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The Birds | Year: 1963 Classification: Horror Directed: - Alfred Hitchcock Actors/Actresses: - Tippi Hedren - Rod Taylor Another Outstanding DVD release from Universal! Forget the fact The Birds has never looked better on a television screen, presented here in widescreen format, with surround sound, and in a luminous, digitally remastered transfer. Forget about the fact that this DVD edition contains an original, outstanding documentary, "The Birds is Coming." If you are a fan of Hitchcock, this DVD is worth seeing for the screen tests alone, which are among the most valuable extras a studio can include on a DVD (let's face it, most audio commentaries are mediocre and vastly inferior to what can be found in print). If there was ever any question regarding the ambivalence of Hitchcock's relationships with his leading ladies, one need only watch these absorbing, yet profoundly disturbing screen tests, in which Hitchcock, in a stern and chilling tone, orders Tippi Hedren to try on various dresses and poses. As with Kim Novak in Vertigo, one senses a certain desparation in Hitch's direction of Hedren, in both this film and in Marnie. Tippi Hedren is no Grace Kelly, just as Grace Kelly was no Ingrid Bergman or Madeleine Carroll. Nonetheless, this is an outstanding picture and a highly recommended DVD special edition. When Animals Attack THE BIRDS, is another classic from "The Master Of Suspense", director Alfred Hitchcock....In pursuit of an eligible bachelor, Melanie Daniels ("Tippi" Hedren) makes her way to Bodega Bay. You see, she has learned that Mitch Brenner, (Rod Taylor) lives there. After a chance encounter on the mainland, she decides to find him so that they can get to know one another better. However, upon her arrival to the town by the sea, she is attacked by a seagull for no reason. At first, the town's citizens dismiss her story, but as more and more folks are attacked, the community is put under seige from thousands of birds. The film is loosely based upon a short story by Daphne Du Maurier. While the film may not have the perfect setup, the middle and end of the movie, are quite memorable. Sure, the F/X are not as good by today's standards, but the underlying fear created in the film still remains pretty much intact. The attack scene that stands out for is the one that involves a vehicle, leaking gas, a live wire, and of course an attacking flock of birds. Hitchcock staged the scene with great timing and top notch film editing in mind. The supporting cast is memorable as well. It includes Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Pleshette, and a very young Veronica Cartwright (from Ridley Scott's 1979 film ALIEN) as Cathy. The "Collector's Edition DVD has some great extras on it. There is an outstanding retrospectuive documentary with cast/crew interviews. This feature runs for over an hour and will give you complete insight into how the film was made. There is also a wealth of archival footage from the film's initial theatrical release. While it's no PSYCHO, THE BIRDS ranks up there as another classic from Hitchcock. So with great extras, this disc is highly recommended, both for fans of Hitchcock and the film Beware THE BIRDS!!! The Birds is one of my favorite Alfred Hitchcock films. Perhaps that has a lot to do with the beautiful Tippi Hedren, who shines in everything she does. The gorgeous scenery, adorable costumes, and lavish colors also add to the surreal atmosphere, which quickly gets disrupted by a flock of killer birds. Like many firsts Hitchcock introduced with his films, this is the first "nature run amock" film, just like Psycho was the first "slasher" film. This Psycho follow-up was yet another ground-breaking addition to the horror genre and further revealed the master director's darker obsessions.<BR><BR>Like Hitchcock's fabulous Rebecca and mediocre Jamaica Inn, this is based on a story by the extremely talented Daphne Du Maurier, but Hitchcock was left with the task of fleshing out the short story into a feature film. He did one hell of a job. Hitchcock and screenwriter Evan Hunter borrowed only the title and basic conceit of Daphne du Maurier's 1952 short story, "The Birds." Du Maurier's tale, conventional and utterly humorless, is a Cold War parable that uses the unexplained bird attacks as an apocalyptic metaphor for nature thrown out of balance by technology and warfare. It's told from the perspective of Nat Hocken, a disabled war veteran and farmhand living in a cottage with his family in the British Isles. The film version is set in Bodega Bay and follows bored, spoiled socialite Melanie Daniels (Hedren) as she romantically pursues dashing lawyer Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor). Tension soon develops among Melanie, schoolteacher Annie Hayworth, Mitch's former flame (Suzanne Pleshette), and Mitch's domineering mother (Jessica Tandy). The emotional interplay is interrupted (and reflected) by the sudden and unexplained attack of thousands of birds on the area.<BR><BR>Hailed as one of Hitchcock's masterpieces by some and despised by others, THE BIRDS is certainly among the director's more complex and fascinating works. Volumes have been written about the film, with each writer picking it apart scene by scene in order to prove his or her particular critical theory--mostly of the psychoanalytic variety. Be that as it may, even those who grow impatient with the slow build-up or occasional dramatic lapses cannot deny the terrifying power of many of the film's haunting images: the bird point-of-view shot of Bodega Bay, the birds slowly gathering on the playground monkey bars, the attack on the children's birthday party, Melanie trapped in the attic, and the final ambiguous shot of the defeated humans leaving Bodega Bay while the thousands of triumphant birds gathered on the ground watch them go. <BR><BR>Eerie, scary, and suspenseful, this is a great film and classic Hitchcock, which highlights his genius. There is no sound track to cue the audience in as to when to be scared. And what other filmmaker could take the simple sound of wings fluttering in a house and turn it into the sheer sound of terror? Buy The Birds at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  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