The Birds (Dir. Alfred Hitchcock)

Release Date: 28 March 1963

Run time: 119 minutes

Origin: USA

Mimi's Rating: 4 1/2 Lovebirds out of 5

Hitchcock's classic does for birds what Jaws did for sharks.

The story of The Birds follows prank enthusiast socialite Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren). While trying to purchase a pet bird she meets lawyer Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) and is outplayed when she tries to prank him. She impulsively follows him to his hometown of Bodega Bay to get even (a pair of lovebirds in tow). During her time in town, strange events involving the local bird population begin to happen slowly ramping up to full-blow avian chaos. Will the people of Bodega Bay survive this feathery invasion? Find out in: The Birds!

A fantastic nature-fights-back movie from one of the masters of film. It's a slow-mover but the characters are complex and interesting enough throughout to keep you interested. Great use of silence to create tension  (a stand out of this for me would be the schoolhouse scene). Crazy special effects for the time.

Why you should watch:

• It's a classic of the genre.

• It's weirder than you think.

• The characters are always interesting.

• The 60s aesthetic is top-notch.

Why you shouldn't watch:

• You think older special effects always look bad.

• You don't like a slower-paced movie.

• You don't want to see animals be harmed.