One of Netflix’s major drawbacks for people like me who enjoy classic films is the streaming service’s near-complete lack of any movie released more than a decade or two ago.
This month, Netflix takes a tiny step toward broadening its cinematic horizons by adding several movies by master filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock. While it’s an imperfect — and most likely temporary — remedy, it still gives Netflix viewers the chance to watch some of the greatest movies ever made, by one of the greatest directors of all time.
That includes my personal favorite Hitchcock movie, "The Birds," which is still a masterpiece of filmmaking precision and a viscerally terrifying experience. It’s one of Hitchcock’s most overt horror movies, and he handles what could have been a simple “creature feature” with finesse and sophistication, without holding back on the terror.
As influential as “The Birds” has been on dozens of later movies of wildly varying quality, it’s still completely immersive from its first frame.
‘The Birds’ eases the audience into its disturbing story
That first frame is an almost abstract image of birds flapping wildly against a white background, alongside the opening titles. The story begins in the busy streets of San Francisco, but the background sound of birds lingers as Hitchcock follows wealthy socialite Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) into a pet store, where she has a run-in with the somewhat smug lawyer Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor).
Their encounter has all the hallmarks of a rom-com meet-cute, as Mitch appears to mistake Melanie for a store employee, and she stumbles through her efforts to help him find a present for his sister’s birthday. After watching her squirm, Mitch reveals that he knows exactly who she is, and he doesn’t approve of her frivolous party-girl antics, which recently landed her in court.
Even as this seemingly lighthearted courtship plays out, there’s an undercurrent of menace. The title and opening-credits sequence hint at something sinister to come, and the sounds of nature are often uncomfortably present, amplified by the lack of any musical score.
Melanie’s single-minded obsession with getting back at Mitch — which involves purchasing the lovebirds he was seeking for his sister and traveling to his family home in the seaside town of Bodega Bay — comes off as slightly unhinged even while she’s laughing it off as a prank.
Hitchcock escalates tension into chaos
The initial instances of bird-based violence in “The Birds” seem mild, starting with a seagull scratching Melanie as she’s rowing her rented boat away from the Brenners’ private dock.
There’s nearly as much tension between Melanie and the people she meets, especially Mitch’s dour mother Lydia (Jessica Tandy), who immediately fixes Melanie with a withering gaze. Melanie’s free-spirited (and possibly promiscuous) ways shake up the staid community of Bodega Bay, and the bird attacks could be read as a reflection of her disruption of community morals.
They could also be read as an allegory for environmental destruction, as the natural world violently turns against humanity. As the horror becomes almost abstract in the eerie final act, the bird uprising could be interpreted as a metaphor for Melanie’s own troubled psyche, the unresolved issues that pushed her to pursue this arrogant man all the way up the California coast for reasons she doesn’t quite understand.
Or they could just be freaky, blood-curdling set pieces designed to keep the audience on edge. Hitchcock is equally brilliant at creating pure entertainment and complex subtext, and both aspects of “The Birds” are immensely satisfying.
Hedren, Taylor, Tandy and Suzanne Pleshette as Mitch’s schoolteacher ex Annie Hayworth all give layered performances, with outward charm that gives way to inner doubts and fears. As the movie progresses and the attacks become more intense, the characters’ personal turmoil comes to the surface.
‘The Birds’ remains as scary as ever
Ultimately, “The Birds” is best remembered for its haunting, indelible images, like the crows slowly and inexorably gathering on a playground jungle gym behind Melanie, or the jagged jump-cuts depicting a dead man with his eyes gouged out. While the special effects may look shaky at times to modern viewers, they’re no less realistic than most contemporary CGI, and the actors make the danger feel imminent and genuine.
“I hardly think a few birds are going to bring about the end of the world,” scoffs a local busybody and self-described ornithologist in the Bodega Bay diner, but “The Birds” makes it easy to believe that they could. You’ll never hear the flapping of wings or the bellowing of birdsong the same way again.
“The Birds” is now streaming on Netflix.
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