The Birds Resources
Websites
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Just what it sounds like—a massive collection of websites, blogs, articles, and Hitchcockiana.
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A must-see with amazing detail about the making of the film—from catching the birds to painting the backdrops. The amount of work that went into each birdalicious scene was truly incredible.
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The Hitchcock project analyzes a film a week. Here's Week 47: The Birds. It's a great analysis of how Hitchcock created shots to get exactly the effects he wanted.
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The Birds has had a Facebook page since 2009. Wouldn't it have been awesome if they had a Twitter account, too?
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The official website of Bodega Bay, including tourist info, articles, and information about the filming of The Birds.
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AMC's Filmsite gives you a ton of analysis and a blow-by-blow account of the action.
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Hear what the talking heads had to say about the film. Spoiler alert: They liked it.
Book or TV Adaptations
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There was a 1994 sequel, The Birds II: Land's End. Tippi Hedren had a bit part. She (and everybody involved) was embarrassed. It looks more like a remake of Jaws than The Birds, with an East Coast island mayor in deep denial of danger, and an old salt who knows all about killer birds.
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Here's the text of the original story by Daphne du Maurier. After you've seen the film, you ask yourself how this could be as scary in print. Here's your answer.
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There are lots of Hitchcock parodies in The Simpsons—all brilliant. Here's the one of The Birds, except with toddlers.
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Sienna Miller is Tippi Hedren in this recent film about Hedren's relationship with Hitchcock in Marnie and The Birds.
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Mad Magazine parodied the film in 1963. It's hard to find the full version online, but here's a sample cartoon panel featuring Alfred Hatchplot's film starring Tippi Headrinse.
Articles and Interviews
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The Guardian film critic Xan Brooks argues that The Birds is awesome and terrifying. Also awesome.
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An interview with the lead actress about Hitchcock's abusive obsession with her.
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Here's the original review from The New York Times, whose critic suggests you bring in that birdbath and bird feeder this minute.
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A Freudian reading of The Birds (with a guest appearance by philosopher Slavoj Zizek).
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On the 50th anniversary of the film's release, Moviefone tells us all the secrets behind the making of the film.
Video
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The 1963 trailer for The Birds, complete with lots of screaming.
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Another trailer for The Birds—this one featuring less screaming and more Hitchcock nattering on goofily.
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Screenwriter Evan Hunter explains how the film's ending was changed from his original version.
Audio
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In an NPR interview, Camille Paglia argues that Hitchcock was not a misogynist and that Tippi Hedren presents a strong female character.
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In 1962, iconic French director Francois Truffaut interviewed Hitchcock for about 12 hours over the course of a week. Truffaut idolized the older director. Here are the tapes of those interviews, which were published in a book in 1967. A discussion about The Birds is in section 24.
Images
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The original poster for The Birds.
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The original storyboard drawing of the famous scene with the crows on the jungle gym.
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Everything was pre-planned.
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Hitchcock directs the action at a bird-covered Brenner home.
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A still from the film shows Melanie attacked by birds in the attic.
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One of Hitchcock's promotional pix for the film.
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Here's Hitch's cameo appearance in the film.
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Here's a shot of the bird trainer, Ray Berwick, getting ready to film an attack using real birds. He's the guy on the ladder. Another crew member is holding a terrified child actor who does not want to do the scene.