It’s one thing to adapt a popular book into a film; it’s another to attempt to remake a classic motion picture by Alfred Hitchcock. “The Birds” was a famous 1963 suspense movie based on the 1952 story with the same title by Daphne du Maurier.
Now Michael Bay and Platinum Dunes are ready to remake Hitchcock’s avian film, according to Variety. Bay, along with Universal have hired Dutch filmmaker Diederik Van Rooijen to direct the newest version. Bay will produce with his Platinum Dunes producing partners Andrew Form and Brad Fuller with Peter Guber and David Zelon also producing through Mandalay Pictures.
Now the question is, should Bay touch such a classic? Of course, many filmmakers have remade Hitchcock movies in the past, from “Psycho” to even a TV movie sequel titled “Birds II: Land’s End” by Rick Rosenthal in 1994. But it almost seems sacrilegious to touch such a masterpiece. A remake would call for special effects and 3D glasses, whereas studios could simply re-release the 1963 original for audiences today.
There is no word yet as to how different the plot will be from the original story.
In Hitchcock’s “The Birds,” Tippi Hedren starred as Melanie Daniels a young socialite who meets Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) in a San Francisco pet shop. Mitch wants to purchase a pair of lovebirds for his sister’s eleventh birthday, but the shop has none. Melanie finds out that Mitch lives in Bodega Bay and takes the long drive to the bay with a gift of lovebirds. The town is suddenly stricken with an attack from all bird species. The film also starred Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Pleshette and a young Veronica Cartwright.
For the Hitchcock fans, we can only hope that Bay and his creative team will maintain the quality of the original motion picture.