Hitchcock Fans Must Watch! Tonight’s TV Gem Not for the Bird-Phobic

Why not wrap up the weekend with a true cinematic masterpiece? This Sunday evening, Arte presents the chilling classic “The Birds,” a horror thriller by Alfred Hitchcock starring the remarkable Tippi Hedren. It’s a treat for movie buffs, though a challenge for anyone suffering from ornithophobia (a handy term for social occasions, describing the fear of birds).

Released in French theaters in 1963 with a warning for viewers under 12, “The Birds” builds suspense as it tells the tale of a young woman and a lawyer who start a flirtation in a San Francisco bird shop. To see him again, she concocts a plan to personally deliver a pair of lovebirds to him. Along the way, she is attacked by a seagull. Soon, bizarre occurrences linked to the behavior of birds signal an impending disaster…

Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds” (which features an iconic shot with a surprising trick) is based on a true incident from August 1961 when residents of Capitola, California were awakened by aggressive birds crashing into rooftops, finding their streets littered with dead birds thereafter. The master of suspense had a local newspaper report brought to him, which he used as inspiration for “The Birds,” a thriller that also draws from Daphne du Maurier’s 1952 short story of the same name.

A Golden Globe for Tippi Hedren

Led by the impressive Tippi Hedren, who won a Golden Globe for Best Actress for her role, “The Birds” is highly acclaimed by AlloCiné viewers, boasting an average rating of 4.2 out of 5. Don’t miss the chance to (re)discover this essential piece of cinema, comfortably from your living room!

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Tonight on Arte at 9 PM

The trailer for “The Birds”: