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The Birds (1963)
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Overview
User Rating:
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Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
28 March 1963 (USA)
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Tagline:
Suspense and shock beyond anything you have seen or imagined! more
Plot:
A wealthy San Francisco playgirl pursues a potential boyfriend to a small Northern California town that slowly takes a turn for the bizarre when birds of all kinds suddenly begin to attack people there in increasing numbers and with increasing viciousness. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Bird
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California
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Phone Booth
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Bird Attack
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Socialite
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Awards:
Nominated for Oscar.
Another 2 wins
&
3 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(87 articles)
Interviews: Christmas Stars Shine With Mickey Rooney, Ernest Borgnine, Tippi Hedren, Larry Hagman
(From HollywoodChicago.com. 24 December 2009, 6:10 AM, PST)
6 New Clips from Inglourious Basterds DVD & Blu-Ray
(From Fangoria. 10 December 2009, 8:40 PM, PST)
(From HollywoodChicago.com. 24 December 2009, 6:10 AM, PST)
6 New Clips from Inglourious Basterds DVD & Blu-Ray
(From Fangoria. 10 December 2009, 8:40 PM, PST)
User Reviews:
A highly innovative horror
more (340 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Rod Taylor | ... | Mitch Brenner | |
| Jessica Tandy | ... | Lydia Brenner | |
| Suzanne Pleshette | ... | Annie Hayworth | |
| Tippi Hedren | ... | Melanie Daniels (as 'Tippi' Hedren) | |
| Veronica Cartwright | ... | Cathy Brenner | |
| Ethel Griffies | ... | Mrs. Bundy, elderly ornithologist | |
| Charles McGraw | ... | Sebastian Sholes, fisherman in diner | |
| Ruth McDevitt | ... | Mrs. MacGruder, pet store clerk | |
| Lonny Chapman | ... | Deke Carter, cook in diner | |
| Joe Mantell | ... | Traveling salesman at diner's bar | |
| Doodles Weaver | ... | Fisherman helping with rental boat | |
| Malcolm Atterbury | ... | Deputy Al Malone | |
| John McGovern | ... | Postal clerk | |
| Karl Swenson | ... | Doomsayer in diner | |
| Richard Deacon | ... | Mitch's city neighbor |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (UK) (complete title)
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Parents Guide:
Runtime:
119 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Westrex Recording System)
Certification:
Australia:M (TV rating) |
Finland:K-16 (cut) (1963) |
UK:15 (1987) |
UK:X (1963) |
Canada:13+ (Quebec) |
Canada:PG (Manitoba) |
Spain:T |
Portugal:M/12 |
Finland:K-15 (uncut) (2002) (DVD) |
South Korea:15 |
Brazil:14 |
Argentina:13 |
Australia:PG |
Chile:14 |
France:-12 |
Netherlands:12 |
Norway:16 (1976) |
Norway:18 |
Peru:14 |
Sweden:15 |
USA:Approved (certificate #20385) (original rating) |
USA:PG-13 (new rating) (1984) |
West Germany:16 |
Singapore:PG |
Iceland:16
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The film does not finish with the usual "THE END" title because Alfred Hitchcock wanted to give the impression of unending terror.
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Goofs:
Continuity: When Melanie arrives for dinner with Mitch and his family, the driver's seat of her car is clearly set further back than the rest of the front seats. When she leaves, she gets into the car and we see the driver's seat is now perfectly aligned with the rest of the seats.
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Quotes:
[first lines]
Melanie Daniels: Hello there, Mrs. MacGruder.
Mrs. MacGruder, pet store clerk: Oh, hello, Miss Daniels.
Melanie Daniels: Have you ever seen so many gulls? What do you suppose it is?
Mrs. MacGruder, pet store clerk: Well, there must be a storm at sea, that can drive them inland, you know. I was hoping you'd be a little late because he hadn't arrived yet.
Melanie Daniels: Oh, but you'd said three o'clock...
Mrs. MacGruder, pet store clerk: Oh I know, I know. I've been calling all morning. Oh, Miss Daniels you have no idea. They are so difficult to get, really they are. We have to get them from India, when they're just baby chicks, and then we have...
Melanie Daniels: But this one won't be a chick, will he?
Mrs. MacGruder, pet store clerk: Certainly not. Oh no, certainly not. This will be a full grown mynah bird, full grown.
Melanie Daniels: And he'll talk?
[...]
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Melanie Daniels: Hello there, Mrs. MacGruder.
Mrs. MacGruder, pet store clerk: Oh, hello, Miss Daniels.
Melanie Daniels: Have you ever seen so many gulls? What do you suppose it is?
Mrs. MacGruder, pet store clerk: Well, there must be a storm at sea, that can drive them inland, you know. I was hoping you'd be a little late because he hadn't arrived yet.
Melanie Daniels: Oh, but you'd said three o'clock...
Mrs. MacGruder, pet store clerk: Oh I know, I know. I've been calling all morning. Oh, Miss Daniels you have no idea. They are so difficult to get, really they are. We have to get them from India, when they're just baby chicks, and then we have...
Melanie Daniels: But this one won't be a chick, will he?
Mrs. MacGruder, pet store clerk: Certainly not. Oh no, certainly not. This will be a full grown mynah bird, full grown.
Melanie Daniels: And he'll talk?
[...]
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Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Masters of Horror: John Carpenter's Cigarette Burns (#1.8)" (2005)
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Soundtrack:
Arabesque nr. 1
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FAQ
Why did Melanie take the lovebirds to the Brenners?Where is Bodega Bay located?
How does Mitch know that Melanie is not the storekeeper at the bird shop?
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more (340 total)
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Imagine Hitchcock trying to sell this idea to the film studios: the lives of a mundane country family are shattered when vicious rooks attack. Why? No particular reason. And what then? They fly away. and then? They come back again and attack. And then go and then . .. It seems like an impossible plot to pull off, but Hitchcock does it, slowly building up the tension which spasmodically swells and subsides. Younger viewers may get irritated with the slow stealth of the opening scenes and may want to thrash the T.V. when the film comes to its beautifully droll conclusion, but form once those birds start attacking, every viewer is riveted. It was fine Hitchcockian innovation that took this very slim, cock-a-mamy story and turned in to a tense thriller. But the greatest innovation is the film score - there isn't any. No director is more closely identified with the music of their films, but in Birds, Hitchcock created a horror that is uniquely quiet. The great man appreciated something that so few others do - the atmospheric potency of silence, and how, in different settings, silences can differ in character. Yet so many who watch the film seem to forget that the music isn't there. That's the film's greatest attribute.