Synopsis

In THE BIRDS, Alfred Hitchcock's heart-pounding followup to PSYCHO, the director couples a tone of rigorous morality with dark humor to create a thriller that begins as a light comedy and ends as an apocolyptic allegory. Wealthy reformed party girl Melanie Daniels (Tippie Hedren) enjoys a brief flirtation with lawyer Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) in a San Francisco pet shop and decides to follow him to his Bodega Bay home. Bearing a gift of two lovebirds, Melanie quickly strikes up a romance with Mitch while contending with his possessive mother and boarding at his ex-girlfriend's house. One day, during a birthday party for Mitch's younger sister, a flock of birds attacks the children in what seems to be a random incident. In fact, it signals the beginning of a massive avian assault on the residents of the town--a mysterious assault that no one can explain...and from which no one might come out alive. Hedren (Melanie Griffith's mother) carries the picture in her first film role ever, embarking on a career as an icy-cool leading lady. Loosely based on a Daphne du Maurier story and a Santa Monica newspaper story, "Seabird Invasion Hits Coastal Homes," THE BIRDS also features groundbreaking special effects.

Nominated for a Golden Globe, Most Promising Newcomer (Tippi Hedren)
Nominated, Best Motion Picture EDGAR ALLEN POE AWARDS
ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATION Best Special Effects

''Mr. Hitchcock and his associates have constructed a horror film that should raise the hackles of the most courageous and put goose-pimples on the toughest hide'' --THE NEW YORK TIMES