BIRDS

BIRDS

Birds is considered a thriller / horror as both the aspects and content don't meet your typical thriller in fact the story line seems one of a kind. The reason in which this unfathomable film don't meet the original use of a thriller is because of the famous director Alfred Hitchcock.. This man is considered one of the greatest directors that has ever lived. The bases of all his films including Birds itself are obscure and each film gives out a different effect to give off the best possible cliffhanger.

CAST

DIRECTOR
 Alfred Hitchcock

WRITERS
 Daphne Du Maurier ( story line )

              Evan Hunter (screenplay)

STARS
 Rod Taylor (mitch brenner)

       Suzanne pleshette (Annie Hayworth)

jessica tandy (Lydia brenner)

 Tippi Hedren ( main character, melanie daniels )

veronica cartwright ( cathy brenner)

TRAILER:

The trailer open's with the words "The Birds" in big bold letters in writing that gives a sense of mystery as tho the story has a bewildering out of nature's tone with the over voice of screeching from the birds ..As the title carries on the screeching becomes silent and and  the over voice states " there is no need to be afraid" ..... the trailer opens with a women who confirms she knows alot about birds and states that birds are  not aggressive creatures and that they bring beauty into the world . Unfortunately this women is blissfully unaware for the subconscious fear that lies ahead.

 As the trailer reflects back onto the birds in the "playground scene" quoting " that might be true for one bird , but for thousands of birds that's a different story" this allows the audience to want tot know the effect of this particular story line and why do thousands of birds have something that is not beautiful to a singular one. The trailer then reflects to children running out of the school and being maliciously attacked  and seriously injured to the fact some follow potential chances of death. They are pecked till there bleeding as though the birds are inhumane, like a flesh eating zombie. The trailer shows children lying on the floor screaming and running... the trailer has consistent action and thrill to it to keep the audience attached to why this is occurring and what has made this particular event happen as this is not your typical outlook on nature. There is an external threat for the inhabitants of nature.

 The trailer then reflects from a young girl falling and smashing her glasses to the scene of the smashed glass on the telephone box... this is a very clever way of unconsciously connecting two  different scenes with the same effect. The next part goes back to women who said that they bring beauty to the world ... stating that " i hardly think a few birds are going to  bring an end to the world " in which case is followed by an explosion ... to a women announcing that Tippi Hedren ( the main star) is the cause of the birds attacking.

which then flicks to the last part the main scene "the house scene " where the birds come flooding through the fire place. Then follows back to the women screaming your evil in which Tippi Hedren reacts with a typical slap in this then  ends with the swarming  of birds ... This leaves the cliffhanger and the typical questions.

WHY ARE THE BIRDS ATTACKING?

DOES ANYONE SURVIVE?

IS TIPPI HEDREN THE CAUSE FOR THE BIRDS?

 

IS THERE A SOLUTION... ?

THRILLER CONVENTIONS 

HITCHCOCK:

In all of Hitchcock's thrillers he purposely makes the thrillers seem like there is no where to hide as this allows a greater effect as people trying to work things devote to much greater action as the film carries on . In this case Bodega bay in "The Birds"

Thriller's are characterized by fast pacing, frequent action",  This is shows within "the farm scene. This scene shows the death of an innocent man being mutilated by an "innocent bird" 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0HjlCowwuM&feature=bf_prev&list=PL46FB178E8BEABAB8

As the scene opens Lydia comes in with the keys and unlocks Dans ( the farmers) home.. it opens with her shouting his name asking if he is home. As she carries on through the house she comes past the kitchen in which she notices the top of the cups have been smashed of this then becomes very peculiar.

Then is slow motion she makes her way through the house as she becomes very befuddled at the strange era carried through the silence of the house. Walking through the hallway she comes to the "bedroom" in which she enters in slow motion,

 Noticing the smashed photographs and the smashed window with a dead bird on it and blood and feathers everywhere . Scanning the room she then notices the whole room is distraught it has been violently mutilated , furniture everywhere, feathers widely distributed all over the room. There are dead birds all over the room. This send thoughts through the reader head as in why has this happened and where is the farmer ????? ........

Her eyes catch glimpse of the feet of someone covered in blood, mangled clothes ripped to pieces. As her eyes are followed up the body .. the body has been confirmed as Dan the farmer..... his body caressed in blood and tears carried throughout all his clothing. to the reaching of his face in which his eyes were savagely hacked out ... what savage would do this ??? .....

Alfred Hitchcock uses a clever fast pace movement as when she become in tact with his eyes he uses the camera to zoom into the face frantically rapidly bit by bit .. in which case alerts Lydia she runs brain-less dropping her bag on the floor speechless and gasping for air....

"THE BIRDS" THRILLER CONVENTIONS 

"Resourceful heroes who must thwart the plans of the more powerful and better equipped villains". Hitchcock uses this throughout most film although in " The Birds" as the villains win in the case of the birds, the birds manage to get what they want. 

Dramatic irony is when the audience something the individual character does not.  In the case of the film"The Birds"  in the school yard scene Tippi Hedren is blissfully unaware that the birds have been gathering but the audience are aware of the situation . We have knowledge denied to the character. The suspense therefore climates extremely leading to the image of the children being attacked , this scene is very dramatic and leaving the cliffhanger of what going to happen with the birds as she does no know that they are there is therefore grabs more of the attention from the audience. 

"HITCHCOCKS" TECHNIQUE AND USE OF SOUND 

In the schoolyard the scene the underlying score of the innocent child's song is in contrast to the evil in the nature. Tippi Hendren's character is only guilty of taking nature for granted. In "The Birds" scene outside the cafe- the high camera angle is like the gaze of the pitiless God who cannot be bothered to intervene.

"MC GUFFIN"

" A thriller is a villain driven plot . Obstacles are presented that the hero must overcome"

This is represent in the film as every main part of action including the following scenes;

Cathy Brenner's party 

The farm scene 

The school playground 

The cafe scene 

The house scene 

In the end the only way to escape the whole situation is by leaving Bodega bay

The MC GUGGIN of the story is the love birds. Melanie Daniels was browsing a shop but due to Mitch Brenner catching her eye  she pretended to be a shop assistant, not knowing that Mitch Brenner knew exactly who she was . He played along saying that he wanted love birds for his sister.. After some flirting took place he confided i her telling her that he knew her she was shocked that he made her loo like a fool. so to get him back when he left she took the lovebirds to his hotel but he wasn't there so she received his address in Bodega bay in which she took a boat across the lake and put the love birds on his door step. The MC GUFFIN is the film its given a sense that this is a typical love story not your typical thriller. 

DID YOU KNOW?

The scene where Tippi Hedren is ravaged by birds near the end of the movie took a week to film. More so, the birds were attached to her clothes by long nylon threads so they could not get away 

 WOW!!

Hedren, was actually cut in the face by a bird in one of the recorded shots. Unlike most thriller's this has no musical score for the film except for a short electronic music sequence and the children singing in the school . On that point, the lack of non- diegetic sound helps the audience to suspend disbelief  and allow the audience to become more fearful for the action that lies ahead . This is because with no effect outside the screen play both the audience and  cast are unaware of what is happening next as there is no sound to give a suspenseful meaning . Therefore this allows the whole effect to have a more dramatic emphasis as the action is unexpected and has no lead to it. 

HITCHCOCK'S THOUGHTS 

Mankind has abused birds throughout history. Deliberate irony in the cafe scene with the elderly 'bird loving' lady is presented as she is blissfully unaware of the matter that lies ahead in a way Hitchcock uses our actions as humans using animal cruelty towards birds for the justice of the birds to take revenge. The elderly lasy is interrupted when speaking by a order for three southern fried chickens. In addition one of the other character's initial reaction is to shoot the birds. Hitchcock said that in "The Birds" the usual 'safety nets' such as (science/religion) are denied to us . We are on our own 

DO THE NARRATIVE THEORIES APPLY TO "THE BIRDS"

CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD NARRATIVES:

Linear (chronological)

few, if any , sub plots 

tendency towards closure at the end of the film

THREE ACT STRUCTURE = The Typical HOLLYWOOD narrative = set up ( 25% time)/ confrontation (50%) / climax (final 25 % of the time) 

Hitchcock uses the three act structure in the film " The Birds" as he uses the set up the two lovers and the love birds in the shop in the setting in which the children are attacked at the party, then the farmers death, followed by the school scene and then the cafe scene this is the signs of confrontation .. which eventually leads to the climax the house scene and is left on a cliffhanger with no solution to open it up . 

ROLAND BARTHES

All texts are 'complex' and have bundles of meaning.

 Enigma codes (problems introduced ) - usually in the ' disruption stage. 

" The Birds" is an open text - not resolved at the end - the threat is not explained or resolved at the end 

Polysemic texts- lots of different meanings. Hitchcock tries to portray the question , Is the film just a thriller or  does it represent something about our particular relationship with nature 

REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN IN "THE BIRDS" 

THE MALE GAZE=
Women viewed as the objects of male erotic desire- in film and audience .
 Does Hitchcock enjoy Melanie Daniels suffering?
Men active/ Women passive
Women do not have agency- they do not move the plot forward
The audience is forced to identify with the male gaze
Cinema reflects the patriarchal (male dominated) society

THE END 

 A number of endings were being considered for this film .One that was considered would have showed the Golden Gate Bridge completely covered by birds. The film does not finish with the usual "THE END" title because Alfred Hitchcock wanted to give the impression of unending terror