The Birds

The Birds (1963)

553 mistakes

(16 votes)

Continuity mistake: Melanie leaves the oar of the boat leaning against the rear seat. Later when she comes back to the boat, the oar is lifted up and sitting on the middle and rear seat. (00:21:50 - 00:23:10)

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Continuity mistake: When Annie capped up the brandy bottle the label was facing the camera and her glass was almost touching it. Later when she goes back to poor a glass for herself the label is turned 90 degrees and she has to reach for the glass. (00:43:00)

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Continuity mistake: When Melanie takes her cigarette case out of her pocketbook she holds it in her right hand between her thumb and four fingers. In the next shot her index finger is inside the case. (01:09:55)

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Audio problem: In the pet shop the cashier starts moving her mouth before she says anything to Melanie. (00:02:25)

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Continuity mistake: The cut Melanie gets, after being attacked by the first gull, goes away completely after being treated. There should still be some kind of mark. (00:30:50)

Other mistake: It seems well established that the film takes place over a weekend. However, Melanie drives up on Friday, stays at Annie's apartment that night, goes to Cathy's party the next day, Saturday and stays at Mitch's that night. Nowhere in the movie is it implied that she stays another night and in fact she doesn't. Everything else in the movie after the attack at Mr. Faucet's farm takes place on Sunday and there would be no school in session when the children are attacked.

Revealing mistake: The crew rigged the explosion to start from under the car and not from the lit match which isn't thrown anywhere near where the explosion originates. (01:25:30)

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Continuity mistake: After Mitch puts the logs in the fireplace he runs without jumping over anything to the window behind the desk. Later when we see that spot just before the lights blow out the logs extend all the way to the brown chair without any space in between for him to run through. (01:41:20)

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Continuity mistake: The gas station attendant drops the gas hose as the bird hits him and the first spray of gas wets the gravel to the right of it. The next time the hose is seen it's moved closer to the cement below the pump, it's shooting at a different angle and the gravel to the right is dry. (01:24:35)

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Continuity mistake: The angle of Annie's head changes from looking to the left when we first see her to looking up in the close-up. (01:30:30)

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Continuity mistake: As Melanie and Mitch walk past the side of the restaurant look closely at the windows at the top left of the screen. They have transparent green shades on the rear windows that are pulled down about one-third of the way from the top. In the next shot, when we see the back of the restaurant, no shades are pulled down. (00:26:25)

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Continuity mistake: As Melanie approaches Mitch's house for the first time we see one single fence around the yard where the children are attacked by the birds in the party scene. Later in the movie there's a double fence there. (00:21:35 - 00:52:35)

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Continuity mistake: Mitch puts the glass of brandy up to Melanie's lips and we see the brandy touch her upper lip and slosh around but then as he pulls it back there's not a trace of liquid on her lips. (01:50:45)

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Continuity mistake: After Lydia gets off the phone the wires of the light fixture hanging over the dining room table are pushed around to the sides of the bulb so you can barely see them. In the next shot it's been rotated and you can see them very well. (00:35:25)

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Continuity mistake: In the wide shot of the party scene as everyone is running into the house a girl in a bright red sweater and white skirt pulls her mother in the blue dress by the hand. In the next shot they've changed positions and are together with the mother's arm around the girl's back. (00:53:00)

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Continuity mistake: The orange car that catches fire, when the guy throws the match, moves between shots. When he lights up the cigarette there's a white parking line to left of the tire. In the previous shot it wasn't there. (01:25:15)

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Continuity mistake: As they all walk straight through the dining room to get out of the house the light fixture above the dining room table has been removed for this shot. (01:56:35)

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Continuity mistake: As Melanie walks around with her flashlight she goes into the kitchen and looks at the lovebirds. This cage has 11 rungs on the side and is not the same one that she walked into the house with when she brought the lovebirds up from San Francisco, which had 19 rungs. (01:46:15)

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Continuity mistake: As she attempts to get the bird out of the cage for Mitch, Melanie places the pencil over her ear and a lock of her hair drapes over it. Then when she says to Mitch, "What did you say?" the pencil is now pushed into her hair but she never went near it. (00:05:45 - 00:06:25)

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Continuity mistake: In the shot of Mitch holding the log just before he runs to the window behind the desk, the brown reclining chair that sits by the fireplace has been moved for the camera. We see it there in the scene when Lydia says, "Did you get the windows in the attic Mitch?" and earlier in the movie when Melanie brings the lovebirds in. (01:41:20)

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More quotes from The Birds

Trivia: Although it lasts for only several minutes on screen, the scene where Tippi Hendren is attacked by the birds in the bedroom took seven days to film.

More trivia for The Birds

Question: What is said on the radio in the car at the end of the film?

Answer: "The bird attacks have subsided for the time being. Bodega Bay seems to be the centre, though there are reports of minor attacks on Sebastopol and a few on Santa Rosa. Bodega Bay has been cordoned off by roadblocks. Most of the townspeople have managed to get out, but there are still some isolated pockets of people. No decision has been arrived at yet as to what the next step will be, but there's been some discussion as to whether the military should go in. It appears that the bird attacks come in waves, with long intervals between. The reason for this does not seem clear as yet."

Hamster

More questions & answers from The Birds

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