was the hitchcock movie the birds released originally in black and white?

Question

I always thought it was always in color but a friend says she saw it and has it on vhs in b&w.

I'm confused.

Answer 1

Yes it was originally released in black & white on purpose. He wanted make it scarier that way plus due to techonlogy availabe at the time
He could not have the real birds with the actors. He filmed the birds then projected it on a silver screen behind the actors.

Answer 2

The Birds Black And White

Answer 3

The movie was filmed using a special process to add the birds later see http://www.thecredits.org/2013/03/no-fear-of-flying-behind-the-scenes-of-hitchcocks-the-birds-on-the-50th-anniversary/

It was filmed in color and black and white at the same time using a prism. It was released in color where possible but often showed in black and white since not all theatres were color yet and TV was still black and white. Many people remember seeing it in black and white first and some feel it is scarier in black and white.

Answer 4

Yes, it was originally released in black and white. Many old black and whites are re-released in color, especially after the rise of color film in the 60's and 70's. I prefer the old black and white; I think that is how Hitchcock meant for The Birds to be viewed. He was a great film-maker, and I know he took the b&w film in to account aesthetically and atmospherically for his picture.

Answer 5

I saw it the week it was released in 1963 and it was in color....I vividly remember this because of the fire scene at the gas pumps. Those flames would not have been as effective in black and white. Hitchcock was a highly successful director by that time so saying he couldn't afford to film in color is absurd. I saw it in black and white on TV before we had a color set but have never seen a black and white version. As for the link provided by Patois....if you look at the box it says Technicolor. If your friend says she has a B&W VHS version, I'd say tell her to prove it.

Answer 6

1) Sorry, but the idea of a movie theaters being "black and white" is just plain silly: the movie projector in a theater shines a bright light through the movie film and projects the movie images through a lens to the screen. Color or black-and-white is determined by the film, not the projector.

2) As Jim T said: The birds were added using a special process and lights used in the "yellowscreen" compositing technique utilized by Disney animator Ub Iwerks and his team:
http://www.thecredits.org/2013/03/no-fear-of-flying-behind-the-scenes-of-hitchcocks-the-birds-on-the-50th-anniversary/

A special black-and-white film sensitive to sodium vapor was used as part of this compositing process (combining more than one image into a "composite" image) used to make "The Birds", which was ultimately combined on a COLOR negative on this COLOR movie.

3) The notion that Hitchcock didn't have the budget to shoot in color is also silly. "The Birds" was made after Hitchcock's wildly successful "Psycho" (which was also in color)

4) Speaking of "Psycho", JUST the shower scene was shot in black-and-white, as it was deemed too gory to be shown in color.

Answer 7

The movie was filmed in B&W because Hitchcock didn't have the budget for color. Here, though, are some color stills of the locations and sets used: (Scroll down after page opens)
http://www.filminamerica.com/Movies/TheBirds/

Answer 8

Definately positively was shot in B&W back in the 60's.

Answer 9

I saw " The Birds" when it was released in my home town as a child and yeppers it was in Black & White.

Answer 10

It was shot in Technicolor, but since it was released in 1963, most theaters were still black and white. There are two VHS versions, one in color, one in black and white. I have only seen one DVD version, it is black and white.