The Birds (1963)
Nothing You Have Ever Witnessed Before Has Prepared You for Such Sheer Stabbing Shock! | |
Alfred Hitchcock | |
Alfred Hitchcock | |
Evan Hunter (screenplay) | |
Daphne du Maurier | |
Tippi Hedren Rod Taylor Jessica Tandy Suzanne Pleshette | |
Robert Burks | |
George Tomasini | |
119 minutes | |
colour (Technicolor) | |
mono (Westrex Recording System) | |
1.85:1 | |
Universal Pictures | |
DVD & Blu-ray | |
Synopsis
Spoilt socialite and notorious practical joker Melanie Daniels is shopping in a San Francisco pet store when she meets Mitch Brenner. Mitch is looking to buy a pair of love birds for his young sister's birthday; he recognises Melanie but pretends to mistake her for an assistant. She decides to get her own back by buying the birds and driving up to the quiet coastal town of Bodega Bay, where Mitch spends his weekends with his sister and mother. Shortly after she arrives, Melanie is attacked by a gull, but this is just the start of a series of attacks by an increasing number of birds.
Production
Coming soon...
Pre-Production
Screenplay
Casting
Principal Photography
Post-Production
Release & Reception
See Also...
For further relevant information about this film, see also...
- 1000 Frames of The Birds (1963)
- articles about The Birds (1963)
- awards and nominations
- books about The Birds (1963)
- complete cast and crew
- documentaries
- film scripts
- filming locations
- production documents
- quotations relating to the film
- radio adaptations
- trailers
- trivia
- web links to articles, information, reviews, etc
Blu-ray Releases
released in 2012
The Birds (1963) - Universal (Blu-ray, 2012) as part of the box set: Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection - Universal (Blu-ray, 2012) |
DVD Releases
released in 2005
The Birds (1963) - Universal (UK, 2005) PAL | |
The Birds (1963) - Universal (USA, 2005) - part of a box set NTSC 1.85:1 (anamorphic) [01:59:24] |
Image Gallery
Images from the Hitchcock Gallery (click to view larger versions or search for all relevant images)...
posters
lobby cards
other images
Film Frames
Themes
- birds ...everywhere!
- mother - the relationship between Mitch and Lydia
- taboo: nudity - Lydia is disgusted at the story of Melanie dancing naked in the fountain in Rome
- the MacGuffin - what is causing the birds to attack?
- the colour green - Melanie's green suit
- the icy blonde - Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren)
- the mirror that Mitch uses to stop the birds getting in
- the Hitchcock cameo - walking his two pet dogs out of the pet shop
Cast and Crew
Directed by:
- Alfred Hitchcock
- James H Brown - assistant director
Starring:
- Tippi Hedren - Melanie Daniels
- Rod Taylor - Mitch Brenner
- Jessica Tandy - Lydia Brenner
- Suzanne Pleshette - Annie Hayworth
- Veronica Cartwright - Cathy Brenner
- Ethel Griffies - Mrs Bundy
- Charles McGraw - Sebastian Sholes
- Ruth McDevitt - Mrs MacGruder
- Lonny Chapman - Deke Carter
- Joe Mantell - Traveling salesman
- Doodles Weaver - Fisherman
- Malcolm Atterbury - Deputy Al Malone
- John McGovern - Postal clerk
- Karl Swenson - Drunken Doomsayer in Diner
- Richard Deacon - Mitch Brenner's neighbour in the city
- Elizabeth Wilson - Helen Carter
Produced by:
Written by:
- Daphne Du Maurier - original short story ("The Birds")
- Evan Hunter
Photographed by:
Edited by:
Music by:
- Bernard Herrmann - sound consultant
Costume Design by:
Production Design by:
Hitchcock's Major Films | |
1920s | The Pleasure Garden · The Mountain Eagle · The Lodger · Downhill · Easy Virtue · The Ring · The Farmer's Wife · Champagne · The Manxman · Blackmail |
1930s | Juno and the Paycock · Murder! · The Skin Game · Rich and Strange · Number Seventeen · Waltzes from Vienna · The Man Who Knew Too Much · The 39 Steps · Secret Agent · Sabotage · Young and Innocent · The Lady Vanishes · Jamaica Inn |
1940s | Rebecca · Foreign Correspondent · Mr and Mrs Smith · Suspicion · Saboteur · Shadow of a Doubt · Lifeboat · Spellbound · Notorious · The Paradine Case · Rope · Under Capricorn |
1950s | Stage Fright · Strangers on a Train · I Confess · Dial M for Murder · Rear Window · To Catch a Thief · The Trouble with Harry · The Man Who Knew Too Much · The Wrong Man · Vertigo · North by Northwest |
1960s | Psycho · The Birds · Marnie · Torn Curtain · Topaz |
1970s | Frenzy · Family Plot |
view full filmography |