The Birds II: Land’s End released in 1994 direct to Showtime, a TV movie banking off of the anniversary of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds by sprinkling in a couple of minor references and a guest appearance by Tippi Hedren but otherwise very tangentially related to the suspenseful animals-attack film. In fact, its TV broadcast brought little fanfare; for this reviewer, the most prominent element of the movie was its subtitle – for years, I imagined it referencing the clothing brand. Alas, another couple of decades later, The Birds II: Land’s End has flocked to home video with a new Blu-ray release; but should viewers celebrate this migration?
For most, that’s going to be an emphatic “No!” Rick Rosenthal directs this incredibly lackluster and slowly-paced film about a couple – played by the gloriously unemotive Brad Johnson and Chelsea Field, who’s trying her best – who head out to a coastal town five years after their young son’s death, attempting to piece their lives and relationship back together. Of course, the birds in town – mostly seagulls and pigeons – aren’t simply going to let these newbies off without some trauma, and the film ever so incrementally begins introducing the fact that the birds keep congregating around town. And as stated previously, Tippi Hedren is here as townie Helen, maybe because it adds an Easter egg to the original film or maybe just because they wanted her to have a wet T-shirt contest, who’s to say.
The Birds II: Land’s End feels pretty interminable despite its relatively short length; its opening half is tedious with its character setup, mostly because the film’s actors aren’t up to the job of selling the melodrama at the story’s core. Bird attacks are few and far between, and the tension doesn’t really kick in until about 50 minutes when there’s an actual bird attack – that is, unless you’re entranced by the will they-won’t they infidelity between Field and James Naughton, which has all the passion of teaching someone how to use a computer (no – quite literally, that’s a spark of romance here).
The movie lacks the tension of Hitchcock’s thriller despite better effects, and there’s not really an overall theme to the birds’ ire besides a pretty tacked-on element of “environmental destruction” that crops up here and there. Only the film’s final explosive moments really make an impact; otherwise, this movie will have viewers counting sheep rather than birds.
Blu-ray
I imagine very few people were clamoring for The Birds II: Land’s End on Blu-ray, but for those particular people, Vinegar Syndrome has done a great job with the video transfer on this release. The film has been restored with a 2K transfer of the 35mm interpositive and is presented in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Even despite utilizing the interpositive, the film looks very good here in HD with fairly strong detail and excellent grain management, especially during the film’s many outdoor and horizon shots. While The Birds II‘s cinematography is not particularly fanciful, the transfer emphasizes the coastal appeal of the locales and the special effects, particularly the last explosion scene, remain impressive. Overall, this is a solid video transfer and provides an authentic viewing experience for this TV movie.
Audio is presented with a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo track which sounds dynamic without any drops or volume issues. While the overall soundtrack is not extremely expansive, this is a perfectly good audio offering. English subtitles are also included.
The extra features really shine here for those looking for incentive to own this. A new audio commentary with Amanda Reyes and Sam Pancake dives into tons of critical appreciation for the movie, with both Reyes and Pancake providing a great look at the animals attack genre starting from the ’70s and documenting a number of Easter eggs throughout the movie. An extensive making-of featurette, running over 50 minutes, provides everything you ever needed to know about The Birds II, collecting cast and crew interviews that dives into everything from the production to the special effects. Another new interview with composer Ron Ramin discusses the film’s soundtrack, and production assistant Craig Edwards visits various shooting locations from the movie with comparisons to how they looked in the film. Finally, a still gallery collects production images and poster artwork.
This release also gets reversible cover artwork, and the limited edition features a slipcover with new artwork.
Extra Features
- Region A Blu-ray
- NEW scanned & restored in 2K from its 35mm interpositive
- NEW Commentary track with film historians Amanda Reyes and Sam Pancake
- NEW “Don’t Remake Hitchcock Movies” (54 min) – an extensive making-of documentary featuring interviews with its cast and crew (1080p; 54:09)
- NEW “The Silence of the Birds” (17 min) – an interview with composer Ron Ramin (1080p; 17:02)
- NEW “The Locations of Birds II” (11 min) – a locations featurette with production assistant Craig Edwards (1080p; 10:45)
- Still Gallery (no chapter breaks; 2:45)
- NEW Reversible cover artwork
- English SDH subtitles
Verdict
In fairness, it’s difficult to recommend The Birds II: Land’s End to an unsuspecting viewer; however, if you grew up with the film or if it holds some particular nostalgia, then this release from Vinegar Syndrome should offer the best possible experience one could expect for this movie.
