The Birds

The Birds (1963)

  • 95% of critics liked it
    (41 reviews)

  • 80% of users liked it
    (150,995 ratings)

The story begins as an innocuous romantic triangle involving wealthy, spoiled Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren), handsome Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor), and schoolteacher Annie Hayworth (Suzanne Pleshette). The human story begins in a San Francisco pet shop and culminates at the home of Mitch's mother… More

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PG-13, 1 hr. 59 min.
Directed By
Alfred Hitchcock
Genres
Horror, Mystery & Suspense, Classics
In Theaters
Mar 28, 1963 Wide
On DVD
Mar 28, 2000
Universal Pictures

Critic Reviews

  • , TIME Magazine

    The movie flaps to a plotless end.

  • Variety Staff, Variety

    Beneath all of this elaborate feather bedlam lies a Hitch cock-and-bull story that's essentially a fowl ball.

  • Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

    Alfred Hitchcock's most abstract film (1963), and perhaps his subtlest, still yielding new meanings and inflections after a dozen or more viewings.

  • Bosley Crowther, New York Times

    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.

  • Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

    A must-see DVD of Hitchcock's great film, with commentary and docus that illuminate the making of this classic.

Read all 19 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Sophie B


    A brilliant and tense film that gives you everything but then takes it all away with the ending. I detest the unresolved and cliffhanger ending which isn't really an ending at all. What happened to the characters? What happened to the town? Did the birds ever attack again? So… More

  • Alexander D


    Shockingly gruesome film (especially 1963) is amped-up Hitchcock tension, maybe as amped-up as physically possible.

  • Graham J


    One of my least favorite Hitchcock films but that still puts it a cut above most.

  • Lorenzo v


    <i>"I hardly think a few birds are going to bring about the end of the world"</i> A wealthy San Francisco socialite pursues a potential boyfriend to a small Northern California town that slowly takes a turn for the bizarre when birds of all kinds suddenly begin… More

  • Film C


    OOH man i love Alfred Hitchcock but i do not love this movie. Maybe it was better in its time but i cannot appreciate this movie even a little because its just not that great. Although it kept me interested the storyline was pretty terrible and the ending was pretty abrupt as well.… More

Read all 20 featured audience ratings

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