The Birds (2011)

The Birds is a 1963 horror film by Alfred Hitchcock, loosely based on the short story The Birds by Daphne du Maurier. The film’s innovative special effects, soundtrack, and apocalyptic theme influenced later “revenge of nature” disaster films. Unlike most other films of its era, The Birds did not have a music score or an ending in the conventional sense.

Plot Summary

Beautiful young Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren), a wealthy socialite whose father is the proprietor of a large newspaper, visits a pet shop in Union Square in San Francisco, to pick up a myna bird she has ordered for her aunt, which was to arrive at the shop by 3 PM. While she’s there, Melanie meets Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor), a lawyer who is looking for a pair of lovebirds to give to his sister. As a playful gag, Melanie pretends to be the shopkeeper and Mitch pretends to believe her, but eventually he reveals that he already knows who she is; Mitch recognizes her from a court appearance and blames Melanie for a prank that shattered somebody’s plate glass window.

Intrigued by him, she buys the lovebirds, finds out Mitch’s address in the city, and tries to deliver them to his apartment – but a neighbour tells her that Mitch spends the weekend on the family farm, 60 miles up the coast in Bodega Bay, a small coastal village. Melanie drives to Bodega Bay in her Aston Martin DB2/4 Mark I Drophead Coupe and is directed to the home of Annie Hayworth (Suzanne Pleshette), the local school teacher, to learn the name of Mitch’s sister Cathy (Veronica Cartwright). Melanie delivers the birds by sneaking across the small harbor in a tiny boat to the Brenner residence, rather than taking the road where she would definitely be seen. Melanie walks right into the house and leaves the birds on a table with a note. As Melanie is headed back across the bay, Mitch circles around in his car to meet her. Just as she is about to pull up to the dock, a seagull swoops down and gashes her head.

Mitch takes her to a small diner nearby and tends to her cut. While there, Melanie meets Mitch’s mother, Lydia (Jessica Tandy), who reacts to her icily. Melanie dines with Mitch and his family during which Lydia complains that their chickens have not been eating and fears they may be ill. Melanie and Mitch continue to flirt with each other, but as Melanie leaves they have an argument where Mitch playfully questions her and suggests that she might be a spoiled rich girl with a reckless streak. She bristles at this and departs in a huff.

Melanie takes a room at Annie’s that night and Annie reveals that she and Mitch were lovers once, a relationship that was cut short by the cool reaction she got from Lydia. As the women are talking, Mitch calls to apologize for upsetting Melanie and convinces her to come to Cathy’s birthday party the next day. Toward the end of their conversation, the women hear a thud against the front door and discover a dead gull sprawled on the porch.

Lydia and Mitch bandage Melanie’s wounds but realize she must get to a hospital. They decide on Melanie’s car, because it is faster. Mitch ventures outside to fetch the car from the garage, while Lydia and Cathy get Melanie ready. In a surreal and apocalyptic scene, a sea of landed birds ripples menacingly around them but do not attack. The car radio gives reports of several smaller attacks by birds in a few other communities in coastal California. The sea of birds parts as they slowly proceed toward the road and pick up speed. The film concludes with the sun rising as the four of them drive away from the farm, down the coast road and out of sight.

Other Information

• Theatrical Release : TBA, 2009
• Genres :  Thriller, Suspense, Horror
• Distributor : Universal Pictures
• Production Company :  Platinum Dunes,  Mandalay Pictures

Cast and Credits

• Directed by : Martin Campbell
• Producer : Michael Bay, Andrew Form, Brad Fuller, Peter Guber, Cathy Schulman
• Written by : (Short story) Daphne du Maurier, (Screenplay) Stiles White, Juliet Snowen
• Starring : Naomi Watts
• Music by : (Electronic score) Editing by  George Tomasini
• Distributed by : Universal Pictures

Links

• The Birds – Wikiquote
• The Birds at the Internet Movie Database
• The Birds at All Movie Guide
• The Birds at Rotten Tomatoes
• ‘The Birds’ Screenshot Gallery

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Tags: Martin Campbell, Michael Bay, Naomi Watts, Universal Pictures