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The Birds (The Alfred Hitchcock Collection) | 
| Actors: Malcolm Atterbury, Veronica Cartwright, Lonny Chapman, Richard Deacon, Ethel Griffies
Studio: Universal Studios
Category: Video
List Price: $9.98
Buy Used: $2.35
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Rating:  312 reviews
Sales Rank: 9060
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Original Recording Reissued, Original Recording Remastered, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: VHS Tape
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 119 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 4.5 x 1.2
ISBN: 0783235666
UPC: 096898472739
EAN: 9780783235660
ASIN: 0783235666
Theatrical Release Date: March 28, 1963
Release Date: August 3, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com essential video
Vacationing in northern California, Alfred Hitchcock was struck by a story in a Santa Cruz newspaper: "Seabird Invasion Hits Coastal Homes." From this peculiar incident, and his memory of a short story by Daphne du Maurier, the master of suspense created one of his strangest and most terrifying films. The Birds follows a chic blonde, Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren), as she travels to the coastal town of Bodega Bay to hook up with a rugged fellow (Rod Taylor) she's only just met. Before long the town is attacked by marauding birds, and Hitchcock's skill at staging action is brought to the fore. Beyond the superb effects, however, The Birds is also one of Hitchcock's most psychologically complicated scenarios, a tense study of violence, loneliness, and complacency. What really gets under your skin are not the bird skirmishes but the anxiety and the eerie quiet between attacks. The director elevated an unknown model, Tippi Hedren (mother of Melanie Griffith), to being his latest cool, blond leading lady, an experience that was not always easy on the much-pecked Ms. Hedren. Still, she returned for the next Hitchcock picture, the underrated Marnie. Treated with scant attention by serious critics in 1963, The Birds has grown into a classic and--despite the sci-fi trappings--one of Hitchcock's most serious films. --Robert Horton
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| Customer Reviews: Read 45 more reviews...
Just As Erie as I remembered November 17, 2008
Donna Dimberio (Fort Erie, Ontario Canada)
The Birds (Collector's Edition)
I saw this movie when I was just a little girl (probably about 6 years old), I probably snuck out of my room, and what a mistake that was, I was so scared! As a matter of fact, the next day when I heard the birds outside I accidentaly touched the iron and seared my thumb and finger to the iron! So I wanted to see if it was as scary now that I am 46.
Well I was not as scared, but it was still a very erie movie, and kind of strange. The special effects for that time were pretty awesome. The story dragged on more than I remember, and I would have preferred to see it in black and white as it was made, not colored in.
The eyeball part is different, at least my memory tells me the eye ball was hanging out of the guys eye, not totally pecked out and gone. Over all, it was a great Alfred Hitchcock movie and would recommend for your viewing pleasure.
 The Birds October 29, 2008
Zamboni (San Diego)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I bought this DVD for our 14 year grandson for Halloween as a scary movie but not too scary. I haven't heard yet how he likes it. However the purchasing went smoothly and we got it in the mail quickly and everything else went smoothly
An Allegory in Search of Meaning October 26, 2008
Martin Asiner (Jersey City, NJ)
When THE BIRDS was first released in 1963, audiences were terrified at the notion that birds might turn on humanity with a sudden viciouness that seemed to have a controlling intelligence behind it. Director Alfred Hitchcock wisely allows his stars (Rod Taylor and Tippi Hedren) time to get to know each other before the first bird attack. When this attack occurs, it seems almost an afterthought. It is only after a few incidents that it becomes clear that nature has altered its basic calculus. The scenes of birds attacking humans are truly upsetting, the more so since Hitchcock provides only a potential allegory as a subtext for meaning. All too often, viewers ask, "Why are the birds doing this?" Hitchcock was too smart to provide a ready made answer. The explanation for horror is no more welcome than an explanation for a joke. Instead, he uses the lovely Tippi Hedren as the locus of the film as one who not only provides a romantic interest for Taylor but as one who seems somehow inexplicably intertwined with the avian assaults on humanity. She is the one who suffers the first attack. She is the one who is physically present in every scene of such attacks. And she is the one who is accused by an hysterical woman in a diner: "You are evil!" It is nonsense, of course, to blame Hedren since logically there is no basis for the accusation. But Hitchcock is a master at pricking beneath the skin in a manner that pays no heed to logic. Instead, he subtly sets up Hedren as a straw woman so that the audience does not realize that THERE IS NO RATIONAL EXPLANATION. Rather, viewers unconsciously connect the hysterical woman's outburst to the harsh reality of pecking beaks. Further, the concluding scene of the birds' temporary passivity at dawn implies that there is a master plan at work and Hedren may be an unknowing participant. So effective is Hitchcock at focusing our attention on Hedren that we do not feel cheated at being denied a more rational explanation. Thus, THE BIRDS emerges as a thriller that proves once again that the implication of horror is often more chilling than its blunt reality.
What happens when our fowl feathered friends become...foul!!!! October 16, 2008
Stephen Pletko (London, Ontario, Canada)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
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"Seems like a pattern, doesn't it? They strike, then disappear, and then start massing again."
The above line of dialogue is from this entertaining, suspenseful, scary, and romantic movie directed by the great Alfred Hitchcock. He said, "This could be the most terrifying motion picture I have ever made!"
This movie is based on the short story "The Birds" by Daphne du Maurier.
Because of its special effects (where no computer animation was used) and apocalyptic theme, this movie influenced later "revenge of nature" films. (It was nominated for a special effects Academy Award.)
Briefly, Melanie Daniels ("Tippi" Hedren) is attracted to Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor). She decides to unexpectedly visit him at his home located in a small Pacific coastal village. In this village, she discovers three things:
(1) Mitch has a much younger sister (Veronica Cartwright) and a possessive, widowed mother (Jessica Tandy)
(2) Mitch's former lover and now the village's school teacher (Suzanne Pleshette)
(3) The gradual strange behaviour of the birds in this village.
Look for Hitchcock's cameo just after the opening credits.
What makes this movie especially suspenseful is that the viewer does not know when the birds will attack.
Those who like their movies to tell them everything as it proceeds will not like this movie. By not telling the viewer everything, Hitchcock effectively adds another dimension to his movie.
Two other things unique about this movie are:
(1) It has no background music (thus adding to the suspense)
(2) It has no conventional ending (thus giving the impression that the events portrayed in the film are just the beginning...)
Finally, the DVD (the one released in 2000) is perfect in picture and sound quality. It has thirteen extras, many of which are brief but interesting.
In conclusion, don't be a birdbrain!! Be sure to see this classic movie directed by "The Master of Suspense!!!"
(1963; 2 hr; wide screen; 20 scenes; colour)
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Scary -- but I'm still wondering what it was about! September 23, 2008
J. Arena (Williamsburg, VA)
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
First, let me say that Hitchcock's film, The Birds, was hailed as a brilliant film when it was first released, and it still is thought of as a masterpiece today.
Hitchcock must have taken great pleasure in starting out with what seemed to be a light romantic film with amusing conflict among women for what seems to be a perfect man. But audiences are watching and waiting, knowing -- even from the title -- that there is something else much darker to come.
To say that the tension builds slowly is an understatement, and the entire film is so understated in the building of tension that it is almost unbearable. Witness the scene outside the school, as Melanie waits for Cathy. Deep in thought, she smokes a cigarette as birds begin to land on the bars behind her. When she notices, finally, the fluttering of a bird, we see from her viewpoint that she suddenly notices all the birds that have assembled there. It's a sudden pivotal moment of awareness of birds as a source of fear.
Birds is an excellent film. Just enjoy the ride.
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