Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds

980 Words2 Pages

Feature Films in the 1940s to 1970s
Anthony Medina
09/18/16
The Birds (1963)

The feature film that I chose to watch was The Birds (1963), directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Tippi Hedren. Overall, this film was a great piece, as expected. Alfred Hitchcock was one of the greatest directors of his time. He specialized in Murder/Mystery and Horror films, that set the bar higher than ever for directors in those genres. The Birds specifically, was a great piece, and still to this day is viewed in drama and art history works everywhere. The cinematography in The Birds was great, especially for a film that traveled from one “city” to another. If the cinematography were to be compared to todays’s films in the same genre, I do not think that …show more content…

His ability to not only create a masterpiece for years to come was very apparent across all of the films he put out. On top of creating masterpieces, he found a way to wedge himself into the film in one way or another, while only as a background character, it was something that you didn’t see then. In the film The Birds, Alfred took something as simple as a bird, and etched it into everyone’s mind as a creature that can, and will according to the film, fight back when taken advantage of. While I can’t speak enough on his incredible ability to form masterpieces on the screen, I think the greatest part of this film was the preview. In the preview for the film Alfred Hitchcock talks about how birds and humans have worked together forever. It is a hilarious piece when the context of what he is saying is heard over the tone at which he is saying …show more content…

(2) An excellent film will always use editing and filming techniques that display a broader picture than just the subject at hand (setting is crucial to building up the knowledge of a time/place)
(3) An excellent film will manage its sounds evenly throughout the film. Music, effects, and talking should all be normal to more mellow in loudness. If they are beyond that it should not be harsh and should fit the tone of the scene.
(4) An excellent film will build up it’s characters, this usually means a preconceived notion of the characters may be hard to overcome. (Choose original actors/actresses)
(5) A good movie will always be easy to follow, smooth transitions from one section to the next is an easy way to scale

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