Before seeing The Birds for the first time, I, like most people, had seen the original Psycho, which is not only one Hitchcock's best films, but was also one of the best horror movies of all time because of its innovation in how it scared with psychological horror as opposed to just a simple slasher which doesn't really have the same impact as a film that messes with your head.  A couple of years after this cult classic was released, Hitchcock decided to in a new direction by using animals as the ultimate scare factor instead of the twisted and schizophrenic Norman Bates.  Now, while admit that the idea of birds on a mass scale attacking everyone in sight is a compelling idea, since there are birds literally everywhere you look, which in reality could be pretty catastrophic if such an incident were to occur in reality.  However, unlike Psycho, which seemed based more so in reality, as a character like Norman Bates could actually be a real person, since schizophrenia is still a well known mental disorder, the film could still be viewed today and retain that same psychological thrill that most people would experience when the though of ever crossing a mentally disturbed person enters their minds.  Whereas with The Birds, its hard to really be scared of something that in reality is an unintelligent, and incapable of being able to organize a mass attack on the human race.  Now that may sound a little overcritical, but even so the whole thought of birds being hostile is a little hostile.  However, thats to say this film isn't just a random mish mash of birds just attacking humans out of nowhere.  The story behind is actually well put together and does an adequate job of drawing you into the world of The Birds.  In a nutshell, the story follows the main character and heroine Annie Hayworth(Suzanne Pleshette), who is a rich, charismatic woman who is supported and spoiled by her rich father who owns several newspapers throughout the city of San Francisco.  So, from the immediate outset, its hard to initially like Annie, much less believe her to be the heroine of the film because of her inability to support herself, and the way she carries her self as "I'm a rich bitch and if you don't like you can get out of my way."  However, this perspective changes pretty quickly once she meets her potential love interest Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor).  While in the beginning it doesn't seem like this relationship can work out simply because Annie is a high maintenance woman who gets what she wants when she wants it, whereas Mitch is a much more simple, and caring fellow who is defense attorney at a law firm in San Francisco.  Eventually though, it becomes more and more obvious that these two characters actually more compatible than first though because of Mitch's laid back personality which brings a more caring, and understanding side to Annie which shows just how well rounded a person can become simply by meeting someone who understands them.  The acting from these two characters is pretty spot on with each character playing off these others personality traits which makes the whole experience a little bit more believable and engaging as oppose to if the characters hated each other form start to finish.  From the cinematography side, it is definitely quite a spectacular film to view because of its now dated but back then mind bowing special effects, and well placed camera angles which really draw you in to this insane reality of killer birds.  On the story side, the script is fairly well written, and lines are delivered pretty well, except from Mitch Brenners younger sister, who is necessary to keep the film emotional and heart wrenching, especially when she witnesses the death of her school teacher.  Really though, I found her a bit annoying at times especially when Annie and Mitch are attempting to bond and she just comes out of nowhere and interrupts them.  Besides this minor annoyance  though, the characters as a whole deliver solid dialogue which really makes the whole "killer birds" thing, somewhat engrossing.  With that said though, what really hurts this movie the most is its ending.  I won't give anything away for those who haven't seen it, but I will say that it is anticlimactic and doesn't really do what is a solid film justice.  Still though, there are a lot of thrills to be had in The Birds, some of which are few and far between but when they occur are quite in their scale and in the terror they can induce to someone who isn't a fan of thrillers.  So, of your a fan of Hitchcock's classic films, this certainly another one that you should see.  While it doesn't compare to the scares and superb storytelling psycho, its still easy to see how Hitchcock is the master of the Thriller genre.  4/5