Human uses of birds with effective mimicry of birds. The play's chorus consists of characters playing many identifiable species, including the kingfisher, turtledove, and sparrowhawk; birds feature as messengers and dancers, and several Athenians are compared to specific birds. In film, birds can feature as the major driving force in a story, as in Alfred Hitchcock's acclaimed 1963 "The Birds". Loosely based on Daphne du Maurier's story of the same name, it tells the tale of sudden attacks on people by violent flocks of birds. A bird plays the role of an outlet for a person's feelings in Ken Loach's much admired 1969 "Kes".
The Story of Mankind (film) listed in the 1978 book "The Fifty Worst Films of All Time". Warner Home Video released the film as part of its Warner Archive made-to-order DVD line on July 20, 2009 in the United States. The Story of Mankind (film) The Story of Mankind is a 1957 American fantasy film, very loosely based on the nonfiction book "The Story of Mankind" (1921) by Hendrik Willem van Loon. The film was directed and co–produced by Irwin Allen and released by Warner Bros. Scientists have developed a weapon, called the "Super H-bomb", which if detonated will wipe out the human race entirely.