F.F.S. HITCHCOCK: "THE BIRDS"

Well, we are now half way through the first Freedom Film Series and things have been going smoothly. I hope that those who were able to come and watch Vertigo enjoyed themselves and enjoyed the movie! For the third installment in the Hitchcock film series, I will be screening another one of his more well-known movies. It proudly takes its place among the greatest thrillers of all time and, like Spielberg's Jaws, gives us yet another reason to fear the coastal areas. For next week's screening, we will be watching Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds.

The Birds was originally released in 1963 and was the very first movie to be released under Universal Pictures new name (the studio's previous name was Universal-International). The film stars Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy, and Tippi Hedren in her big screen debut (Hitchcock found Hedren through soda commercial on the "Today" show; and the Hitch has always had a thing for blonds). The Birds received an Oscar nominations for Best Visual Effects, but lost to Elizabeth Taylor's Cleopatra. This movie was, again, based on a Daphne Du Maurier story; Hitchcock would make three of Du Maurier's stories into movies. The entire movie, interestingly enough, has no musical score whatsoever. There are only the typical ambient sound effects, the sounds of the birds, and various other sounds mixed together with the use of an electronic mixer and placed at strategic moments in the film. In my opinion, this adds tremendously to the creepiness of the film, as well as the tension.

As far as plot is concerned, it is extremely basic for a Hitchcock movie. In a nutshell, the characters played by Rod Taylor and Tippi Hedren meet in a pet shop in the city and there is an instant and innocent attraction (typical boy meets girl scenario). Hedren is invited for a visit to Taylor's home, which is in Bodega Bay right on the coast. After we have this established, the only thing left to say is BIRDS ATTACK! The characters in the film have no idea why the birds are behaving the way they are and, as the audience, neither do we. This is, I believe, the key to what makes The Birds such a terrifying movie and experience. What is more unnerving than the absence of reason, the inability to explain why things are happening? What is more frightening than the unknown? I think this is the point Hitchcock was trying to make with this movie. One does not need intricate and involved plot twists to create a fearful experience. As with most things in this world, simplicity does the trick nicely. All Hitchcock needed to was take animals that are a part of our everyday lives and make them behave to the opposite extreme that we are used to.

Technically, The Birds was quite unique for its time and this was recognized with the Oscar nomination. The bird attack scenes were a combination live animals, puppets, and fake birds on strings. In some of the scenes, birds were even attached to actors' clothing in order to keep them in camera frame and close enough to the actor to make the attack realistic. In some of the scenes of the movie, there are very large numbers of birds, specifically sea gulls, just sitting still ominously. It is hard to imagine how bird handlers would be able to get that many birds to remain that still long enough for filming. According to one of the actors, Rod Taylor, the sea gulls were fed wheat and whiskey so they would remain still and docile long enough to get the shots needed. I seriously doubt any other animals in any other movie were treated quite so well.

As for its critical acclaim, The Birds is considered to be one of Hitchcock's somewhat lack-luster efforts. That's not to say that critics think it is a bad movie; just that it seems a little inferior to some of his other more involved films. In this respect, the critics are right. If you come into this movie looking for a classic Hitchcock twist and turn plot, you are going to be disappointed. What the critics do agree on, however, is that The Birds is one incredibly eerie and chilling movie experience that is not easily forgotten. Hitchcock, himself, is famously quoted as saying: "It may be the most terrifying motion picture I have ever made." It is a movie that preys on one of the basest fears of human beings. The fear of nature outside of our control, of nature asserting its place of dominance on the planet. The fear that we humans may not be as high in the pecking order as we think.

Come out and join us on Wednesday, August 6 at 6:00pm in the Freedom Regional Public Library Community Room for our screening of The Birds. The screening is free of charge and open to everyone. Hope to see you there!


















Until next time....

F.F.S HITCHCOCK: "VERTIGO"

A big thanks goes out to the people who came to our opening night screening of Rebecca in the Hitchcock Freedom Film Series. And thanks to those who helped me get the movie going! If you came out to see Rebecca, and even if you didn't, I hope you'll plan on making it to our next Hitchcock movie, Wednesday July 30. Next week, we will be venturing into more familiar Hitchcock territory with the movie Vertigo.

Vertigo was originally released into theaters in 1958 and stars Kim Novak and the Hitchcock regular, James Stewart. Although the film earned itself two Oscar nominations, it was initially given less than stellar reviews by critics and was generally disliked in its early days. As a fine wine, however, Vertigo has aged extremely well. It is now considered one of Hitchcock's greatest movies if not THE greatest movie he has ever made. A combination of staggering performances from Stewart and Novak, innovative camera work, and the always involving and suspenseful story we come to expect from Hitchcock make this one of the most memorable thrillers in film history.

To give a brief description of the plot....James Stewart is a San Francisco detective who is hired by an old school friend to follow his wife (Kim Novak) for fear that she is losing her mind and may be suicidal. As he follows her around town, Stewart's assignment becomes an obsession as he becomes enamored with the blond-haired beauty. As his obsessions grow, Stewart comes to realize (in typical Hitchcock fashion) that things are not always what they seem. If anymore of the plot is revealed, it would ruin the movie. The real thrills come from following the numerous twists and turns and watching Stewart become helplessly entangled along with ourselves. If you're wondering what part vertigo actually plays in the movie, it's somewhat small. Stewart's character does have a somewhat severe case of vertigo, but it is only mentioned in conversation once in the film. (Vertigo, by the way, is a stark dizzying sensation one feels while on completely stable surroundings. It is mistakenly thought to be a fear heights; extreme heights merely cause a more severe attack of vertigo.) The reason for naming the movie as such comes from the way Stewart's mind is twisted and spun in obsessions with Novak.

Vertigo was listed at #61 on the American Film Institute's Top 100 American Movies and deservedly so. It stands out from the rest of Hitchcock's other films in its technical work and the nature of its characters. Hitchcock and his cinematographer, Robert Burks, created what is today called the contra-zoom or trombone zoom and they used this type of shot to create the sense of vertigo. Basically, the shot involves zooming out the camera lens while tracking, moving, the camera closer to what you are filming. It is used on a regular basis today in order to capture similar sensations. The characters also stand out in Vertigo more than they do in Hitchcock's other films. The characters are overall darker than what we are used to in Hitchcock, even the ones we are supposed to be in support of. Perhaps this is why most critics believe this movie is his masterpiece. It offers us something that we are not expecting.

So, if you have seen Vertigo before, or you have never seen any of Hitchcock's movies at all, come out and join us for a screening of Vertigo in the Freedom Regional Public Library Community Room at 6:00pm on Wednesday, July 30. The screening will be free of charge and open to the public. Join us for a good movie and a good time!



















Until next time....

F.F.S. HITCHCOCK: "REBECCA"

I have been eagerly awaiting, as I hope many of you have as well, the first screening of the very first Freedom Film Series program. As we already know, the theme for the first Freedom Film Series is Alfred Hitchcock and we will be spending one night a week for four weeks watching four of his best films. The first film that I have chosen to show in the Hitchcock program will be Rebecca. The film was originally released in 1940 starring Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine and it was the first movie that Alfred Hitchcock made in Hollywood (after making the move from Great Britain to the U.S.).

Rebecca is not one of Hitchcock's more well-known films, but was, nevertheless, quite successful and critically acclaimed. In 1941, it was nominated for a total of 11 Oscars and came away with the Best Cinematography, Black and White and Best Picture awards. This would be Hitchcock's only Best Picture win out of the many times his films earned that nomination. Three of its Oscar nominations were in the acting categories. Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier were both nominated for Lead Acting awards and Judith Anderson earned a Supporting Actress nomination. Hitchcock was also nominated for Best Director, but had to settle for the Best Picture award instead.

The movie is an adaptation of a Daphne Du Maurier novel of the same name and is an eerie Gothic, suspense tale. Without giving too much of the plot away, the story centers around a young, naive, lower class girl (Joan Fontaine) who meets a young, rich widower, Maxim de Winter (Laurence Olivier) and they immediately fall in love and marry. Soon after moving into the large estate of her new husband, the, now, Second Mrs. de Winter finds that the atmosphere she is met with is anything but hospitable. The housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers (Judith Anderson), is the primary source of this unwelcoming spirit. Mrs. Danvers was, and seemingly remains to be, devoted to the First Mrs. de Winter and disdains the new-comer. As the movie progresses, we learn that the death of the First Mrs. de Winter is shrouded in mystery and Joan Fontaine spends most of her time trying to figure out what has really happened and why the house is so haunted by the memory of her predecessor.

Rebecca is an extremely atmospheric film that successfully evokes creepy chills from the audience. Hitchcock's choice to shoot the film in black and white is one the biggest contributing factors to the Gothic feel and aura and, according to Hitchcock, was the only way that the mood of the book could be translated into film. The movie is filled with great performances, a suspenseful story, a chilling musical score, and is beautifully shot. In other words, it is classic Hitchcock. And, of course, there is the classic Hitchcock cameo near the end of the movie. But you'll have to actually come to the screening to see for yourself.

The movie will be shown on July 23 at 6:00pm in the Freedom Regional Library Community Room and it is free of charge. Come on out for a good movie and a good time!!























Until next time....