations·National Film Registry
Thousands of birds flock into a seaside town and terrorize the residents in a series of deadly attacks.
What critics thought
Greeted with sharply divided reviews on release — with some critics calling it Hitchcock's worst and others ranking it among his finest — The Birds has steadily climbed in reputation over the decades until it now sits near the top of his canon. The core debate was never really about the bird attacks themselves but about whether Hitchcock subordinated human drama to spectacle, and whether the film's refusal to explain itself was a masterstroke of dread or a dramatic void.
“a sorry failure. Hard as it may be to believe of a Hitchcock, it doesn't arouse suspense, which is, of course, what justifies and transforms the sadism that lies at the heart of every thriller. Here the sadism is all too nakedly, repellently present”
Brendan Gill·The New Yorker
“Drawing from the relatively invisible literary talents of Daphne du Maurier and Evan Hunter, Alfred Hitchcock has fashioned a major work of cinematic art”
Andrew Sarris·The Village Voice
“slickly executed and fortified with his characteristic tongue-in-cheek touches”
Variety
“For all the brilliance of scenes like the attack down the chimney, one rarely has a chance to suspend disbelief”
The Monthly Film Bulletin
Genres
Drama, Horror, Mystery
Cast & Crew
DirectorAlfred Hitchcock
StarringTippi Hedren, Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Pleshette, Veronica Cartwright
Rent/Purchase