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The birds

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Hajra Mubashar

This document provides analysis of several shots and scenes from Alfred Hitchcock's film The Birds. It summarizes the mood, lighting, symbolism and implications of shots that show birds attacking characters, mysterious and unsettling scenes that build suspense, a brief calm scene that misleads audiences, and a disturbing final scene where the protagonist is killed. Through the use of lighting, camera angles, graphic violence and unexpected twists, Hitchcock creates an atmosphere of terror, mystery and chaos as the birds increasingly threaten and attack humans.

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The birds
In this shot, we can see the opening title, and a black bird, which might connote death. Not much is going on in this shot and little is given away about the significance of the birds. In this scene the bird seems tame and controllable, however this is right at the beginning of the film, there is a sense of prolepsis here as the build up of suspense starts here, everything starting from this scene is building up to the shocking climax.
This shot is typically dark and the tree behind Mitch is in silhouette, the lighting is dim and half of Mitch’s face is in shadow creating a chiaroscuro effect. His suit is black and the scene generally looks quite mysterious.
There is something unsettling about the lack of light in this shot, the room behind Annie is pitch black again bringing the usual connotations of death, the unknown and mystery. Hitchcock has deliberately used less light to create a shadowy, dark and mysterious effect that brings more suspense and we don’t know what could be lurking in the shadows.
The birds completely dominate the scene showing that they are completely out of control and Mitch's mum and the rest of the family are at mercy of the birds, the humans are greatly outnumbered. The birds have the upper hand in this shot and they are clearly attacking Mitch's mum, and the medium close up reinforces this.
This scene is highly disturbing and graphic and introduces elements of horror, it was zoomed in using an eerie jump cut, the black hollow spaces where the eye used to be are extremely spine-chilling, and the close up shot definitely reinforces this, we are forced to look at his dead body in more graphic detail which is terrifying for the audience especially younger audiences.
Here, the scene is a stark contrast from the chaos and horror of most of the scenes, it is made to be calm and relaxing, as a breakaway from the deaths and destruction the birds are causing as the two ladies have a ‘mutual understanding’, heart-to-heart scene, it is more cheerful with a background colour of yellow and it gives the audience a false sense of security, misleading the audience into thinking the storm has past when actually the worst is yet to come. So when the terror and havoc of the previous scenes return the audence may be thrown with surprise, it gives the film spontaneity.
This blurred shot indicates the action and fast-paced motion of the scene, a lot is happening, the seagull looks threatening as it has managed to scare 5 fully grown women, despite the fact that it is only one. The blur of the shot also suggests the havoc and riot that the birds have caused.
This shot is also blurry and it is a close up of her face, we can see that her coiffed hair has been ruined and despite the fact that she inside a phone box she is still panicking and frantically swatting away birds which suggests the sheer extent of the destruction and capacity of the birds’ to wreck. The fire in the background adds to the chaos and shows just how powerful and damaging the birds can be. They are literally capable of destroying the town and all its people. This could possibly question the audiences typical perception of birds, and challenge their so-called ‘innocence’.
This scene is sad and sombre and is also when the lighting of the film is at its dimmest, possibly connoting the gravity and sombreness of the situation. The blood is convincing and the fact that her eyes are open make her injuries much more frightening. We feel grief for Melanie as she is the protagonist, so we feel most attached to her, this possibly makes her ‘untouchable’ and never in any danger however the audience are thrown again as the film ends with this strange unexpected twist. Hitchcock doesn’t favour the audience he forces the audience to go along with the plot and accept it. He doesn't give them what they want and hence keeps to the mystery of the thriller.

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The birds

  • 2. In this shot, we can see the opening title, and a black bird, which might connote death. Not much is going on in this shot and little is given away about the significance of the birds. In this scene the bird seems tame and controllable, however this is right at the beginning of the film, there is a sense of prolepsis here as the build up of suspense starts here, everything starting from this scene is building up to the shocking climax.
  • 3. This shot is typically dark and the tree behind Mitch is in silhouette, the lighting is dim and half of Mitch’s face is in shadow creating a chiaroscuro effect. His suit is black and the scene generally looks quite mysterious.
  • 4. There is something unsettling about the lack of light in this shot, the room behind Annie is pitch black again bringing the usual connotations of death, the unknown and mystery. Hitchcock has deliberately used less light to create a shadowy, dark and mysterious effect that brings more suspense and we don’t know what could be lurking in the shadows.
  • 5. The birds completely dominate the scene showing that they are completely out of control and Mitch's mum and the rest of the family are at mercy of the birds, the humans are greatly outnumbered. The birds have the upper hand in this shot and they are clearly attacking Mitch's mum, and the medium close up reinforces this.
  • 6. This scene is highly disturbing and graphic and introduces elements of horror, it was zoomed in using an eerie jump cut, the black hollow spaces where the eye used to be are extremely spine-chilling, and the close up shot definitely reinforces this, we are forced to look at his dead body in more graphic detail which is terrifying for the audience especially younger audiences.
  • 7. Here, the scene is a stark contrast from the chaos and horror of most of the scenes, it is made to be calm and relaxing, as a breakaway from the deaths and destruction the birds are causing as the two ladies have a ‘mutual understanding’, heart-to-heart scene, it is more cheerful with a background colour of yellow and it gives the audience a false sense of security, misleading the audience into thinking the storm has past when actually the worst is yet to come. So when the terror and havoc of the previous scenes return the audence may be thrown with surprise, it gives the film spontaneity.
  • 8. This blurred shot indicates the action and fast-paced motion of the scene, a lot is happening, the seagull looks threatening as it has managed to scare 5 fully grown women, despite the fact that it is only one. The blur of the shot also suggests the havoc and riot that the birds have caused.
  • 9. This shot is also blurry and it is a close up of her face, we can see that her coiffed hair has been ruined and despite the fact that she inside a phone box she is still panicking and frantically swatting away birds which suggests the sheer extent of the destruction and capacity of the birds’ to wreck. The fire in the background adds to the chaos and shows just how powerful and damaging the birds can be. They are literally capable of destroying the town and all its people. This could possibly question the audiences typical perception of birds, and challenge their so-called ‘innocence’.
  • 10. This scene is sad and sombre and is also when the lighting of the film is at its dimmest, possibly connoting the gravity and sombreness of the situation. The blood is convincing and the fact that her eyes are open make her injuries much more frightening. We feel grief for Melanie as she is the protagonist, so we feel most attached to her, this possibly makes her ‘untouchable’ and never in any danger however the audience are thrown again as the film ends with this strange unexpected twist. Hitchcock doesn’t favour the audience he forces the audience to go along with the plot and accept it. He doesn't give them what they want and hence keeps to the mystery of the thriller.