THE BIRDS ALFRED HITCHCOCK
Alfred Hitchcock was the master of horror thrillers- a genre that he single-handedly created and developed. Hitchcock's films were meant to evoke ablood-curling response from the viewers and the two films that managed toachieve that completely were Psycho and The Birds. The Birds was releasedin 1963 and while it was a total fantasy with no hint of realism, thedirector used exceptional camera tricks and photography techniques toconvince the viewers that it could actually happen to them. "The Birds was fantasy in purest form. Hitchcock deserted his former dependence on classical unity in plot construction and occupied himself instead with a strictly thematic approach, which, henceforth, became his principal mode of operation. In the wild, savage behavior of the birds he wanted to show the menace which surrounds us everywhere, although we areThe film was loosely based on Daphne du Maurier's short story The Birds.But Hitchcock personally chose to make a number of additions andsubtractions to enhance the impact of the movie. So it was not solelyMaurier's story but it has certainly been a source of inspiration for thefilm. Hitchcock's camera work and his cinema
"They had big cartons full of birds. Brown revealed real birds wouldbe used because the mechanical birds ``didn't work out. The editing andcamera movements have been used with the precise objective of controllingthe thoughts and emotions of the viewers. Editing was important in his films but by editing,Hitchcock didn't particularly mean the length of the shots. It took afull week to do that scene. The specialeffects were so extraordinary that the film won an Oscar nomination forspecial effects in 1963 but lost to Cleopatra-something that no critic hasbeen able to comprehend. " (Wood: 164)Hitchcock firmly believed that a good film was one, which had been properlyedited to achieve the crisp and neatly trimmed impact. The birds had their beaks tied and in someother scenes, they were literally shoved down the chimney, which resultedin birds getting mangled. Hitchcock didnot believe in that theory. "In fact, a Hitchcock film -- and The Birds is a particularly good example of this -- is more analogous to a poem than a novel: Hitchcock focuses the attention and perceptions of the spectator, controls his reactions, through the rhythms of editing and camera movement as a poet controls those of the reader through his verse rhythms; and his films derive their value from the intensity of their images -- an intensity created and controlled very largely by context, by the total organization -- rather than from the creation of "rounded" characters. tic genius is a good example oflimitation giving birth to immense creativity. This is obvious from the fact thateven fifty years later, people can still recall the extraordinary impact onthe special effects in The Birds while very few would be able to recallanything so powerful from Cleopatra. There wassomething honestly intriguing and realistic about various horror sequencesshot with limited technology because that gives the impact a raw and crudetouch that stays with you long after the movie has ended. If you came out of the theatre with a sense of dread andwith an involuntary urge to look upwards to make sure no birds were insight, then you have been a true victim of Hitchcock's camera work and histeam's exceptional cinematographic skills.
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Acceptance Essays
