Watching  Attia’s video based on the film location of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963’s The Birds really puts into perspective how much time has passed by since the original filming of the movie. As Attia revisits these places we can see changes in the locations the film was shot at. One of the locations that really stood out was the revisit of “The Tides”restaurant. The restaurant had a cozy neighborhood type of vibe in the movie but looks much more grand and modernized today. It looks more like a chain now than an independently owned place.

I found the matte backdrops that were painted on in the film so much more atmospheric (as it was intended to) than what it looks like in real life present day. Obviously Hitchcock had a vision in mind and decided to recreate nature in a way that seemed more fitting to him. This is also apparent in the scene where Tippi’s character Melanie, along with Mitch walk towards the hills overlooking a matte painted background rendition of the countryside.  The lighting on the characters and the fact that there is no wind indication as the grass isn’t moving makes it obvious to a modern viewer that this was replicated in the studio. It’s interesting that Hitchcock was such a control freak to the point of trying to manipulate nature for his own artistic vision.