The Birds is a :
Horror 119 min - Horror | Thriller
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Writers: Daphne Du Daphne Du Maurier (story), Evan Hunter (screenplay)
Stars:Rod Taylor Rod Taylor, Tippi Hedren Rod Taylor, Tippi Hedren and Suzanne Pleshette
The film is set in Bodega Bay, this is where the external threat of birds comes and sends the town into ciaos. The fast pacing action of the birds attacking the town shows that this film is a thriller, for example when Mitch's family are having tea and then the birds start coming through the chimney. In this scene we are able to see how fast Alfred Hitchcock was able to build tense, as one moment they are having tea then suddenly one bird comes through the chimney then a flock follows causing the fast pacing action :
The thriller convention is that there is a resourceful hero, is this true of "The Birds"? well considering that there is no actual villain in the film to drive the plot, and that there is only the threat of birds, its hard to say whether there is a hero or not, as these are just normal people trying to escape the birds. We see that Mitch is resourceful in the film however he doesn't over come the birds. As Hitchcock ends the film with them only leaving the house, it doesn't answer the question whether they over come the threat or not. But this is what Alfred Hitchcock wanted to do, he wanted to leave the impression of an never ending terror of birds in the audiences heads.
Through out this film we see the use of suspense, and it is used extensively. For Example, when Melanie was outside the school waiting for Mitch's little sister. Without Melanie knowing, there is a growing threat of birds build up behind her. It takes over 3 minutes for the crows to attack, which is longer than a normal suspense building scene which would probably be around a minute or less. The affect that this has on the audience is one where the audience knows something that the character does not, this makes the audience worry for the character and lets them hang in suspense. We also see in this scene the use of a contrast of music, this is that of the innocent children singing there song and the squawking of the crows and the threat that they pose. As well as this, in the whole film the only piece of music in the film is the part where the children are singing.
It is common of the Alfred Hitchcock films for him to use a MacGuffin, in this case the irrelevant thing that drives the film is the relationship between Mitch and Melanie, most of the audience couldn't really care if they get together or not they just want to know if they can escape the birds. In the film the representation of different groups has been clearly shown. It is seen that the men are the people who protect and it is the woman that need protecting, as we see in Mitch's family. The mother herself shows how much she relies on the men in her life as since she lost her husband she is left to rely on her own son. We see this in the seen where they are attack by birds in the the house, we see that Mitch takes control of the situation, and tries to fight off the threat of birds. We even see the mother shout at her son Mitch and say how the father should be here and that if he was this situation would be more under control. As for the younger people in the film we see that they depend on the adults in the film, by Hitchcock doing this he is mirroring the real world.
The thriller convention is that there is a resourceful hero, is this true of "The Birds"? well considering that there is no actual villain in the film to drive the plot, and that there is only the threat of birds, its hard to say whether there is a hero or not, as these are just normal people trying to escape the birds. We see that Mitch is resourceful in the film however he doesn't over come the birds. As Hitchcock ends the film with them only leaving the house, it doesn't answer the question whether they over come the threat or not. But this is what Alfred Hitchcock wanted to do, he wanted to leave the impression of an never ending terror of birds in the audiences heads.
Through out this film we see the use of suspense, and it is used extensively. For Example, when Melanie was outside the school waiting for Mitch's little sister. Without Melanie knowing, there is a growing threat of birds build up behind her. It takes over 3 minutes for the crows to attack, which is longer than a normal suspense building scene which would probably be around a minute or less. The affect that this has on the audience is one where the audience knows something that the character does not, this makes the audience worry for the character and lets them hang in suspense. We also see in this scene the use of a contrast of music, this is that of the innocent children singing there song and the squawking of the crows and the threat that they pose. As well as this, in the whole film the only piece of music in the film is the part where the children are singing.
It is common of the Alfred Hitchcock films for him to use a MacGuffin, in this case the irrelevant thing that drives the film is the relationship between Mitch and Melanie, most of the audience couldn't really care if they get together or not they just want to know if they can escape the birds. In the film the representation of different groups has been clearly shown. It is seen that the men are the people who protect and it is the woman that need protecting, as we see in Mitch's family. The mother herself shows how much she relies on the men in her life as since she lost her husband she is left to rely on her own son. We see this in the seen where they are attack by birds in the the house, we see that Mitch takes control of the situation, and tries to fight off the threat of birds. We even see the mother shout at her son Mitch and say how the father should be here and that if he was this situation would be more under control. As for the younger people in the film we see that they depend on the adults in the film, by Hitchcock doing this he is mirroring the real world.
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