THE MOVIE

The works of Alfred Hitchcock are such a big part of film history. Known as one of the most original and influential film-makers of all time, his status is legendary. With films such as Rear Window, Psycho, Vertigo, North By Northwest and this release The Birds, he pretty much defined the thriller genre by himself. Part 1 of the Hitchcock collection on DVD has already been released, and The Birds is included in Part 2.

Set in Sanfrancisco, the films starts with Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) walking into a pet shop. She's there to buy a bird for her aunt. It's not in stock, so she must arrange to have it delivered once it arrives. In walks lawyer Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor), who recognises Melanie from a practical joke she played in the past, and decides to get her back. Mistaking her as a store clerk, he asks her about some love birds he wishes to buy for his sister. She goes along with it, not recognising Mitch, and falls for his joke. He leaves the shop, leaving Melanie bemused, and all she can do is memorise the registration plates on his car. After finding out his name, she decides to take the game a step further, she decides to deliver the birds to Mitch's sister herself, to his family house in Bodega Bay.

Melanie decides to sneak up to Mitch's house by hiring a boat, and approcahing his dock via the bay. After delivering the birds, she is spotted by Mitch, and he meets her back in the town. On her way back, a seagull attacks her, causing her head to bleed. This is the just the beginning. A mutual interest between the two develops, and Melanie is invited for dinner at the Brenner household. From then on, this nice film becomes a horror film, that does show it's age visually, but still provides enough terror to stand up today.

The visual effects are quite obvious in this day of CGI films like Star Wars Episode 1 and Tomb Raider, but would have looked fantastic in its day. Blue screening is noticible, but is incredible for the film's age. The sound effects were at the time revolutionary, and replace the use of musical intruments for the film's score. Hitchcock wanted to do something different with the soundtrack, and used an electronic synthesizer to generate various sound effects. Quite impressive for it's time. The acting is great from all involved, including Jessica Tandy as Mitch's over-protective mother, Suzanne Pleshette as Annie Hayworth the local school teacher, and one of her students Veronica Cartwright (Cathy Brenner - Mitch's sister).

Not as great a film as Rear Window or even Psycho, The Birds is still an important piece of film history. Hitchcock provides good directing, with some great storytelling that mixes emotions throughout it's running time of nearly 115 minutes. Fans of Hitchcock and The Birds will love this DVD version. If you haven't seen any Hitchcock films before, I recommend you give this film a go. Keep in mind though that it was made in 1963, and is not up to current visual effects standards.

Being more than a horror film, "The picture isn't just about the birds, it's about the bees too." Well that's at least how Hitchcock himself described it. Recommended.

THE TRANSFER

Video:

This version of The Birds has been cropped for television sets, and is presented in full frame. With the knowledge that it was filmed and originally presented in a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1, I was truly let down. The Region 1 version of The Birds gets an anamorphic widescreen presentation, but we are given pan&scan. And if that wasn't bad enough, the quality of the video transfer is not all that good either. Whilst watching The Birds, it almost felt like I was watching a brand new VHS tape. Hitchcock's more acclaimed films are presented in widescreen, but no such luck for The Birds

If the lack of a widescreen doesn't bother you, then I'm sure you'll be happy with this DVD presentation. Grain is constant throughout the entire film, but the image remeains fairly sharp. My score would have been higher, had the film been presented in anamorphic widescreen alone. Quite a few of these Hitchcock Collection titles are being presented in full frame, and it is a damn shame. Disappointing.

Audio:

The Audio is presented in English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono and German DD 2.0 mono. Again, not being the most popular Hitchcock title, we get an average audio transfer. The mono track is quite clear, and does it's job, but is nothing VHS cannot provide. There appears to be no audio sync problems, and dialogue never sounds harsh. The sound effects which, as I mentioned earlier, provide the score for the film come across quite well, but this is by no means demo material, as expected. Anyone buying this film should be satisfied, but not terribly impressed.

THE EXTRAS

Now we come to the main reason one would purchase this film on DVD over VHS. The extra features provided, in following with some of the other great Hitchcock titles, are great.

First up is the Documentary. Running for almost 80 minutes, this documentary is a fantastic inclusion. We're taken through stages of the film's creation, from conceptual storyboards, right through to editing and creating the unique and facinating score. With discussions on blue screening the effects shots and recent interviews with actors Tippi Hedren, Rod Taylor, Veronica Cartwright and director Peter Bogdanovich, we are given a great insight into the making of the film. Other topics include matte paintings/backgrounds, locations, visual effects/make up and the cast's memories of working with Hitchcock and Jessica Tandy. The only upsetting thing about this great documentary is the many shots of the film, which are presented in 1.85:1 widescreen. What a tease. Besides that minor annoyance, any fan of the film will love this.

Next is a Deleted Scene, which is actually the script of the scene, with some stills. A nice inclusion, but I admit I soon lost interest. Die-hard fans will lap it up though.

Much like the deleted scene mentioned above, the Original Ending is a collection of storyboard shots, intercut with the script of the scene. This held more interest for me than the deleted scene, and is a nice inclusion.

Next we come to Tippi Hedren's Screen Test, which clocks in at just under 10 minutes. This was fantastic to watch. We get to see Tippi with a fill in actor, auditioning for the film. The best thing about these screen tests, are the chance to hear Hitchcock's voice from behind the camera, directing both of the actors. Excellent inclusion.

The Universal News Reels, running for just over 3 minutes, provide 2 promotional news clips. The first being a humerous press conference with the great man himself, and the other featuring Hitchcock again, but this time Tippi Hedren joins him in some promotional work with real birds. Nice.

Next we find more than 80 Production Photographs and stills, which are great to see. I never find these photo galleries immensely interesting, but I'm still glad to see them.

Last, but not least by any means, is perhaps my favourite of the extra features provided. The Theatrical Trailer, running for more than 5 minutes, consists of Alfred Hitchcock, in a room, telling us about man's relationship with birds through time. I don't want to spoil any of this for you, but recommend everyone see it. As enjoyable as his films are to watch, the promotional footage he created for all of his work is ingenious, and this trailer is no exception. Hilarious and brilliant.

SUMMARY

Whilst The Birds is not my favourite of Hitchcocks films, Rear Window tops my list, it is still essential viewing, as is most of his work. The mixture of emotions and suspense provide great viewing, and although it may not be as scary as it might have been in it's day, it still creeps you out. The DVD provides some fantastic extra features, but is let down in the video department. If it weren't for the extra features, I'd be recommending the VHS version due to the lousy presentation. Recommended based on the film and extra features alone.