Birdy [Blu-ray]

Director: Alan Parker Alan Parker

Overview

Director Alan Parker tackles this adapation of William Wharton's novel, which retains much of the source material's texture and complexity. Matthew Modine is Birdy, who comes back from Vietnam mentally shattered and deludes himself into thinking that he is a bird, an animal that has obsessed him since childhood. Birdy is confined to a military hospital, where he spends his time sitting naked in his room, not acknowleding anyone, moving and acting like a parakeet. His best friend Al (Nicolas Cage), also a wounded Vietnam vet, visits Birdy every day, determined to bring him back to reality. Birdy is occasionally disjointed but enriched by strong performances from Modine and Cage and a number of hard-to-forget moments.

Product Details

Release Date:	06/25/2019
UPC:	0043396558953
Original Release:	1984
Rating:	R
Source:	ALLIED VAUGHN
Region Code:	A
Language:	English
Time:	2:00:00
Sales rank:	20,144

Special Features

Theatrical Trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Matthew Modine	Birdy
Nicolas Cage	Al Columbato
John Harkins	Docteur Weiss
Sandy Baron	M. Columbato
Karen Young	Hannah Rourke
Bruno Kirby	Renaldi
Nancy Fish	Mrs. Prevost
George Buck	Birdy's Father
Dolores Sage	Birdy's Mother
Robert L. Ryan	Joe Sagessa,Joe Sagessa
James Santini	Mario Columbato
Maude Winchester	Doris Robinson,Doris Robinson
Marshall Bell	Ronsky
Elizabeth Whitcraft	Rosanne
Sandra Beall	Shirley
Victoria Nekko	Claire
Crystal Field	Mrs. Columbato
Joe Lerer	Military Doctor
Alice Truscott	Mother on Train
Ed Taylor	Zimmy the Human Fish,Actor
Irving Selbst	Fairground Announcer
Steve Lippe	Junkyard Proprietor
William Clark	Policeman on Beach
James Pruett	Emergency Doctor
Howard Kinsley	Mr. Tate
Robert Diamond	Maloney
Bud Seese	Drunk in Jail
Erskine Morgan	Hospital Orderly
Maurice Frizzell Jr.	Nuts-and-Bolts Patient
Richard Mason	Injured Soldier
Charles A. Tamburro	Helicopter Pilot
John Brumfield	Mr. Kohler
Chris Taylor	Helicopter Soldier
George Flower	Birdy's father
Priscilla Alden	Waiting Room Lady
Guy Jones	Hospital Orderly
Mark Simpson	Helicopter Soldier
Michael Runyard	Stunt Player
Mic Rodgers	Stunt Player
Michael Shaner	Veteran
Tim Davis	Veteran
Harry Hauss	Helicopter Pilot
Peter Gabriel	Composer

Technical Credits

Alan Parker

Sandy Kroopf

Jack Behr

William Wharton

Alan Parker	Director,Screenwriter
Sandy Kroopf	Screenwriter
Jack Behr	Screenwriter
David Manson	Executive Producer,Producer
Alan Marshall	Producer
William Wharton	Screenwriter
Juliet Taylor	Casting
James Arnett	Stunts
Cliff Wenger	Special Effects
David MacMillan	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Though set in a veterans hospital after the Vietnam War, Birdy is not a film about the war or its effects; and while it might focus on a deranged patient and the struggle to return him to normalcy, the film isn't really about mental illness either. In fact, it's a credit to director Alan Parker and stars Matthew Modine and Nicholas Cage that Birdy, no matter how bizarre, maintains its focus on the humanity of central characters instead of wallowing in the weird. Parker -- who brought us Pink Floyd: The Wall and Melody, a movie about ten-year-olds in love -- is one of the few filmmakers who can establish a connection between the audience and a guy who sleeps naked in a bird cage. A good deal of praise belongs to the actors: Modine delivers a stirring performance as the title character, and Cage's blend of intensity and vulnerability is perfect for the role of Birdy's concerned friend, even if he at times goes over the edge. The film was based on a William Wharton novel originally set in World War II; another Wharton book was the source for A Midnight Clear.

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