The Birds

The horror passages are truly chilling and excellently filmed, but we wait an awfully long time for them. The meticulous character study in the first half only works at first, but gradually Hitchcock falls into stereotype, and as the wait for "something" drags on, boredom slowly creeps in, which is the first time this has happened to me in his films. Regardless, The Birds is still incredibly well-crafted for its time, from the patient direction and sober script to the superb editing and eccentric use of colour, and it's hard to imagine a remake ever challenging its refinement in the future. Hitchcock may have made better stuff, but the same can be said for Spielberg and his Jaws – even that one is now seen as a major cult classic. 75% (04/29/2013)

The first half is a very, very long exposition. Hitch tries to gradually build up the tension, but the result is a bit boring with all the unnecessarily long dialogues that don't move the plot anywhere. But the second half is a different story. A terrifying, omnipresent threat from an unusual enemy, brilliantly filmed. So, the overall result is very good. BTW: The short story is still better :) (04/13/2003)

A legendary film directed by the master of tension Alfred Hitchcock, based on the story of the same name by writer Daphne Du Maurier. The story is, by the way, less spectacular but stylistically more sophisticated and, above all, significantly more hopeless than Hitchcock's much more famous film. Its ending is the embodiment of helplessness and despair. Fans of film art will likely appreciate Hitchcock's traditional professionalism in creating the atmosphere of the film, visual composition, gradual development of the characters, and above all, working with the feathered "actors." Tension, although built as is customary for the director, through mere unsettling hints and film dialogues, truly radiates from this film, and after the release of The Birds in American movie theaters, many attacks were recorded by enraged viewers on birds. It is Hitchcock's second most famous work alongside Psycho - both films were shown shortly after they were made in Eastern European countries behind the Iron Curtain. Knowledge of this film is essential for film enthusiasts. Overall impression: 90%. (01/05/2008)

Considering when it was made, the special effects are absolutely excellent. Hitch did a good job and how he builds up the atmosphere, layer after layer, from one attack to another, is genius. Never a dull moment, even before the feathered actors arrive on the scene. The very nicely constructed, relatively untraditional courting storyline is amusing and captures your attention. If only all directors and screen play writers also dedicated such care to their projects these days. (01/02/2011)

I really like Hitchcock, but I never understood the enthusiasm around this film by the Master of Suspense. It's not one of his worst, but there are plenty (read dozens) of much better films in his oeuvre. The big problem is that technically it has become somewhat outdated - which wouldn't matter if it had an atmosphere to disguise it. Unfortunately, there is not a shred of it in The Birds; and in its essence, it is almost offensive to the ingenious chamber atmospheric original story (yes, I adore Daphne). And thus even the infinitely charming Tippi Hedren cannot save it. (01/12/2007)