"No... No...": Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds
Published October 30, 2003
We viewers do not escape the indictment handed down by the Master either. Twice characters stare directly into the camera, offering a frantic, terrified j'accuse. "Who are you? What are you? Why have you come here?" says the panicking mother in the diner after the gas station attack--says the mother, directly to us. "I think you're the cause of all this. I think you're evil! Evil!" Melanie, the character she's "really" talking to, slaps her, and we're grateful, but later even Melanie turns on us, staring at us with horrified eyes and slapping us away, mistaking (mistaking?) us for her attackers. Elsewhere, eyeglasses are shattered, eyes themselves pecked out. We see, and we are punished for the crime of seeing.
But depite the visual violence, despite even the magesterial images of horror Hitchcock deploys one after another--Dan Fawcett's fate, the jungle gym, the still-like shots of Melanie's slackjawed trace of the fire's progress, the bird's eye view of the burning gas station, the claustrophobic phone booth, the stunning appearance of horses thundering through the attack, the sunlit panorama of the bird-conquered world--it's sound that makes this film so horrific. The result of a unique collaboration between longtime Hitchcock composer Bernard Herrman and German electronic musicians Remi Gassman and Oskar Sala, the electronically-generated bird cries woven throughout the film play the same role here that Rob Bottin's visual effects played in The Thing--they provide an almost ecstatic elucidation of the occulted meaning of the films. I wrote at length about sound in The Birds in a close-reading essay for a class in college, which you can download as a PDF here. Hitchcock, like Kubrick, is a filmmaker who does nothing by accident, so it's amazing how rewarding close reading can be. From the opening credits to Jessica Tandy's famous "silent scream" to the climactic attacks to the final image, Hitchcock used sound to show us that something has gone very, very wrong. That's the sound of horror.
Forty years after it was made, The Birds can still make even a jaded gorehound like me sit there, mouth agape, saying "My God." Hitchcock was the master, and this was his masterpiece.
- "No... No...": Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds
- Published: October 30, 2003
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- Section: Video
- Filed Under: Video: SF, Video: Horror, Video: Classics, Video: Suspense and Mystery
- Writer: Sean T. Collins
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Actually, I think that the sentance should be reversed to read "Kill Bill is Tarantino's The Birds", if that comparisson is going to be made, as, Hitchcock is, of course, the legendary filmmaker, where Tarantino is just begining.
I think that comparison makes a lot of sense, not leastly because "Kill Bill" is my favorite Tarantino movie just as "The Birds" is my favorite Hitchcock.
I knew someone would say it should read "Kill Bill is Tarantino's The Birds", but the comparison is more obvious and less interesting that way.
Thnks for all these Sean, great addition! This one bothered me so much seeing it around the age of 12 that I can't really remember ANY of it specifically and have never watched it again.
I spent hours of watching this freakin' movie because of stupid commercials interrupting it and am quite disappointed. So what if there's a so called metaphoric vision behind this film, it doesn't change the fact that it was crappy. No endning to what's going to happen, no reasoning to what did happened. You people who are so analytical about everything, probably think that he was suppose to make us think about our life. Stop making someone better than he is. yeah, he's got some good movies, but this is not one of them. What if he was just bad on this one, what if he didn't intended any stupid metaphor. It sucked. Get over it. One man's trash is another man's treasure.
No endning to what's going to happen, no reasoning to what did happened....
Wow great spelling!!! That coupled with the sounds in the movie pretty much explains why the movie is great... Why does everything have to be spoon feed?I ask... Why can't there be and end to the madness? you ask... I can't feel comfortable leaving my home for fear that something real something whimsical might be out there sitting on a precipise. Ploting for a chance to deface my new nikes. hehe
If you ara a fan of "The Birds", and would like to see it's history protected, I am soliciting your help. The Town of Bodega, home of the "Birds" Schoolhouse and church, is in desperate need of a new fire station. The current station is falling apart, can not house our trucks, and makes responding to calls very dificult. If you have any finances or resources which could help us protect our town and its historic buildings, please contact me, firefighter Daniels @ taramd@hotmail.com. THANK YOU!
If you ara a fan of "The Birds", and would like to see it's history protected, I am soliciting your help. The Town of Bodega, home of the "Birds" Schoolhouse and church, is in desperate need of a new volunteer fire station. The current station is falling apart, can not house our trucks, and makes responding to calls very dificult. If you have any finances or resources which could help us protect our town and its historic buildings, please contact me, firefighter Daniels @ taramd@hotmail.com. THANK YOU!
Got a website, Tara? Otherwise, we can't tell if this is a scam or not. I tried Googling for any mention of the subject and found NOTHING.
Could you please tell me the lyrics to the song that the kids were singing in the schoolhouse?
What is the convertible car that Tippi Hedren drives in 'the birds'?
The birds it was and ok movie but my theory why the birds atteck is every time they talked about Love the bird atteck
The convertible is an Aston-Martin DB2 circa 1950s
Same as Michael Rawls,
Could you please tell me the lyrics to the song that the kids were singing in the schoolhouse?
The Birds is one of the best films ever made. Fact. Hitchock is indeed the master.
Once again... what WAS that annoying little ditty the kids were singing? It seems like one of those songs that school children used to sing and were quite familiar with, but one that I've never heard in my life.
Remember it? "... now, now,now." What song IS that?
As to the film, what can you say? Classic... in many ways this is more disturbing than Psycho because this one involves kids. Hitch didn't pull his punches here. The world can be an ugly place... even in such a beautiful place as Bodega Bay.
The lyrics to the children's song:
"She combed her hair but once a year
Ristle-te, rostle-te, now, now, now
With every stroke she shed a tear...
He walked her home by the light of the moon...
She swept up her floor but once a year
Ristle-te, rostle-te, now, now, now"
Fox news level commentary aside, I think it's fascinating when people insist that there be a clear and distinct ending - a very Americanized view of film, incidentally. I suppose these same folks have a tendency to require perfect sonic rhyme in all poetry. Piece of advice #6 - RENT the video next time
Brilliant article, Sean. i ain't got nothin more to add at this time, other than i think the birds is indeed masterful. it's no Birds II : Land's End, but what is, tell me that?
Could someoneplease tell me the name of the classical tune Tippi Hedren's character is playing on the piano?
I had previously watched "The Birds" as a callow and somewhat thoughtless youth, thinking it was merely a grizzly expostion of some rather praturnatural urges of the original author and Hitchcock himself. Having listened to the analysis of the infamous hotel in Psycho by a psychiatrist and how each floor represented a level of the conscious and unconscious mind I watched the film again last night and it was a revelation. The Electra Complex brought to life-and the ending consumate!
The convertible in Hitchcock's Birds is an Aston Martin DB2/4 Drophead Coupe (1953-1955), according to this site:
The song is:
The Wee Cooper O' Fife
There was a wee cooper lived in Fife
Nickety nackety noo, noo. noo
And he has tae'n a gentle wife
Risselty-rosselty, hey, pomposity
Nickety nackety noo, noo, noo.
She wouldna card and she wouldna spin
Nickety nackety noo, noo. noo
For shamin' o'her gentle kin
Risselty-rosselty, hey, pomposity
Nickety nackety noo, noo, noo.
She wouldna bake and she wouldna brew
Nickety nackety noo, noo. noo
For spoilin' of her gentle hue
Risselty-rosselty, hey, pomposity
Nickety nackety noo, noo, noo.
She called him a dirty Hieland whelp
Nickety nackety noo, noo. noo
If you want yer dinner go get it yourself
Risselty-rosselty, hey, pomposity
Nickety nackety noo, noo, noo.
The cooper's awa tae his wool-pack
Nickety nackety noo, noo. noo
And lain a sheepskin across her back
Risselty-rosselty, hey, pomposity
Nickety nackety noo, noo, noo.
I'll no thrash you, for your gentle kin
Nickety nackety noo, noo. noo
But I will thrash my ain sheep-skin
Risselty-rosselty, hey, pomposity
Nickety nackety noo, noo, noo.
He's laid the sheepskin across her back
Nickety nackety noo, noo. noo
And with a good stick he went whickety-whack
Risselty-rosselty, hey, pomposity
Nickety nackety noo, noo, noo.
Oh I will card and I will spin
Nickety nackety noo, noo. noo
And think nae mair of my gentle kin!
Risselty-rosselty, hey, pomposity
Nickety nackety noo, noo, noo.
She drew the table and spread the board
Nickety nackety noo, noo. noo
And "My dear husband" was every word
Risselty-rosselty, hey, pomposity
Nickety nackety noo, noo, noo.
All you who have gotten a gentle wife
Nickety nackety noo, noo. noo
Just send ye for the cooper of Fife!
Risselty-rosselty, hey, pomposity
Nickety nackety noo, noo, noo.
Meaning of unusual words:
Nickety nackety and risselty-rosselty are just nonsense phrases.
The name of the piece that Tippi (Melanie Daniels) is fingering so badly on the piano is by Claude Debussy.. Arabesque No. 1
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The Birds is Hitchcock's Kill Bill, and it has received similar reviews: respectful of the director's craft, but offended at the way it swamps the viewer in pure violent sensation.