By Bastien Chazalette Zaco

The Birds_Personal Analysis Part.2

I wasn’t sure to write the other part for this SCAB but going through my notes, I noticed that I’d missed talking about one of the most important things. Well, at least one which matters to me:  the bird’s attacks. Not because I’m a big fan of birds or violence but because it was probably the thing I was the most afraid of. Those action scenes could get me out of the movie very easily if I don’t believe it. And like a poor movie expert, I’m used to expensive and modern special effects to get me through a lot of stories. Not surprisingly, the birds’ attack scenes of Hitchcock looked a bit different than the one of Cameron in Avatar. But it’s actually a very good thing. The scene just before the one in the bar, when the birds attack the kids near the school was for me the most significant proof than some old movie macking techniques could transport you and make you react in the same way as a modern movie. I found myself not breathing and grabbing the sofa seeing those kids running in distress before a flying birds patterns in the background. More birds attack them on the foreground and this contrast between this imprecise mass of birds and the real ones bitting the children gives a certain charm that just made me like hypnotize. The intensity of it is so,  it’s just after a couple of minutes that I realized than the esthetical aspect of it is not disturbing at all, maybe even more concrete in away. It feels so real.

Same thing for the scene where Melanie finds herself stuck in the room invaded by all the birds during the last night attack. The atmosphere is heavy, the silents between the frenetic and strident screams are endless, the framing on Melanie’s face make you feel stuck in the same room and once again all those details ad so much realism. At least about how you feel. It’s not scary but worrisome and you just get ready for something to happen. And when she is finally rescued by Mitch, you are just throw in a weird and intense scene where the bird’s screams are deafening, the moves of the characters are so confusing and their facial expressions striking. You just can’t look away from the screen.

Less emotional but also interesting is the attack on the marina. Starting with a brilliant shot where all the seagulls aligned in the sky, go for the city as a bombers squadron. A simple shot with, slowly, an accumulation of birds between you and the city makes you feel part of the attack, as in the cockpit of a plane, ready to go down and torment some humans.

If the camera movements are rare, this kind of impacting scene, as well as the use of the green screen, gives a lot of dynamism to the movie. The two hours fly if I may say. Thanks to the plot coming crescendo and never really stop until the last and main attack on the house, the moment where they leave the bay and you understand that’s finally done is like a personal relived, as you just survived too. 

I wasn’t sure to write the other part for this SCAB but going through my notes, I noticed that I’d missed talking about one of the most important things. Well, at least one which matters to me:  the bird’s attacks. Not because I’m a big fan of birds or violence but because it was probably the thing I was the most afraid of. Those action scenes could get me out of the movie very easily if I don’t believe it. And like a poor movie expert, I’m used to expensive and modern special effects to get me through a lot of stories. Not surprisingly, the birds’ attack scenes of Hitchcock looked a bit different than the one of Cameron in Avatar. But it’s actually a very good thing. The scene just before the one in the bar, when the birds attack the kids near the school was for me the most significant proof than some old movie macking techniques could transport you and make you react in the same way as a modern movie. I found myself not breathing and grabbing the sofa seeing those kids running in distress before a flying birds patterns in the background. More birds attack them on the foreground and this contrast between this imprecise mass of birds and the real ones bitting the children gives a certain charm that just made me like hypnotize. The intensity of it is so,  it’s just after a couple of minutes that I realized than the esthetical aspect of it is not disturbing at all, maybe even more concrete in away. It feels so real.

Same thing for the scene where Melanie finds herself stuck in the room invaded by all the birds during the last night attack. The atmosphere is heavy, the silents between the frenetic and strident screams are endless, the framing on Melanie’s face make you feel stuck in the same room and once again all those details ad so much realism. At least about how you feel. It’s not scary but worrisome and you just get ready for something to happen. And when she is finally rescued by Mitch, you are just throw in a weird and intense scene where the bird’s screams are deafening, the moves of the characters are so confusing and their facial expressions striking. You just can’t look away from the screen.

Less emotional but also interesting is the attack on the marina. Starting with a brilliant shot where all the seagulls aligned in the sky, go for the city as a bombers squadron. A simple shot with, slowly, an accumulation of birds between you and the city makes you feel part of the attack, as in the cockpit of a plane, ready to go down and torment some humans.

If the camera movements are rare, this kind of impacting scene, as well as the use of the green screen, gives a lot of dynamism to the movie. The two hours fly if I may say. Thanks to the plot coming crescendo and never really stop until the last and main attack on the house, the moment where they leave the bay and you understand that’s finally done is like a personal relived, as you just survived too.