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The Birds

The Birds

List Price: $19.98
Your Price: $14.99
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Birds is exalent
Review: Hitchcock's thired best film.I really love this film.Hitchcock made a good choice.I read the book and I got scared.The film is nothing more than tearafing.My two local movie thiters are showing Hitchcock films.I went to se The Birds last Saterday and all my pop-corn was on the floor and my soda I spilled all over the place.I was sitting at the top row.I have seen the movie more than 4 times and it gets beter every time.Tippi Hedren makes a stunning performance and she is absalutly betufill.Hitchcock's camio is easy to find.He is walking out of the pet store just before Hedren enters.For a Hitchcock fan this is a higly recamended movie.On a scale of 1 to 10 The Birds gets a 10.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: No Rhyme, Nor Reason...
Review: Hitchcock excelled at the unexpected. He was the master of the ultra impossible, unreasonable situation foisted upon the innocent bystander, and nothing is more unreasonable than formally unimportant, benign creatures like birds turning into death-dealing little critters in a berserk rampage upon a small coastal hamlet by the pacific sea. Hitchcock throws his townspeople and the principle characters into chaos. No logical sense in the bird attacks, they come, kill, and then go. My best suggestion is for the viewer to watch The Birds with no preconcieved ideas about literary structure, or symbolism. The Birds demonstrate that human reason and logic can't explain everything, and that fear is deadliest when we can't explain it amongst ourselves.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A Masterful Miss?
Review: When I first saw THE BIRDS as a youngster I thoroughly enjoyed it as Master of Suspense Hitchcock's premier entry as a superbly classy "creature feature". The special effects were excellent and Rod Taylor's role as H.G. Wells in "The Time Machine" had catapulted him to stardom as an equally classy action hero. However, perhaps like myself, I do not believe the film has "aged" as well as it might have and certainly not as well as many of Hitchcock's justly reputed suspense thrillers. The reasons? There is little suspense! Virtually all the attacks by the birds...and the death of one of the principal characters...are telegraphed to the max. The effects and art direction are still fine but the main problem, I believe, is the manifest vacuity displayed by non-actress Tippi Hedren. The lady is pretty enough granted. But she nevers stirs my emotions as a potentially endangered member of the female species, nor am I convinced that she particularly attracted our hero, Rod Taylor. I find little "chemistry" in evidence between them and this affects the whole film by reducing its "sense of menace". It's not that Miss Tippi isn't threatened by "The Birds", it's just that I'm never convinced that Rod won't just bid her adios after they get back to 'Frisco. Also they way she traipses around the sand dunes of Bodega beach in high heals, a luxurious fir and perfectly coifed hair struck me as inane. This bland blonde got her chance again in MARNIE when Sean Connery had begun to dazzle us as 007. Even "Bond" couldn't bedazzle a real rise out of Hedren who by this time Mr. Hitchcock must have realized was no Janet Leigh, Grace Kelly or Kim Novak. Is THE BIRDS a good movie? It's okay...not great by any means and cerainly not one of The Master's greater achievements. A masterful miss...and much of the "miss" has the initials Tippi Hedron...that keep the film from being the cinematic "eagle" of suspense it may have been.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: This Is Why I Hate Animals!
Review: Just the very thought of a group of birds attacking people as run for safety can send chills down your back. Now imagine that going on for two hours! What you get is Hitchcock's classic film. Everything just seems to be perfect about this film expect for a few things. First of all the story starts off slow. It doesn't have that mysterious feel to it as other Hitchcock films have("Rear Window","Psycho","Shadow Of A Doubt"). The other problem I have is,it's never explained why the birds attacked in the first place. But then again this is an Alfred Hitchcock film. I refer to him as "the thinking person's film making". His films don't offer the "happily ever after" feel. They make you think about what you've seen. You start to try to get into the mind of the characters or in this case the birds. Why are they(the birds) doing this? That's the only question you want answered. And do you ever get it? No. You have to come to a conclusion yourself. I think the birds did it because people ignored nature and it's animals. Finally they came to take their revenge(Just think about "Animal Farm" in a sense)! But there are redeeming moments in this film. For one Tippi Hedren gives a wonderful performance. Hitchcock as always displays his talents. And the effects(which got nominated for oscar's) are visually stunning! Here's a wonderful movie by the master of suspense. And this one proves he deserves that title just as well as any of his other films.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: THE BLONDE AND THE CROW
Review: You can't be wrong with this DVD. It's the perfect gift to offer to your mother-in-law or, if you're the selfish movie lover I'm sure you are, it will soon become one of your favorite DVD. Extra-features, for once, are very instructive AND interesting. The copy is quite perfect : I had the feeling to rediscover a brand new movie after so many bad copies seen in local theatres or during the late-late TV shows (did you notice that, nowadays, if you want to see a good movie on TV, you have to wait for the end of night ?).

I know that Hitchcock's aficionados prefer the movies shot in the 50's by the Master or, for those who want to show their culture, the British period BUT exclusively before 1930. So I admit that I have a pretty bad taste because I love THE BIRDS ; I can see this movie once a year and never be tired of it.

I admire Tippi Hedren, I admire the way Alfred Hitchcock has photographed Tippi Hedren, I admire Tippi Hedren's classy incarnation of a high society child. Besides, the couple Hedren-Taylor works perfectly and you never have the feeling that they are nothing more than a pale copy of, let's say, Grace Kelly and Cary Grant.

Jessica Tandy is the usual possessive mother with the murderous sparkle in her left eye and Suzanne Pleshette has a great second role. And you have this subtle British humor during the scene involving the two lovebirds in Tippi Hedren's car. Remember ? No ? So buy the DVD !

A DVD for your library.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Chilling Premise, Engaging Story, Satisfying Ending
Review: Alfred Hitchcock again rolls out his latest arsenal of special effects. Add the beauty of his new star Tippy Hedren and the expected (and delivered) engaging story line, and you have "The Birds". My one unsolved puzzle with this film is the question =why in the world does Tippy Hedren want to go up to that attic? = Other than that this film has Hitchcock's usual flair. If you haven't seen it yet, start with the wide screen version or DVD! You'll want to see this one again and again!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: My favorite Hitchcock film
Review: THE BIRDS has always been my favorite Hitch film. All the wonderful traits we've come to love and expect in a Hitchcock film are here: suspense, moments of terror, and counter-balancing those, needed moments of humor. The plot has been outlined many times already in other reviews, so I'll skip that. What I do need to point out concerning this Collector's Edition DVD version is the outstanding "extras" that come with. Included is the telling of Hitchcock's original ending, an example of Hitch's story-boarding a scene, Tippi Hedren's screen test, and the inclusion (via photos and commentary) of a deleted scene.

The highlight of the entire DVD however, is the most superb "Behind the Scenes" documentary of the making of this film that I've yet seen on a DVD release. Almost everything you want to know about the making of this film, including how all the bird attacks/tricks were done, comes from interviews with Rod Taylor, Tippi Hedren, Veronica Cartright, Patricia Hitchcock (Hitch's daughter) and many others. Simply a fantastic documentary. Even if you might not consider purchasing the DVD because you don't really care for the movie, the documentary alone makes it worth the price. Never before have I learned so much about the making of a movie, and in particular, one of Hitchcock's. Not to be missed.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: One of Alfred Hitchock's Best
Review: Next to "Trouble With Harry" and "Psycho" this is his best. Freaky and suspenseful. The sequel to it is horrible. Don't you EVEN think about it renting it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: "I think you're evil...EVIIIILLLLL!!!
Review: Okay, so it's a bit dated, the acting is shabby in places, the main characters aren't real sympathetic, and the ending leaves you hanging - this is still one of Hitchcock's funnest scare-fests! I've seen it dozens of times, know all the dialogue, and still laugh out loud at some of the lame line-readings. But you really have to marvel at the special effects and some of the great camera-work! Those bird attacks are masterful and look so real! Suzanne Pleashette gives the best understated performance as the woman scorned, as does Jessica Tandy as the neurotic "mother hen". Lots of subtle symbolism, and there are some classic throw-away lines in the diner scene - the waitress ordering "Two Southern fried chickens" followed by "Two Bloody Marys" always makes me chuckle. I've actually had two very bizarre encounters with seagulls myself recently - one pecking at my office window, and another attempting to snatch food out of my hand - so I think Hitchcock may have been on to something! Good fun and always suspenseful entertainment.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Another of HItchcock's classics
Review: The Birds written by Daphne De Maurier is an excellent story concerning a flock of gulls who come to Land's End to prey on the innocent. Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) comes to see her rugged boyfriend Rod Taylor in the village for a romantic weekend. Eerie effective thriller with great shocking scenes such as the schoolyard event when a flock of birds nest on a wire waiting for attack. This film will never cease in its power to terrify. The ending is even more shocking as the birds lie nesting on the roof of the house showing their dominated side while the family escape their vicious clutches. The mystery is one of the most remarkable aspects of this horror film. Followed by an appaling sequel, Birds 2:Land's End.


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