On Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds (1963)

1. On Alfred Hitchcock’s
The Birds (1963)
Nov. 23, 2017

2. Alfred Hitchcock
(1899-1980)
1. An English film director
2. Master of Suspense
3. Entered the film industry in
1920
4. Moved to the Hollywood in
1940 and since then Hitchcock
became famous for the films
he made.
i. Rebecca (1940)
ii. Saboteur (海角擒兇，1942)
iii. Psycho (驚魂記，1960)
iv. Frenzy (狂兇記，1972)
5. Directed a total of 53 movies
and more.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Hitchcock_filmogra
phy
https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Filmography

3. Rear Window (後窗，1954)
A wheelchair-bound photographer
spies on his neighbors from his
apartment window and becomes
convinced one of them has
committed murder.
Vertigo (迷魂記，1958)
A former police, John Scottie, is forced
to retire early because he witnessed
the death of a criminal. He has develop
acrophobia and vertigo.

4. Psycho (1960)
A Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000
from her employer's client, goes on the
run, and checks into a remote motel run
by a young man under the domination
of his mother.
Frenzy (1972)
A serial murderer is strangling women
with a necktie. The London police have
a suspect, but he is the wrong man.

5. Auteur Theory(作者論)
1. French film criticism of the late 1940s.
2. Director = Author = Screenwriter
3. Camera movement, lightening, editing, and other
features that mark the work of the director.
(ie. Long Take used by Director Hou Hsiao-hsien)
4. “Supporters of the auteur theory further contend that
the most cinematically successful films will bear the
unmistakable personal stamp of the director”
(Encyclopedia Britannica).
5. Hitchcock and auteur theory:
Hitchcock cameo in his films:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YbaOkiMiRQ
6. Criticism: Who owns the film work?
Cited from Encyclopedia Britannica:
https://www.britannica.com/art/auteur-theory

6. Hitchcock’s The Birds
1. Melanie Daniels (leading actress)
2. Mitch Brenner (Lydia’s son)
3. Lydia Brenner (Mitch and Cathy’s mother)
4. Cathy Brenner(Lydia’s daughter)
5. Annie Hayworth (Mitch’s ex-girlfriend)
6. Mrs. MacGruder (pet shop owner)

7. The Storyboard of
The Birds
Cited from:
https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Hitchcock_Gallery:
_image_1236

8. Discussion
1. Summarize the opening sequence(0’00~9’24).
2. Summarize the dialogue between Mitch and
Melanie. What do they mainly talk about?
3. From their conversation, what can be the
personality of Mitch and of Melanie? Support your
argument with their dialogue.
4. What can be inferred from the interaction
between Mitch and Melanie? Support your
argument with their dialogue.

9. Raymond’s Bellour’s
“System of a Fragment”
1. Duration: 6’15
2. Oppositions: Static / Movement
Close / Distant
Seeing/ Seen
3. Two Centers: A, B
a. The Look
b. The Framing
c. The Movement
Bellour, Raymond. “System of a Fragment: On The Birds.” The Analysis of Film.
Bloomington: Indiana UP, 2000. 28-67.

10. Works Cited
1. IMBD. http://www.imdb.com/
2. The Hitchcock Zone.
https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Main_Page