In Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds (1963), a beautiful socialite Melanie Daniels (played by Tippi Hedren in her first film role) takes a trip from San Francisco to Bodega Bay in pursuit of Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor). Although Hitchcock preferred to film on a studio set, there are numerous location shots that highlight his love for San Francisco and the surrounding area. As a hobby, the California architect Hervé Attia produced a film short that revisits many of Hitchcock’s locations for The Birds. Watch Attia’s short film and a clip of the attack on the children scene. What do you think of “fan” movies like Attia’s that deconstruct films and revisit locations?
Watch Attia’s film location video here.
Watch the attack on the children sequence here.
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http://www.you2repeat.com/watch/?v=As4yCD8YQjo
People like Attia who deconstruct and revisit locations are interesting in the sense that they give a perspective behind why a spot was chosen for a specific reason. It is also really interesting to see how the places have evolved over time. in the video I provided it compares the scene to the actual places and it is just so interesting to see the differences. You can see the tides wharf restaurant that was used for the movie and now how it has been reconstructed over time. I think it is interesting just to give the viewers a different perspective of what is in film and what is in actual.
I agree with Lisa. Fan films like Attia’s helps other fans see exactly where certain shots in films are really located and it shows the difference in time periods if the location where it was shot was a live shot. By her doing this it helps for fans to better appreciate how far a certain location has come and, depending on the movie, it can also make that specific location very popular. The more popular a location, the more traffic it drives in and it can be a grounds for other film directors to use that location based on it popularity and scene. Even though it is great to see sometimes where one of your favorite movies or shows were shot at, sometimes it isn’t necessary to show exactly where certain scenes were taken because it might ruin the “mystery” of that scene and instead of it being a special scene because of the location, it can become a regular scene because a fan showed where it was shot.
I like the idea of deconstruct and I agree with your comment about giving a perspective behind why…reason. Being able to compare what took place back then and now opens up your eyes on happened in the past in contrast to now. At first when I was watching the clip I was confuse to see half half of the clip, after watching for some more I realized it was done intentional and that Attia wanted to give us the audiences and different point of view. The reconstruction was done well; I like how you’re able to see make a clear distinction between what happened in the past verses now. Looking at the bright rich colors in the presence verses the dull colors in the past.
I like the idea of deconstruct and I agree with your comment about giving a perspective behind why…reason. Being able to compare what took place back then and now opens up your eyes on happened in the past in contrast to now. At first when I was watching the clip I was confuse to see half half of the clip, after watching for some more I realized it was done intentional and that Attia wanted to give us the audiences and different point of view. The reconstruction was done well; I like how you’re able to see make a clear distinction between what happened in the past verses now. Looking at the bright rich colors in the presence verses the dull colors in the past.
I agree with the entire deconstructions and the revisit of the films. Herve Attia did a great job on that video. Also seeing the other amount of videos he did on channel really show his intention of maybe his favorite films to making a deconstruction of the films. I would also agree it really interesting to see films location of when the filming was done to the modern time of how the film location looks now. If one of my favorite movies which used a lot of real world locations instead of being shot in a studio, had someone to film what the locations look like now I would love to see it. Seeing how things are now from when the movies was shot is very interesting when you are fan of a movie you love and just want to know more. It really is interesting seeing that deconstruction of a film is a nice way to see the way the film is in a different sense. Maybe a point of 3rd person but it really isn’t. It captures the movie and the view of the shots looks really good.
Diamond
Firstly, I’d like to say that Alfred Hitchcock has one bizarre mind for directing such a creepy movie with such an odd concept. Although the movie is a classic and is taught in many art history and film classes… killer birds? Really?
However, the movie truly displayed the beauty of San Francisco. It is always intriguing to me when someone has such a passion for something as Attia does for this movie. It takes much dedication and patience to escape from daily routines to pursue something you are truly interested in. Attia’s bold move reminds me of a book titled “No-Man’s Lands: One Man’s Odyssey Through The Odyssey” by Sam Huler. The author of this book was so in love with Homer’s “The Odyssey” that he made a decision to make the exact trip that Odysseus made from Troy back home to Ithaca and documented the entire journey in a blog. His photos and descriptions were truly beautiful. I think fan movies like that are great to watch, especially when you are a fan just as well.
This film gives off a very interesting vibe. The cold, dull, and suspenseful feel comes from the the dark foggy mood. Hitchcock had such an immense love for San Francisco which is why it’s featured in this film. He captures all of the best aspects of San Francisco. I’ve recently visited San Francisco recently and the way it’s depicted here still somehow remains the same. San Francisco has evolved overtime and modernized as well but it still has its incredible charm.
I enjoyed the movie “The Birds.”Attia films are for people whose interested seeing the images after the films. Sometimes you wonder if the place is real when they are filming. It gives you and idea and feel of the Surrounding places in the movie. Attia seen different beautiful places from Hitchcock movies. He shows it , so we all can revisit these places. We the children are running from the birds, the sky is gloomy and cloudy. It makes it seems from a horror film. If your a fan of any film, you will go revisit any movie scene you enjoyed
I find it quite interesting that a person would deconstrust a film and revisit locations. It’s great to see how much things have changed from when the film was created to now. Videos like these would excite true fans because it makes them feel as if the film has come to life. People might see the fan movie and make a trip just to see where the actual film took place.
I think it’s great to visit famous locations where classic films/scenes where shot. Places change all the times, so if you are to get the same location, you are lucky enough to get the same feeling as the film. It’s also difficult to see this if you are filming a period piece but it can see relate if its in the same place. When I think of this I think of the Film Rocky, where is he preparing for his fight and is training around the city of Philadelphia( Which is a beautiful city) and ends up running up the stairs, I can’t even give you a number of videos I’ve seen of people re-creating their own montage. This also reminds me of the film, Philadelphia, where they show many great locations in Philadelphia that makes me want to visit very badly!
Very few people can do creepy on the level that Hitchcock does, but Stanley Kubrick is up there. In a film similar to Attia’s deconstruction of the location from “The Birds”, Rodney Ascher’s “Room 237” deconstructs the famous hotel room from Kubrick’s horror masterpiece “The Shining” and even provides theories into the subtext of the film. But not everyone agreed with it’s topic as even Stephen King could not get through it and reportedly shut it off halfway through. It includes outlandish theories such as “The Shining is an analogy for the Holocaust” It’s really far out there in terms of its content but it probably comes from a well-meaning place of paying homage to a masterpiece.
I feel that fan movies are good because its like fun facts in film form. I would like to see more fan films especially of my favorite movies, to see the area in which they where shot. The area in which I live in is often used for movies and television shows and it would be cool to see the juxtaposition between how it really looks and how it is portrayed in the film or show in which it is used. Fan films are cool fun little projects any fan can do with the right amount of research.
I believe is very interesting the way the portray the locations in the movie and later on in the attica film they look very different. I believe thats the magic of film that it transports the viewer to a completely different scenery that what actually is. I agree with my classmates that the scene looks pretty creepy because it is very detailed and looks raw, this a lot of people might enjoy. I personally enjoyed the photography in the birds the colors are rich and bright.
I found Attia’s film very fascinating on how it showed side by side comparisons from the location of the film back then and now. The film shows each location in which the film took place and in present day. it shows how much everything has changed and some stuff not so much. For example, there was this restaurant that is still there, and the landmarks are still the same. I find it really interesting knowing if I stumbled across where a film scene took place.