The Birds - a movie haiku

Tyson · « **on:** 6 Jun 2017, 06:58 am »

Preamble
I've seen quite a few Hitchcock movies but not all. Hell, not even all of the "major" ones. Tonight I rectified that by throwing the awesome looking blu-ray remaster of The Birds on my home theater. Its not talked about as much as some of his other movies, I think possibly because a few of the FX shots have aged pretty poorly. On the other hand, the shots using real objects are quite good and effective.

Haiku

As with so many movies, it starts with a meet-cute. This time in a pet shop. Already we are saturated with birds.

The main love interest decides "hey, why don't I take a boat across the lake so I can break in to the guy's house that I just met!" Yes, that's not weird, at all.

While I'm in town, why don't I stay with the scorned ex-girlfriend? Brilliant! BTW, red means jealousy. Also, blood.

This is called foreshadowing:

But wait, lets stop for cocktails.

Sh!t is about to get cray-cray.

Oh, but she's gonna be alright, isn't she? Yeah, not so much.

Summary

Some posit that the birds represent the repressed sexuality of the main characters. Others say it's more about the rage and panic of the mother, at the prospect of losing her son (after having already lost his father). Personally I think it's just showing what happens when the world turns hostile, for no actual reason. This might be Hitchcock's bleakest film, and that's saying something.

wushuliu · « **Reply #1 on:** 7 Jun 2017, 04:11 pm »

Several films have been made around the making of the Birds I think in the past 10 years. The background is SO much more interesting, but I feel does lend credence to the psycho-sexual theories. I feel like all of his films fall under repression/cultural mores.

Merry Widow may be personal fave.

Tyson · « **Reply #2 on:** 7 Jun 2017, 04:49 pm »

Quote from: wushuliu on 7 Jun 2017, 04:11 pm

Several films have been made around the making of the Birds I think in the past 10 years. The background is SO much more interesting, but I feel does lend credence to the psycho-sexual theories. I feel like all of his films fall under repression/cultural mores.

Merry Widow may be personal fave.

Interesting. I think a good case could be made that's it's both (or all 3, actually). The best film makers layer their films with this type of meaning. Which makes their work even more interesting than it appears at first (or 2nd, or 3rd) glance.

I will admit, still working my way through his movies. So far I've seen The Birds, Psycho, North by Northwest, Vertigo, To Catch a Thief, Rear Window, Strangers on a Train, Notorious, Suspicion, and The 39 Steps. So I still have a ways to go. Next up are Rope and then Frenzy.

THROWBACK · « **Reply #3 on:** 8 Jun 2017, 01:23 pm »

Amazing how one idea leads to another. I rechecked the original story from Daphne du Maurier. From Wikipedia: "The author saw a man ploughing a field while seagulls were wheeling and diving above him and composed a story of these birds growing hostile and attacking. Inspired by her quiet, rural home town in Cornwall, the story is thought to be a metaphor for the air attacks on London during World War II, in particular The Blitz." To get from that scenario to psycho-sexual theories is quite a journey.

But that's what I love about the creative process. Newton watches an apple fall and formulates the Law of Gravity. Einstein rides in an elevator and thinks Relativity. Hitchcock sees a bird and thinks Sex. From what I've read, though, lots of things made him think of sex. (Like most of us, I guess.)