Why is is called 'Dead Birds'? - Dead Birds (2005) Discussion

[–] fastal-2 18 years ago

Check out this link for ALL the answers:

http://www.moviesonline.ca/movienews_3871.html

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[–] cuckookachoo 18 years ago

That link is a glossary, not an explanation of the title or plot in general.

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[–] fastal-2 18 years ago

The title is an allegory for William's gang - the people who wind up hiding in the house. Sort of like if you called a movie "Sitting Ducks" but saw no ducks in it - you might then apply it to the people who kept getting picked off throughout the movie rather than wonder where all the ducks are.

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[–] Tofutti_Klein 17 years ago

ort of like if you called a movie "Sitting Ducks" but saw no ducks in it - you might then apply it to the people who kept getting picked off throughout the movie rather than wonder where all the ducks are.

Great point because I was curious about the title myself.

I'm surrounded by idiots. ....literally.

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[–] puirt-a-beul 17 years ago

The title is an allegory for William's gang - the people who wind up hiding in the house. Sort of like if you called a movie "Sitting Ducks" but saw no ducks in it - you might then apply it to the people who kept getting picked off throughout the movie rather than wonder where all the ducks are.

I can see how that might apply, but the phrase "Dead Birds" has no meaning to me. I know what a "sitting duck" is, but I've never heard "dead bird" used in a similar way as a metaphor. What does "dead bird" actually mean ?!

Or is it a dialectical thing, maybe from the southern US ?

You might very well think that. I couldn't possibly comment.

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[–] sweet_angel200629 17 years ago

I think maybe because they were all jailbirds,(going to be in jail or in jail)..
so they are going to be dead birds; dead jailbirds lol, its the only way i can think of it

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[–] RevRuin 17 years ago

It's because one character stepped on a dead bird outside the house. I believe they're drawing a comparison between the dead bird and the crooks.

I could easily kill you now, but I'm determined to have your brain! - Dr. Obrero, Zombi Holocaust

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[–] pjchowdhury 17 years ago

Why are there so many different threads about the title when the answer has already been provided numerous times?

I don't see the same confusion over "The Silence Of The Lambs", or "Swordfish", or even "Reservoir Dogs" for that matter.

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[–] cosatrit 17 years ago

Fortunately the answer is simpler than the above.

One of the movie's inspirations was Robert E. Howard's horror story "Pigeons from Hell", where some travelers find...unpleasant surprises in an abandoned mansion. Inside the story, a group of pigeons would be seen flying away from the balustrades by those who are damned.

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[–] AlienXS 17 years ago

Thanks for the explanation, clean, short and effective :)
I will look for that tale I haven't read yet

PLF

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Credo Quia Absurdum"

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[–] unicornpeg2003 17 years ago

Thank you. That answer helps.

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[–] triadd 17 years ago

The reason I think it is called Dead Birds is because of the Scarecrow made from a human being. It has been a while since I have seen the whole movie, but wasn't there crows dead around the scarecrow.

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] vegeta13613 16 years ago

Here's an idea that I don't believe has been mentioned before... the slang for money is dead presidents (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dead+presidents) because it has the picture of a president that is deceased on it. The coins have a bird on the back of them, if I remember correctly.

2 movies you need to watch: Braindead, Memento. 2 series you need to watch: Firefly, Dexter.

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[–] jahgurl25 16 years ago

this is just my simple thought. i think it is called dead birds because the people are basically runaways and to their thinking they are free(think of the phrase free as a bird). so it is dead birds because they may be free now but in the end they have compromised their lives by taking shelter in the mansion.

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