Following classics like Shadow of a Doubt, Rear Window, North by Northwest, Vertigo and Psycho, among others, it was anyone’s guess what director Alfred Hitchcock, the “Master of Macabre,” would do next. Of course, it was The Birds, the tale of a series of unexplained violent bird attacks on the people of the small town of Bodega Bay, California. Six decades later, it still resonates.
In honor of its 60th anniversary (technically The Birds opened in theaters on March 28, 1963), entertainment content provider Fathom Events offered a special two-day screening across the country on Sunday, October 22 and Monday, October 23, respectively.
This was not the first time I have attended a classic film screening in a theater courtesy of Fathom. My roster, to-date, includes the Gregory Peck/Audrey Hepburn romantic classic Roman Holiday, the sweeping epic Gone With the Wind, Judy Garland musical Meet Me in St. Louis, and the six-time Oscar-winning drama All About Eve, starring Bette Davis and Anne Baxter. I admire Fathom for remembering, and honoring, these films from yesteryear when the past in cinema (or in any art form) is not necessarily recognized anymore.
Given my personal penchant for Alfred Hitchcock’s brand of storytelling, chances are I have already seen The Birds at least one dozen times. From that inaugural experience as a young child, terrified beyond belief, to sitting at the Farmingdale Cinema du Luxe in New York among other fans courtesy of Fathom Events, this movie still held my attention from start to finish. Of course, what initially horrified me as a child has mellowed considerably over the years. There were even a few nervous chuckles in the theater as Tippi Hedren, in her first film role, is attacked by the birds flocking upstairs. No! No! No!
Yet, 60 years later, I still wonder…what caused our feathered friends to run amok? At the start of The Birds, Alfred Hitchcock eases into the terror that ensues by developing the characters. Loosely based on a Daphne du Maurier short story, the action follows spoiled socialite Melanie Daniels (Hedren) as she romantically pursues the single San Francisco lawyer Mitch Brenner (Taylor). Tension soon develops among Melanie, schoolteacher Annie Hayworth, Mitch’s former flame (Suzanne Pleshette), and Mitch’s domineering mother (Jessica Tandy). Without any warning the birds start attacking.
At the film’s end, and following the attack on Hedren’s Melanie, there was no explanation as the family simply drives away.
At the time, critics applauded the special effects in The Birds. Today, of course, they look basic and unconvincing. But this classic shocker is still unnerving. It’s laced with shots that lead you, even now, to be wary of any group of birds gathering. And, celebrating 60 years, the inexplicable nature of the attacks in The Birds is still terrifying.
As always, I will remain abreast upcoming events courtesy of Fathom, which offers an array of both classic and more modern movies worth revisiting. In an era where the past is often ignored by the new generations, I applaud and I thank Fathom Events for their efforts.
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