The Birds

Thankfully classic film series that are running at cinemas are putting in a Hitchcock film as part of their program. Which means, thankfully, I get to experience these films on the big screen.
Something I've noticed about Alfred Hitchcock's films is that he likes to keep his audience off guard. It is a technique that I think many film makers these days have lost. 'Psycho' begins safely as a crime drama about a woman who stealing money from her boss before nicely segueing into a horror film about a serial killer. In 'The Birds' he uses much the same technique. The film begins rather innocently as a delightful romantic comedy then moves into a horror film. It is a little bit creepy how Melanie follows Mitch to his family home in order to deliver him a bird. But we learn that she is a rich woman who is prone to pulling pranks. This is obviously a woman who has far too much time on her hands. Perhaps what happens when she goes to the town of Bodega Bay is punishment for her crazy ways. If Melanie occupied her time with more worthy pursuits then she would not have gone there and get attacked by birds. Hitchcock also doesn't explain why the birds are behaving so aggressively. I'm a bit conflicted as to how I feel about this. On the one hand it is nice that everything is not explained but on the other it would have been good to get some indication as to why now and why there that the birds are behaving so badly. The one thing that Hitchcock does really well is scare you. The ending to the film is incredibly scary. The fear has been building up slowly over the film and so when our heroes must escape it is so tense. It is also one of the most referenced and parodied scenes in film so it is good to see how the original is done.
This is the debut of Tippi Hedren on film and she is excellent. Tippi plays the spoiled rich girl very well. Rod Taylor makes an wonderful partner for Tippi to play off. Their flirting is nicely played and while you know they will end up together there is a great deal of fun in their journey of falling in love. While the character is a bit of a cliche, Jessica Tandy plays the 'mother-in-law' role really well. This is also one of the first roles for Veronica Cartwright and she is excellent. 
It may not be the greatest Hitchcock film but it is still much better than many films being made these days. I think a lot of directors need to study his methods as many modern films lack the tension these older films have.