ACF #6 The Birds

 

The American Cinema Foundation movie podcast is back. @stsalieriericcook and I are talking about Hitchock’s follow-up to Psycho, The Birds. We answer the basic questions about the bird attacks and we hope to persuade you that Hitchcock plotted his story not merely with a view to thrills, but from a serious moral perspective that should be of interest especially, but not exclusively, to conservatives. At the same time, our claim is that the moral perspective is as obvious as the images on the screen once you pay attention to the sequence of events, as well as the setting.

So we’ve taken to explaining both the shockingly obscure and the apparently throwaway, to put them together and show that they really do belong together.

Our previous Hitchcock conversation was very long, so there was much that we didn’t have to cover again in this case. The two are independent podcasts, but if you listen to both of them, you’ll get far more of what we think we have discovered and what we’re setting up to do in future.

We made some comparisons in this one, as they were required, and pointed out the similarities of theme and approach, but mostly skipped to the chase. Still, if you have an interest in the possibilities of the theme–how characters and circumstances from the one movie are taken into the other with certain modifications–there’s a lot to like about our discussion! As always, please share it if you like the podcast–we’re trying to spread the word.

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There are 34 comments.

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  1. Titus Techera Contributor
    Titus Techera
    @TitusTechera

    That’s part of the reasoning that led me to my remarks about the birds…

    • #31
  2. Ansonia Member
    Ansonia
    @Ansonia

    I ordered the movie on Amazon. Will be ordering Psycho as well too.

    Titus, you should get a commission for all the Hitchcock DVDs you’re inadvertently selling.

    I could have sworn it was the bedroom Lydia once shared with Mitch’s father.

    • #32
  3. Titus Techera Contributor
    Titus Techera
    @TitusTechera

    Wait for my Hitchcock book…

    • #33
  4. Ansonia Member
    Ansonia
    @Ansonia

    Re:33

    It would be wonderful if you’d write one. I’d love to learn (and I’d love to see young people learn) much more about U.S. culture between 1900 and 1965.

    You’ve convinced me Hitchcock is important to understanding the culture between….what? 1928 to 1965 ?

    • #34
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