THE BIRDS

Friday, August 22, 6:00 p.m. | Alfred Hitchcock’s late classic could’ve been a wholesome pet store meet cute between Rod Taylor and Tippi Hedren, but it unravels into an apocalyptic nightmare as their Sonoma County idyll is swarmed by thousands of birds who descend on the town like locusts only bigger, louder, and more bloodthirsty. THE BIRDS spares no child, adult, updo, or body part from the feathered freaks raining down from the sky. With over 350 special effects shots combining live birds, mechanical birds, and the sodium vapor process, this Technicolor print just might pluck your eyes out! (Tavi Veraldi)

Awards & Nominations

Nominee - Best Special Effects, Academy Awards
Nominee - Best Motion Picture, Edgar Allan Poe Awards
Winner - Most Promising Newcomer (Tippi Hedren), Golden Globes

Technicolor Weekend | August 22–24, 2025

The Chicago Film Society returns for its third iteration of Technicolor Weekend, a series which showcases prints made using the Technicolor printing process. All of the films in this series will be projected from prints that were at one point or another saved by private collectors. They were intended to last only through their initial runs, but instead have endured hundreds of screenings, studio mergers, film exchange closures, and multiple private owners. These unlikely survivors offer us a view of what these films looked like before digital color correction and other modern restoration techniques, and are stunning examples of an incredibly complex industrial process that delighted millions. Synopses courtesy of Chicago Film Society. Learn more at chicagofilmsociety.org.

The Film Center is ADA accessible. This presentation will be projected without open captions. The theater is hearing-loop equipped. For accessibility requests, please email filmcenter@saic.edu