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The Birds
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The Birds (1963) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 52 | slideshow) Videos (see all 10)
The Birds (1963) -- A wealthy San Francisco playgirl pursues a potential boyfriend to a small Northern California town that slowly takes a turn for the bizarre when birds of all kinds suddenly begin to attack people there in increasing numbers and with increasing viciousness
The Birds (1963) -- The birds amass on the monkey bars behind Melanie.
The Birds (1963) -- A wealthy San Francisco playgirl pursues a potential boyfriend to a small Northern California town that slowly takes a turn for the bizarre when birds of all kinds suddenly begin to attack people there in increasing numbers and with increasing viciousness
The Birds (1963) -- MattTrailer.com - Trailer (Flash)

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Overview

User Rating:
7.9/10   48,207 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 11% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Daphne Du Maurier (story)
Evan Hunter (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Birds on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
28 March 1963 (USA) more
Tagline:
Suspense and shock beyond anything you have seen or imagined! more
Plot:
A wealthy San Francisco playgirl pursues a potential boyfriend to a small Northern California town that slowly takes a turn for the bizarre when birds of all kinds suddenly begin to attack people there in increasing numbers and with increasing viciousness. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 3 nominations more
User Comments:
The last movie Senator Gill ever saw more (339 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (UK) (complete title)
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Runtime:
119 min
Country:
Language:
Colour:
Colour (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Westrex Recording System)
Certification:
Australia:M (TV rating) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1963) | UK:15 (1987) | UK:X (1963) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Spain:T | Portugal:M/12 | Finland:K-15 (uncut) (2002) (DVD) | South Korea:15 | Brazil:14 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | France:-12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:16 (1976) | Norway:18 | Peru:14 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (certificate #20385) (original rating) | USA:PG-13 (new rating) (1984) | West Germany:16 | Singapore:PG | Iceland:16

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Mitch Zanich, owner of The Tides Restaurant at the time of shooting, told Hitchcock he could shoot there if the lead male in the film was named after him and Hitch gave him a speaking part in the movie. Hitchcock agreed: Rod Taylor's character was named Mitch Brenner and Mitch Zanich was given a speaking part. After Melanie is attacked by a seagull, Mitch Zanich says can be heard saying to Mitch Brenner "What happened, Mitch?" more
Goofs:
Continuity: Just before the gas station explosion, gas is shown running into the left rear tire of a red car. The next shot of that car, taken from a little farther back, shows gas running near the tail of the car but the area around the tire itself is completely dry. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Melanie Daniels: Hello there, Mrs. MacGruder.
Mrs. MacGruder, pet store clerk: Oh, hello, Miss Daniels.
Melanie Daniels: Have you ever seen so many gulls? What do you suppose it is?
Mrs. MacGruder, pet store clerk: Well, there must be a storm at sea, that can drive them inland, you know. I was hoping you'd be a little late because he hadn't arrived yet.
Melanie Daniels: Oh, but you'd said three o'clock...
Mrs. MacGruder, pet store clerk: Oh I know, I know. I've been calling all morning. Oh, Miss Daniels you have no idea. They are so difficult to get, really they are. We have to get them from India, when they're just baby chicks, and then we have...
Melanie Daniels: But this one won't be a chick, will he?
Mrs. MacGruder, pet store clerk: Certainly not. Oh no, certainly not. This will be a full grown mynah bird, full grown.
Melanie Daniels: And he'll talk?
[...]
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Forget Paris (1995) more
Soundtrack:
Risseldy, Rosseldy more

FAQ

What was causing the birds to attack?
Why did Lydia hate Annie, Melanie, and any of Mitch's girlfriends?
How does Mitch know that Melanie is not the storekeeper at the bird shop?
more
106 out of 164 people found the following comment useful.
The last movie Senator Gill ever saw, 30 December 2004
10/10
Author: ericolsen1953 from United States

An old friend, the late State Senator Ted Gill, of Holyoke, Colorado, once told me that The Birds was the last movie he ever saw. He gave up movies after seeing this flick...they were just getting too weird and disturbing for an old rancher like him. It's still pretty terrifying, even if you've seen it again and again. You know what bad, brutal scenes are coming and don't want to see the carnage again, but can't help yourself. It's ominous as the crows flock tighter and tighter, always more and more, on the schoolyard Monkey-Bars and it's also exciting to see the school kids chased down by the crows a few minutes later. Subplots like the pitiful neurosis of Lydia Brenner, Mitch & Annie's lost-love-affair, Mitch's indifference to the needs of others, and the poor-little-rich-girl Melanie, who still just wants her mommie, are all well-written and acted. Loved best by me is Hitchcock's humorous characters who are CHARACTERS! The old drunk at the bar quoting Holy Scripture, the nosy neighbor done wonderfully by Richard Deacon, the dowdily-dressed old intellectual in the cafe buying her cigarettes and evidently a scientific expert for any field. Sir Alfred's macabre touches of comedy are unmatched, even in today's thrillers. I'm repulsed and attracted by such scenes as the one in the farmhouse, where Jessica Tandy discovers an old friend pecked to death, with his eye sockets bloody and empty. I find myself still searching for gory details on the farmer's body because Hitch didn't let the camera dwell on the horrible face too long. But he DID give us two rapid jump-cuts with closer and closer close-ups, and we end up seeing just as much detail as Jessica just did - enough to know that "We gotta git outta there!" Overall, a fine time. 119 minutes of revolting fun!

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What do you think of our little hamlet? c7c7c7r
Use of birds in other Hitchcock films ninjadave
Another interpretation michalis612
I'm trying to find the score/music... pennylane0586
Picture On Wall In Bed Scene- Trafalgar Square. London? kingkoopa77
Studio Shots Vs Location Filming Petersenn
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