The Birds II: Land’s End (1994)| Presenting Hitchcock Podcast

Gooooood evening. In this month’s episode of Presenting Hitchcock, Cory and Aaron go to the ends of the earth to get through their discussion of The Birds II: Land’s End.

Written by: Ken Wheat, Jim Wheat and Robert Eisele

Based on the short story by Daphne Du Maurier

Starring: Brad Johnson, Chelsea Field, James Naughton, Jan Rubes and Tippi Hedren

Directed by: Rick Rosenthal (as Alan Smithee)

You can stream or download a copy HERE

Trailer:

Our Favourite Trivia:

The plan to make a sequel to The Birds was in the works since the 1960s, however it was not until 1993 that Universal Pictures financed the project. The film was originally intended to be released in theaters, however when the top executives of Universal Studios saw the final product, they decided to release the film directly to VHS for rentals and purchases. It was also rented under license for almost 3 million dollars to various television stations to air.

Alan Smithee was an official pseudonym used by film directors who wished to disown a project, coined in 1968 and formally discontinued in 2000. It was the sole pseudonym used by members of the Directors Guild of America (DGA) when a director dissatisfied with the final product proved to the satisfaction of a guild panel that he or she had not been able to exercise creative control over a film. The director was also required by guild rules not to discuss the circumstances leading to the move or even to acknowledge being the actual director. For The Birds II: Land’s End, on screen credit for the movie goes to Alan Smithee, however the poster and VHS case did credit Rick Rosentall as director. Rosentall was advised to sue, but no further information on the matter is available.

Tippi Hedren is the only actor to return from the first film, however, she does not play Melanie Daniels. Hedren was supposed to return in her original role, but the character was reworked into a cameo, and became a shop owner named Helen. She has since admitted to being embarrassed and disappointed by her involvement with this film, but noted it helped her feed her lions and tigers. When asked about what could have been Hitchcock’s opinion, she answered: “I’d hate to think what he would say!”

Muse Watson, the fisherman killer in “I Know What You Did Last Summer”, appears uncredited as Jessie the barman.

The Random Draw for Next Picture:

Next up, we’ll be discussing Night Train to Munich

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