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4.7/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 4.7/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Strange Birds remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Right off the bat, if you're looking for a gripping plot or anything resembling modern cinema, you're going to have a *very* long 10 minutes with Strange Birds. This is for the real film buffs, the history nuts, and maybe, just maybe, folks who have a soft spot for really old zoos and brightly colored birds. Anyone else? Probably best to skip it. You won't find car chases or dramatic revelations here.
What you do get, though, is a peek back in time. We're talking Catalina Bird Park, a big deal back then, shown off in what was, for its time, pretty snazzy full-color. And boy, do they make sure you notice that color. The birds, especially the parrots and peacocks, really pop against the green foliage. It’s not Technicolor as we know it from later films, more like a painted, vibrant quality that feels almost dreamlike now.
Marjorie Beebe, who you might know from some silent comedies, leads the charge, sort of. She and her friends wander around, pointing at birds. It’s less a guided tour and more like they just let the camera roll while people admired the scenery. You can almost feel the polite silence of the era. They smile, they nod, they watch a big bird preen. One shot of a flamingo just *stands there* for what feels like an eternity. I think I blinked twice, and it was still exactly the same.
The real star, or at least the most memorable bit, is this cockatoo. The film promises it talks and sings. And, well, it does… *something*. It squawks, it bobs its head, and you can almost hear the excited chatter of the audience in the 1920s imagining it belting out a tune. Today, it’s more endearing for its historical ambition than its actual performance. 🤣 It’s a moment that feels both charmingly naive and a little bit awkward. Like, you can almost feel the movie trying to convince you this moment matters.
There's a simplicity to the whole thing. No fancy camera work, no quick cuts. Just a steady gaze at these exotic creatures. You get a real sense of what an attraction like this would have been back then, a marvel for folks who'd never seen such a variety of birds up close. The film doesn't really try to do much beyond showing them off.
It’s funny, the way some of the shots linger. One particular bird, I think it was a macaque, just stares directly into the camera lens for a good long while. Like it knows it’s being filmed and isn’t quite sure how to react. It’s these small, unscripted moments that make you feel like you’re truly witnessing something from nearly a century ago.
And let's not forget the attire! Everyone is dressed impeccably, even for a casual stroll through a bird park. Hats, suits, elegant dresses. It’s a subtle reminder of a different time, where even visiting a zoo felt like an occasion. You can almost imagine the faint scent of old perfume and starched collars.
Ultimately, Strange Birds isn’t a film you “watch” in the modern sense. It’s more like an old home video, if your home video was shot on a huge, clunky camera in early color film stock. It’s a historical curiosity, a lovely little artifact that shows us how cinema was just starting to explore its potential. Not every observation needs analysis attached to it, but this one just *feels* important for what it represents.
IMDb —
1920
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