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The Birds (1963)

tomatometer

95

Average Rating: 8/10
Reviews Counted: 41
Fresh: 39 | Rotten: 2

Proving once again that build-up is the key to suspense, Alfred Hitchcock successfully turned birds into some of the most terrifying villains in horror history.

No Score Yet...

Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 4
Fresh: 2 | Rotten: 2

Proving once again that build-up is the key to suspense, Alfred Hitchcock successfully turned birds into some of the most terrifying villains in horror history.

audience

80

liked it
Average Rating: 3.5/5
User Ratings: 150,995

My Rating

Movie Info

The story begins as an innocuous romantic triangle involving wealthy, spoiled Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren), handsome Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor), and schoolteacher Annie Hayworth (Suzanne Pleshette). The human story begins in a San Francisco pet shop and culminates at the home of Mitch's mother (Jessica Tandy) at Bodega Bay, where the characters' sense of security is slowly eroded by the curious behavior of the birds in the area. At first, it's no more than a sea gull swooping down and pecking

PG-13, 1 hr. 59 min.

Horror, Mystery & Suspense, Classics

Mar 28, 2000

Universal Pictures

Cast

All Critics (42) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (43) | Rotten (2) | DVD (21)

The movie flaps to a plotless end.

October 7, 2008 Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | Comments (10)
TIME Magazine
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Beneath all of this elaborate feather bedlam lies a Hitch cock-and-bull story that's essentially a fowl ball.

September 21, 2007 Full Review Source: Variety | Comments (11)
Variety
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Alfred Hitchcock's most abstract film (1963), and perhaps his subtlest, still yielding new meanings and inflections after a dozen or more viewings.

September 21, 2007 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comment
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Mr. Hitchcock and his associates have constructed a horror film that should raise the hackles of the most courageous and put goose-pimples on the toughest hide.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: New York Times | Comment
New York Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A must-see DVD of Hitchcock's great film, with commentary and docus that illuminate the making of this classic.

April 23, 2011 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | Comment

Classic Hitchcock horror film still gives the chills.

January 2, 2011 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comment
Common Sense Media

The only thing dated is the special effects. The suspense holds up very well.

August 17, 2010 Full Review Source: Three Movie Buffs | Comment
Three Movie Buffs

Although not as horrifically shocking as "Psycho," "The Birds" is a more sophisticated film, and represents a high watermark in the prolific career of a true maestro of cinema.

June 17, 2009 Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | Comment
ColeSmithey.com

Perhaps only a director of Hitchcock's caliber can make such a fowl story fly.

November 7, 2007 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | Comment
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Feels like it was made by a brilliant filmmaker who simply felt challenged by the enormity of the task. In that regard, it's close to 100 percent successful.

September 26, 2007 Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | Comment
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Hailed as one of Hitchcock's masterpieces by some and despised by others, The Birds is certainly among the director's more complex and fascinating works.

September 21, 2007 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | Comment
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Maybe not quite the pinnacle of Hitchcock's career but definitely in the top five.

September 21, 2007 Full Review Source: Film4 | Comment

Genuinely disturbing thriller classic from the master of suspense.

September 21, 2007 Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | Comment
Empire Magazine

Inventive classic.

August 22, 2006 Full Review Source: Classic Film and Television | Comment
Classic Film and Television

It's fierce and Freudian as well as great cinematic fun, with ample fodder for the amateur psychologist following up on Hitch's tortuous involvement with his leading ladies.

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out | Comment

This masterpiece is one of Hitchcock's purest forays into cinema; it's such a complete piece that it even gets by with two mediocre actors.

February 11, 2006 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | Comment
Combustible Celluloid

Mediocre as melodrama, but the signature avian attacks are without equal.

December 9, 2005 Comment
Flipside Movie Emporium

What sets The Birds apart from the other films in Hitchcock's incredible ten-year run between 1954 and 1964 is its remarkable chilliness.

November 1, 2005 Full Review Source: Not Coming to a Theater Near You | Comment
Not Coming to a Theater Near You

Still a dream come true after you've met enough Californians.

September 27, 2005 Comment
ÜberCiné
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for The Birds

A brilliant and tense film that gives you everything but then takes it all away with the ending. I detest the unresolved and cliffhanger ending which isn't really an ending at all. What happened to the characters? What happened to the town? Did the birds ever attack again? So many questions but no answers. This really

December 26, 2011
StarCrossedVoyager
Sophie Burgess

Super Reviewer

Shockingly gruesome film (especially 1963) is amped-up Hitchcock tension, maybe as amped-up as physically possible.

June 14, 2011
spielberg00
Alexander Diminiano

Super Reviewer

    1. Schoolchild: The bad teacher touched me here (points to doll's crotch).
    – Submitted by Daniel C (5 months ago)
    1. Salesman: Wanna buy a monkey?
    – Submitted by Daniel C (5 months ago)
    1. Postal Clerk: Message for you, sir.
    – Submitted by Daniel C (5 months ago)

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Foreign Titles

  • Die Vögel (DE)
  • Les Oiseaux (FR)
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