The Birds ... of gay!

[fembuck]

And no, I'm not talking about the comic or TV show. I'm talking about the Hitchcock movie which I just watched tonight (yes, for the first time, shut up!)

Thoughts on The Birds (1963):

- Tippi Hedren was ridiculously good looking. Womanly sass and elegance personified. *has major girlcrush on her 33 year old self*

- Suzanne Pleshette rocks the casbah. Her Annie was like one of the best things in the movie, because Annie was so gay. Every time she looked at Melanie (Tippi) or spoke to her it seemed like she was coming on to her. They were actually so lesbionic together that at one point one of friends was like "are they gonna sleep in the same room?" cause, really, it did seem like the end of a really great date. Also, since Annie dies I'm going to assume she was hitting on Melanie cause that's what happened to those types of characters back in the day. Also, like Tippi Hedron, Pleshette was mad gorgeous back in the day.

All subtext aside though, it was a very nice treat to see two women of similar age interacting on screen together, which was quite rare during this time. I was like, 'OMG, they have the chicks talking to each other! What is going on here?' Also, at no point were they bitchy or catty to each. Twas great.

- I wish I was the daughter of the owner of a newspaper so that I could look fabulous, hang out in bird stores all day, take impromptu trips to the coast to play jokes on people, and jump into fountains in Rome nude. Seriously.

- The scene at the bar where the townspeople are discussing the bird situation is gold. It had the greatest mix of characters ever. I totally would have hung out there. You had the bombshell blonde from the city, the sea captain with a jazzy hat, the talkative bartender, the crazy drunken Irishman, an old lady with a convenient knowledge of the subject, an arrogant newspaper man from the city, and a mom with two whiny children who in a hysterical voice tells everyone else to be quiet because they're scaring the children.

That combined with Tippi Hedren's expression as she watched the newspaper guy light his cigarette while surrounded by a pool of gasoline made for a fine cinematic experience.

- Birds are effing creepy. I already hated birds before this, and this movie only confirmed to be that I was right to loath and suspect them! Seriously, the swarming scenes were like seeing my nightmares on screen, and when they got to the close-ups of the pecking, and I was practically hyperventilating. Hate. Birds.

That being said, the special effects were really top notch for the time period it was made. I was very impressed.

- If you have a fur coat and birds are attacking you, don't take off the coat to walk around in your smart looking suit, keep the fur coat on, it will offer more protection! Just had to say.

- The guy playing Jessica Tandy's son in the movie looked like he was about 45 years old, which means that visually she only looked about 10 years or so older than him (although IRL he was only 33). That and the fact that he called her "darling" and "dear", combined with Annie talking about how Lydia (Tandy) was jealous of any girl her son brought home, gave most of their scenes together a really weird Oedipal vibe. (but, like with Stardust, the mother and the future daughter-in-law, got to snuggle in the backseat together which was great. *sigh* If only Annie had offered to give Melanie a massage, it would have been the best ever)

Overall impression:

Good movie, I highly enjoyed it! If you haven't seen it I would definitely recommend it. *sigh* Just one more reason not to listen to the people at Blockbuster. The guy who checked us out told us that the movie sucked, but because this was the same guy that we heard recommending Mindhunters to someone a couple weeks ago, we didn't pay attention to him and I'm glad we didn't. Worst video store guy ever.

(fights urge to write Melanie/Annie fic since I actually have to go back to work *sob* ... and it was a losing battle Small Town Hospitality - Melanie/Annie, PG)

Comments

[amluv.livejournal.com]

OMG...i totally had a "birds" moment today while walking dmitri...i swear the sky was black w/ robins and swallows...heh...i typed swallows...anyhoo...hitchcock rocks my socks...love,love,love his work...if you haven't seen it yet, check out "lifeboat"....oooh and "notorious"...neither are les!tastic...but they're pretty awesome films.

ps

i found action jackson and the last dragon on netflix and am soooo having me a cheesy 80s action movie night...

pps

it sucks that you have to go back to work...but i promise to keep the dry martinis comin' after your har day's labor...i'll even set out some fuzzy slippers too...;)

[fembuck.livejournal.com]

i totally had a "birds" moment today while walking dmitri...i swear the sky was black w/ robins and swallows

scary! I already hated black birds and now I dislike them even more. Their creepy, inhuman eyes staring blinklessly at you *shudder*

hitchcock rocks my socks...love,love,love his work...if you haven't seen it yet, check out "lifeboat"....oooh and "notorious"...neither are les!tastic...but they're pretty awesome films

*woot* I'll definitely check those out. I've been watching a lot of older movies lately, so I'm glad to have some to add to the list. *taps foot impatiently waiting for "Blow Up", "La Dolce Vita" and "Turning Point" to finish downloading)

Ooh, I can't remember if I mentioned it before, but I saw the children's hour and absolutely loved it. You were right, it was a really beautiful if tragic story. Even though I knew how it would end I was totally hoping that those two crazy kids would make it. And it's scary how relevant it still is today. Watching it I was thinking that they could remake it without having to change much and it could still be a current commentary. Although I pity the actresses taking on the roles played so beautifully by McClaine (who was pretty foxy back in the day) and Hepburn.

[amluv.livejournal.com]

i still haven't dipped my toe in fellini or truffaut, though i've been told by numerous people that any cinemaphile worth their salt will have at least seen 8 1/2...so i'll have to get around to that..;)

i'm glad you got the chance to see the "children's hour"...now maybe you can understand why i really want to write that fic...at first i was totally diggin' the idea of a remake, but the more i thought about it, the more i'm convinced that it could be done in such a way that was as good or better than the mcclain/hepburn version...it may not have been william wyler's best film, but he was just able to capture the hauntingly beautiful tone that is the essence of the film...plus those performances, i get goosebumps just thinking about them...ah...now i think i'm gonna have to pop it in the dvd player and watch it again...but yeah, despite how it turns out, i still love it...hey, if you're interested, you should check out "these three"...basically when the story was originally optioned to be a motion picture the hayes code mandated that they take out the lesbian story line and what was left became "these 3"...some people agree that it's a better film than the "children's hour", which may or may not be true, but it's still worth checking out.

[fembuck.livejournal.com]

i found action jackson and the last dragon on netflix and am soooo having me a cheesy 80s action movie night...

I saw a copy of last dragon for sale at Blockbuster. I didn't have my wallet with me then, but I'm definitely gonna have to go back and get it.

[amluv.livejournal.com]

dude..you must!!...oh and have i got a movie for you...it's called "the confessions of a chinese courtesan"...think lady snow blood meets pretty woman meets kill bill...if you can't find a couple i'll send you mine...you must see it!!

[fembuck.livejournal.com]

Oooh, the title alone makes me want to see it, and I loved both Lady Snow Blood and Kill Bill. *goes off to see if she can find a copy*

You're my film guru! *loves*

[chilipeppasbaby.livejournal.com]

*squees* I thought I was the only one who saw all the mad Melanie/Annie subtext! If the urge to write Melanie/Annie fic takes you, do not resist it. You would rock it so much. :)

[fembuck.livejournal.com]

Definitely not. They were so awesome together. When Annie died, I was like "No, not Annie! Don't take away the gay!!!" It was definitely a nice little surprise to see.

[ashirashadow.livejournal.com]

Fuck work. Write femslash. I'll sit at your feet and massage your legs and work my way up down. And I'll fetch you whatever your wife doesn't get you.... as long as I'm not chained this time....and she doesn't beat me. *hides grin at thoughts of beating, whips, crops, handcuffs...etc...*

[amluv.livejournal.com]

*arches eye brow*...uh huh...*sashays away*...

[ashirashadow.livejournal.com]

Wait! Miss! :small voice: I'm sorry...

[fembuck.livejournal.com]

tempting ... tempting ... sold! lol Based on the mrs response though, you might not be able to avoid the chains. Her good will only goes so far ;)

Honestly though, work won't stop me from writing it will just slow me down a bit. I've been writing like crazy this summer, but the flow will have to slow now though it definitely won't stop.

The problem is I forget about all the things I wanted to write about once I get the chance to, lol

[amluv.livejournal.com]

ah, who am i to get in the way of lusty devotion...but eh hem...not too lusty...so j...um...what are the chances of you writing a dr mann/agent 355 fic??

[ashirashadow.livejournal.com]

you might not be able to avoid the chains. Her good will only goes so far

...I think I'll survive.

I've been writing like crazy this summer

omg, i know! I love you for it!!! You're so awesome. :D

The problem is I forget about all the things I wanted to write about once I get the chance to

Write it down! Carry a piece of paper in your pocket and write it down or send yourself a text message. I'm brilliant! Don't deprive us of your brilliant writing and ideas.

[murasaki1200.livejournal.com]

A bunch of Hitchcock's movies are centered around women characters and those are so much fun. To add to your list: 'Spellbound' - Ingrid Bergman having Dali-esque dreams, 'Marnie' - Tippi Hedren blowing off a young Sean Connery which gave it a strangely lesbionic feel also.

If you're any kind of a movie geek, checkout Truffaut's book of interviews with Hitchcock, where he talks about some of the stuff he was the first to do but which have become classic techniques, like having the video show how people's actions don't match what they may be talking about etc...great read.

[amluv.livejournal.com]

okay...just because you mentioned this, you know, the best hitchcock movie that hictchcock didn't make is "arsenic & old lace" and it's got a pretty twisted les!cest feel about it...that's another rec' for ya... ;)

[fembuck.livejournal.com]

Sweet! Oooh, I'm gonna have so many movies to watch *dance of joy*

Arsenic and Old Lace, totally on the list. Plus, I've gotta see this one as a "Runaways" fan. Gert!!!

[amluv.livejournal.com]

it's a great film...i think you'll like it...oh i forgot to mention that "confessions of a chinese courtesan" is kinda obscure since it was made in the late 60s and came out of hong kong before the big boon of asian cinema during the 70s...so you might have a hard time finding it, but it' worth it...happy hunting... :)

[fembuck.livejournal.com]

Oooh, moar Tippi. *is totally there*

Spellbound and Marnie are now totally on my list. Thanks for recs!

[fembuck.livejournal.com]

Dude, I totally LOVED "Marnie". So fucked up. Tippi was great, and you were right it did have a slightly lesbionic feel because of Marine's horror at being 'handled' by men. Also, Lil asking "who's the dish?" the first time she saw Marnie and the way Lil was always smirking at her, didn't hurt either.

I knew I was going to love it the moment Marnie got all crazy jealous over a six year old girl. Her contempt for Jessie reeled me in. Then it was just love after love.

The only thing I didn't love was the ending with Marnie going off with Mark (dude, I know you're traumatized but the douchebag raped you). I would have loved it if she had chosen jail over that elephant cock (Connery did a great though, the character was just such a smarmy jerk).

The pathology of Marnie, and the screwed-up-ed-ness of their relationship was really captivating though (I stayed up way to late watching it), and I really enjoyed it.

Thanks for the rec :D

[murasaki1200.livejournal.com]

Glad you enjoyed it even though it cut into your beauty sleep.

I first saw it when I was like a wee babe, and loved it. I should have figured out this meant something or other, lol!

[bitterfic.livejournal.com]

I saw your Melanie/Annie fic when you posted it and was interested because it's such an off-beat fandom but I hadn't seen the Birds in so long couldn't didn't remember Annie. I watched it again last night and Annie is totally cruising Melanie. Now I'm going to read your fic.