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The Birds (BFI Modern Classics / BFI Film Classics)
Camille Paglia draws together in this text the aesthetic, technical and mythical qualities of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963), and analyzes its depiction of gender and familial relations.
Paperback, 96 pages
Published
August 26th 1998
by British Film Institute
(first published July 1st 1998)
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So credit where credit is due: by sadistically characterizing the terrorized schoolchildren as "little snacks" for the birds, Paglia has offhandedly offered one of the funniest things I've read in film writing in a long, long time (and I'm up to my ears in it these days).
I was fully expecting to just glance through this book, but once I started I couldn't put it down and read it in (nearly) one sitting, a rarity for me. Oh, certainly the merits of this book-length essay and Paglia's approach to...more
I was fully expecting to just glance through this book, but once I started I couldn't put it down and read it in (nearly) one sitting, a rarity for me. Oh, certainly the merits of this book-length essay and Paglia's approach to...more
This was such a pleasure. Camille walks the reader through each significant scene of this film, which is so full of puzzling implications, where nothing adds up neatly (so much of it is open to interpretation, and Tippi Hedren's journey goes in such odd directions, that it's still startling that Hitchcock managed to turn it into a mainstream hit), mixing standard critical observations with more personal responses. These are especially interesting regarding the women in the film, and how they int...more
This is the first book I have read by Camille Paglia and I was expecting something much different. This is a wonderful critique (more like a guided tour) of Hitchcock's The Birds . The Birds is one of my most cherished movies and I was dreading a feminist diatribe against it. I was delighted with the humor, incisiveness and respect that Paglia showed for the film. Every once in a while some strident comment slips out, but I forgave her mostly for her humor and love of the film - at one point...more
Camille Paglia’s devotes an entire book on Hitchcock’s The Birds. One of the obvious challenges in dealing with a film that has been written about countless of times is to find something different here to say. Here, Paglia is concerned with discussing the history of the film, chronicling the entire plot and characters, all while providing and illuminating discussion and making the film experience her own. She does focus on the female aspects on the film, but with an obvious admiration of the fil...more
Kind of thin on the analysis. Trudges through the movie scene by scene. Some interesting observations, but some of the interesting ones fall in the category of: Oh, that's the interesting point I would EXPECT Paglia to make. Have not read others in this series so I do not know if the restrictions were those of the series or the limits of the author's imagination when it came to this project...which feels like an assignment. But it HAS made me hunt down and put on my To Read list, DuMaurier's sho...more
Camille Paglia writes in a perceptive and challenging manner on issues relating to gender. To her close reading of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1962), Paglia brings her truly impressive erudition, a comprehensive knowledge of how everything from art history to politics to sociology to biology can somehow be brought to bear on Hitchcock's classic suspense film about bird attacks in the northern California coastal town of Bodega Bay. Paglia's diligent research provides the reader with helpful tid...more
Paglia's in-depth analysis of the Hitchcock classic is a real treat for fans of the movie. Rather than getting bogged down in dull film theory, she examines every detail of the film in order to show how each element, from Tippi Hedren's wardrobe to the Modigliani print on Suzanne Pleshette's wall, contributes to the overall themes of the film. Her shot-by-shot commentary leads the reader through the film and reveals the richness of Hitchcock's vision. Paglia's trademark irreverent humor is also...more
Paglia's little book of feminine wisdom and study ought to please a cursory or perusing reader equally. Her attention hits every detail of the background and fore; she places shapes on the screen into peculiarly fitting places and reads all small deeds as purposive. Sharp praise layers onto swift prose: the effect is an avocado verity.
Paglia does a great job of explaining the greatness of Hitchcock's 1963 masterpiece. A sort of "revenge of nature" book against humanity is a fair criticism. It is interesting to see this idea evolving in the book and movie during the time when these theories were evolving.
Adult content. This is a book I read recently for a Film Studies course. An interesting and very complete examination of Hitchcock's "The Birds". Some of the material seems like a bit of a stretch, at first ...
As with all BFI books it's a little hard to critique something that's already a critique. But here goes. This was interesting but I wished the author would've gone into some of the technical aspects of the movie on top of the story and character. This is Hitchcock after all and there's precious little talk about how the movie was made. That said, this is an intelligent analysis of a great movie made more interesting in that it was written in 1998: pre-DVD and internet. This adds a layer that the...more
Everything about the Hitchcockian masterpiece blended with the Paglian point of view. A delicious reading..
Pretty detailed account of the making of the Hitchcock classic, along with some Camille-isms in film theory. Quick read, very interesting.
Paglia is a snarky and observant critic. I love the movie "The Birds" and this is a great companion piece.
It was generally engaging and an enjoyable read but I guess I expected more from Camille Paglia.
Apr 28, 2013
Angelina Rose
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Camille Anna Paglia is an American social critic, author and teacher. Her book, Sexual Personae: Art and Decadence from Nefertiti to Emily Dickinson, published in 1990, became a bestseller. She is a professor of humanities and media studies at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
She has been variously called the "feminist that other feminists love to hate," a "post-feminist fe...more
More about Camille Paglia...
She has been variously called the "feminist that other feminists love to hate," a "post-feminist fe...more
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