Let's discuss possible apparent to Hitchock's "The Birds".

There's a love triangle emcompassing a Blonde, a Brunette and a young man. Both girls start out as rivals, but wind up becoming friends. The Brunette's name is Annie Hayworth, which might just be coincidental to the fact that in MD Rita is assuming the name Rita which she takes from the movie poster sporting Rita Hayworth.



[spoiler]Eventually the Brunette is being attacked and killed by the birds. The position of her body does call to mind the murder of Elizabeth Short aka the Black Dahlia, whose disposed corpse was found in a similar position looking like a broken doll.[/spoiler]



In another pivotal scene an older lady is checking on her dad(?) after a bird attack... All she finds is the corpse in the bedroom which makes her run from the apartment in shock much like Rita runs from the Sierra Bonita apartment.

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Also compare the final bird attack scene inside the house with the two elderly assailing Diane. The birds find their way in through the chimney, while the tiny old people sneak in under the door. When they come for Diane - it's not hard to imagine them as attacking crows…

marksman, nice post and welcome to the realm of Lynchian references. As for the corpse encounter, I'd like to point you to another possible reference to Hitchcock's Vertigo, first mentioned by blu here http://www.mulholland-drive.net/cast/corpse.htm#vertigo

Marksman,

I'm also a big Hitchcock fan so you're not alone. Also, the more you know about some films the more it seems you don't know.

Bob,

Actually, the man's name is Dan Fawcett - a local farmer who also raises chickens.

Back to MD, Lynch references The Birds, specifically the scene where the birds try to attack Melanie Daniels who is trapped in a glass phone booth.

In Lynchian fashion the film reference is a bit abstract and puzzled me for a long while. The bird attack on the phone booth is really Adam attacking the limo windshield. The key shot coming when Lynch gives us an internal view of the broken glass as Hitch did from within the phone booth. What really sells it is the flock of birds heading for the sky as Adam runs for his car. Think of it as a low budget film hommage.

Way back when I noticed that the birds to not take off for the sky from behind the limo when Adam smashing the windshield and the front of the limo. It is ONLY when he's running away that they fly away. It would seem that the odds are virtually non-existent that birds wouldn't fly off at the sound of crashing glass and metal. It would seem that someone is behind the car and releasing the birds on command.

Someone years ago suggested that they probably used a bird wrangler. I put that suggestion down as it seemed a ridiculous expense for a non-greenlighted TV pilot. It doesn't seem so silly now.

Interesting stuff. I am also a big fan of Hitchcock, but I don't get to see much unless the hubby's not around. He thinks that older movies are for the birds. No pun intended. I actually just saw Vertigo for the first time a few weeks ago.

Ctyankee - nice catch with the phone booth/limo. I would never had made that connection.

Thanks. I should also have mentioned that Adam's silver convertible sports car echoes Melanie's silver convertible sports car.

Bob,

Not so much the corpse per se, but I like the idea of the run out of #17 referencing Lydia Brenner's run out of Dan Fawcett's house. It's the idea of having seen a horror coupled with the seemingly inability to speak that I find compelling.

ctyankee wrote:It is ONLY when he's running away that they fly away. It would seem that the odds are virtually non-existent that birds wouldn't fly off at the sound of crashing glass and metal. It would seem that someone is behind the car and releasing the birds on command.

Interesting aspect, though there's a good chance that those birds came to abide behind the car while shooting was hold for the final take where Adam smashes the headlights. While Lynch might have been aware of this continuity error, it would look minor in comparisson to having to fix the headlights for a reshoot.

Coincidentally, Naomi Watts is going to star in The Birds (2013)

This project is in limbo. The project was optioned in 2006 and planned for production in 2007. Obviously that came and went so 2013? ... I wouldn't hold your breath. The last word from the producer was "'The Birds' we're still trying to figure out." Not exactly encouraging words in Hollywood-speak.

Possibly for the best?

A remake with Naomi might be neat to see, but we need original ideas not more revisitations of films that should be left alone.

blu wrote:Possibly for the best?

A remake with Naomi might be neat to see, but we need original ideas not more revisitations of films that should be left alone.

Typically I agree with that viewpoint. But as Hitch himself remade his film The Man Who Knew Too Much I doubt that he would be getting up on his high horse about it. That and how many times did he just do another spin on the 'wrong man' premise? So to be fair, Hitch was far more about tremendous execution of a story than he was about "original ideas."

I was actually looking forward to seeing The Birds remake with Naomi...sounds like it's never going to get made now.