The birds is peculiar thriller/horror film made in 1963 and is directed by Alfred Hitchcock. A glamorous, wealthy woman named Melanie who is from San Francisco meets a Lawyer named mitch, also from San Francisco, and has a home on an island called Bodega Bay. In attempts to get back at mitch for making her look silly in a bird shop in San Fran, she sneakily brings two lovebirds to his home on the island. After Mitch finds out she was behind all this, she stays for dinner, and a whirlwind of terrifying recurring events occur, For someone watching this film in the 60's or 70's, this film was pretty scary. Around this time, Alfred Hitchcock was known for his horror films, such as Psycho in 1960, Frenzy in 1972, and of course the Birds in 1963. Technical ElementsOne of the biggest camera elements I saw in this film was the use of the composition rule called "the rule of thirds". This means that if you were to place a 3x3 grid over the shot, whatever the focus of the shot is, will be placed on/near a cross of 2 lines rather than directly in the middle of the frame. Rule of thirds is used in many art forms, personally I use it in my photography work. This rule adds a bit of indifference and asymmetry to the normal smack-dab-in-the-middle type of shot. I think that this method also shifts your focus and forces you to stray from the idea that everything is in the middle where we think it should be. Below is a brief slideshow of examples in the film where Melanie (the focus of the shot) is placed around where two lines cross. To give an example of the rule of thirds antagonist, here is a shot of melanie placed in the middle of the 3x3 grid rather than on a cross of the lines. Another camera element I noticed during the film was the use very fake looking backgrounds. The depth of field in some shots was off, giving the look of a background rather than true shallow depth of field. It's clear that many parts of the Birds are shot on location, but when they have this artificial look to their backgrounds, they're pretty awful. Character ConnectionsLet's face it, the sexual tension between Melanie and Mitch was obvious and ever-present. From their initial encounter in the bird store till the end of the film, these two had feelings for each other that laid dormant until about halfway through the film when they kiss. I thought this was odd, seeing that they have only known each other for a couple of days, but it works well with the plot of the film and the connections between the characters, so I understand why Hitchcock chose this relationship between the two, rather than complete strangers throughout. In Xan Brooks' article titled "My favourite Hitchcock: The birds", he elucidates that when Melanie is attacked on the head by the seagull, "serves her right and (the attack) takes her down a peg or two" , seemingly getting her off her high horse. It becomes clearer that after this event, she is more equal to Mitch, adding to the closeness and sexual tension between the two, because she's not really superior to him or better than him anymore. Another connection I made that's related to this idea is that Mitch is a handsome, chiseled man, and Melanie is a delicate, yet sophisticated blonde woman. I think that the casting of these two actors for their physical characteristics works well, because it fits the time period this film is set in (and in real life) and fits with the "damsel in distress" theme that is somewhat present during the film. XAN BROOKS ALSO WRITES "WHEN TEASING OUT THE MEANING OF THE BIRDS, MANY CRITICS TAKE THEIR LEAD FROM THE HYSTERICAL WOMAN WHO LINKS THE ATTACKS TO DANIELS' ARRIVAL ("I THINK YOU'RE THE CAUSE OF ALL OF THIS"). THIS IMPLIES THAT THE BIRDS ARE A MANIFESTATION OF SEX, SOME GALVANIC HORMONAL STORM THAT WHISKS SLEEPY BODEGA BAY INTO A GREAT COMMUNAL LATHER." I THINK THIS IS A GREAT OBSERVATION FROM BROOKS AND THE CRITICS HE SPEAKS OF, BECAUSE IT GIVES A REASONABLE BEHIND-THE-SCENES CONNECTION BETWEEN THESE EVENTS, AND MAKES THE BIRD ATTACKS A LITTLE LESS RANDOM AND HAVING UNKNOWN CAUSES. ANOTHER CONNECTION I MADE THAT'S RELATED TO THIS IDEA IS THAT MITCH IS A HANDSOME, CHISELED MAN, AND MELANIE IS A DELICATE, YET SOPHISTICATED BLONDE WOMAN. I THINK THAT THE CASTING OF THESE TWO ACTORS FOR THEIR PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS WORKS WELL, BECAUSE IT FITS THE TIME PERIOD THIS FILM IS SET IN (AND IN REAL LIFE) AND FITS WITH THE "DAMSEL IN DISTRESS" THEME THAT IS SOMEWHAT PRESENT DURING THE FILM. ColorsMy favorite thing to discuss: Color schemes. I think it's safe to say that the colors used in this film fit the time period very well as far as movie cameras and editing go. At this time there really was no need to make colors bright, vibrant, and flashy, because this is a horror film, where we want a stale, eerie environment with colors that don't distract us from the suspense and terror of what's going on. The colors are dull and flat, and I think that's typical of films in the 60's and 70's, and maybe even the 80's. It seems like the use of saturated in-your-face colors didn't happen until the 90's and beyond. There were very few times that strong colors were used, like Ms. Hayworth's red coat and mailbox, the night sky before a bird attack, and Melanie's green blazer, which was the exception as it was seen throughout the film. ConclusionTo finish my screening response, I'd like to share my favorite shot in the film. This is when we see the school children running outside to escape the birds that were grouped outside on the playground. I think this shot is the epitome of creepy and scary in this film, with its glooming sky, flock of birds, running, terrified children, and that chilling view of a house on a hill, but in this case, a school.
2 Comments
Paige Smith
3/13/2017 06:36:16 am
I enjoyed the idea of you bringing up "The Rule of Thirds". I would have never thought about that element; I enjoy reading your passages because you bring up points that I would think no one would have thought about.
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Emma Novotny
3/15/2017 07:34:51 pm
I really like how you talked about the vibrant colors, and what an effect on the feel of the movie it had, and especially how it set everything in the correct time and place. I think this really helps the movie become more realistic, as well as more visually appealing! :)
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