Product Description

Nature runs amok in Alfred Hitchcock's chilling adaptation of the Daphne du Maurier story, as a small California coastal town finds itself under attack by gulls, crows and other fine feathered "friends." Rod Taylor, Tippi Hedren, Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Pleshette star. 120 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital mono, French Dolby Digital mono; "making of" documentary; deleted scene; storyboard; photo gallery; original ending; screen test; newsreel footage; theatrical trailer.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1517 in DVD
• Color: Color
• Brand: UNI DIST CORP. (MCA)
• Released on: 2000-03-28
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Collector's Edition, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 120 minutes

Amazon.com
Vacationing in northern California, Alfred Hitchcock was struck by a story in a Santa Cruz newspaper: "Seabird Invasion Hits Coastal Homes." From this peculiar incident, and his memory of a short story by Daphne du Maurier, the master of suspense created one of his strangest and most terrifying films. The Birds follows a chic blonde, Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren), as she travels to the coastal town of Bodega Bay to hook up with a rugged fellow (Rod Taylor) she's only just met. Before long the town is attacked by marauding birds, and Hitchcock's skill at staging action is brought to the fore. Beyond the superb effects, however, The Birds is also one of Hitchcock's most psychologically complicated scenarios, a tense study of violence, loneliness, and complacency. What really gets under your skin are not the bird skirmishes but the anxiety and the eerie quiet between attacks. The director elevated an unknown model, Tippi Hedren (mother of Melanie Griffith), to being his latest cool, blond leading lady, an experience that was not always easy on the much-pecked Ms. Hedren. Still, she returned for the next Hitchcock picture, the underrated Marnie. Treated with scant attention by serious critics in 1963, The Birds has grown into a classic and--despite the sci-fi trappings--one of Hitchcock's most serious films. --Robert Horton