By Lane Van Ham
S:aff Reporter
Hey, a big haunted hi-de-ho to
all of you! It’s the Old Flick Fiend
(,nce again with another selection
from the Video Vault.
“I'm excited about this one - my
talons are sweaty with anticipa
tion. After the birdbrain who writes
this column crows about it for a
while, I hope you all leave your nest
and rent it. Just remember to dress
for the occasion; you'll be in for
nasty feather!"
1 w ant to make up for last week’s
movie by presenting something
that’s actually very worthwhile,
\lfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds.”
The Birds” was made in 1963 and
was Hitchcock’s first work since
Psycho” in I960.
1 he story centers around
Melanie Daniels (Tippi Iledren), a
wealthy young woman from San
Francisco who has become at
tracted to lawyer Mitch Brenner
(Rod Taylor). She tracks down
Brenner in a small California town
and finds him living with his young
Mster and possessive mother,
I ydia. It’s an interesting cast, when
you throw in a local schoolteacher
who used to love Brenner, and it
looks like an intense and engaging
romance is underway.
But gradually all hell breaks
loose. We are presented, at various
times, w ith the ominous symbol of
birds, a gull attacks Melanie, Mitch
observes a large group of them
outside his house, and one flies
into the schoolteacher’s house
door (where .Melanie, coinciden
tally, is living). Eventually this
leads to an all out bird attack on the
children at a birthday party for
Mitch’s sister. Everyone flees inside
the house, but in an amazing
scene, dozens of birds invade the
house by coming down the chim
ney.
inis sounds a mile aosuro, or
even funny. But with the exception
of a couple of instances, it’s done
remarkably well and is even fright
ening at times. But “The Birds”
transcends the basic man vs. invad
ers theme for a number of reasons.
First of all, it’s evident that the birds
are not just there to provide a
cheap thrill for the audience. No
explanation for their attacks is ever
given, nor is one needed.
Essentially, the attacks them
selves are not important. What is
important is what they represent.
The birds, I think, can be seen as
anything unknown, anything out
of the ordinary, that intrudes on
our existence. Donald Spoto, in
“The Art of Alfred Hitchcock”
writes that the film displays Hitch
cock’s view of “the universe as a
place in which we must always be
on guard against imminent disas
ter.”
Flow we interpret these intru
sions is portrayed in a fantastic
microcosmic scene when the cus
tomers in a town restaurant turn ■
their discussion to the recent inva- i
si on. One man says it’s the end of i
the world. A bird-lover treats it <
scientifically and says it's impos- ;
silde to fight them Meanwhile, one ;
guy argues we should go out and
shoot all of them When the birds ;
attack the town, one woman even
accuses Melanie of being a witch.
The action eventually switches
to Mitch’s house, where he, his
mother, and Melanie have turned it
into a boarded-window fortress
against the invaders. At night,
Melanie inexplicably goes upstairs
to explore a room and finds that it
has been penetrated by the birds.
This leads to a scene that took a
week to shoot, in which Melanie is
attacked, repeatedly, by birds
thrown at her from off camera
I Iedren later called this “the worst
week of her life,” after which she
took an additional week to recover
psychologically from.
l‘lhe Birds’ is
highly recom
mended viewing
whether you want
to get philosophi
cal with it ot not
Although Milch rescues Melanie
from the attack, she is badly hurl
and in need of a hospital. Eventu
ally, Milch guides Melanie and the
rest out to the car and they drive
away without incident.
So what does it all mean? It’s a
ludicrous concept for invasion, for
which no explanation is ever
given, and there isn’t much of a
resolution either. Although con
ceptually similar, it is in every
important way the antithesis of
another movie I discussed here,
“Earth vs. The Flying Saucers.”
Quite simply, the birds are not the
most important part of this movie —
it’s the intrusion they make.
The intrusion brings great rami
fications on our interactions with
each other and the way we view
our lives. For instance, there are
the characters in the restaurant I
previously mentioned. It’s also
worthy to note the way in which
the birds intensify their attacks as
Mitch draws closer to Melanie --
and away from his mother, who
fears being alone. Their escape
may indicate Lydia’s acceptance, as
she nurtures the wounded Melanie
in the car.
Some have observed, in fact,
that “The Birds” should not be
viewed as a story with a beginning,
middle, and end, but as a poem,
more concerned with theme and
atmosphere.
“The Birds” is highly recom
mended viewing, whether you
lane Van Ham/ Dally Nebraskan
vant to get philosophical with it or
lot. It represents a unique cross
oads in the Video Vault, where
:ritical acceptance and popularity
ire not exclusive of the creative
ind bizarre.
“The Birds’’ should be available
it most video rental outlets.
-
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