Last week we looked at the more recent classic A Nightmare on Elm Street. This week, however, we’ll be heading back a few decades and looking at the 1963 film The Birds, directed by world-famous producer Alfred Hitchcock. This movie stars Tippi Hedren and Rod Taylor as Melanie Daniels and Mitch Brenner, strangers who meet each other in the small to
wn of Bodega Bay. As they get to know each other, they discover a strange and ominous new problem– the birds in the town are beginning to act strange, and soon transform into a terrifying threat to the lives of the townsfolk.
The Birds was partially inspired by Daphne du Maurier’s book The Apple Tree, a collection of short stories published in 1952. Within the collection is a story titled The Birds, which describes a seaside town suddenly being attacked by masses of crazed birds, who eventually spread to attack the entirety of Britain. However, Hitchcock was also influenced by real-life events; in 1961, residents of Capitola, California were besieged by gulls that not only attacked humans but also threw themselves into buildings. Eventually, it was determined that the gulls had been infected by a neurotoxin (domoic acid) via consumption of specific types of algae, which then resulted in their spastic actions. This recent event only increased the fear caused by The Birds, as it led more credence to the story’s otherwise fantastical plot.
Though it doesn’t hold up to today’s standards, the sheer effort put into the special effects of The Birds must be commended. In order to ensure the safety of the actors, the attacking birds and the reactions were filmed separately and then the two reels were combined via matte work. Technician Ub Iwerks and editor George Tomasini worked together, using the sodium vapor process to edit scenes together; in this technique, an actor acts in front of a white screen lit by sodium vapor lights, and is 
then compiled into another film reel. (I encourage you to read more about this technique if you’re interested– it was also used in the original Mary Poppins!) Though the editing isn’t always perfect, the directors were committed to using actual birds, and almost every scene in the film features real gulls or crows. The Birds also uses different filmmaking techniques– slow pacing and long, ominous silences– to build suspense throughout each scene.
(trigger warning!) It is important while watching this movie to recognize the scandal surrounding it, particularly when it comes to acknowledging the actions of director Alfred Hitchcock throughout its creation. Lead actress Tippi Hedren described experiencing sexual harassment and assault repeatedly at the hands of the director during the creation of the movie. Along with this, one of the final scenes (in which Daniels is attacked in her bedroom by a sudden swarm of birds) was made in extremely dangerous conditions; despite promising to use mechanical birds in the scene, Hitchcock surprised Hedren with live birds, which were hurled at her and even tied to her during the multiple days required to film. Towards the end of this period, she was badly injured when a bird pecked a hole in her eyelid, and she suffered a nervous breakdown and was forced to take a week off to recover. This movie may be considered a classic in the genre, but the specifics of its creation were deplorable, and Hedren’s experiences cannot be overlooked while critiquing the film.
In summary, I would rank The Birds as a solid 6/10– it’s quite entertaining at times, but not nearly as frightening as it was at the time of its creation, due to the evolution of practical effects since the 60s. Despite this, the Hitchcock film certainly remains famous (if controversial), and remains a popular example of early horror movies! I would definitely recommend if you’re not a fan of particularly spooky movies.