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Bird (1988)
Released By: Warner Home Video   Rating: R   In Theaters: N/A
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Studio: Warner Home Video
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Clint Eastwood
Language: English
Official Website: N/A
Theatrical Release: N/A
Home Video Release: N/A
Cast: Diane Venora, Forest Whitaker, Keith David, Michael McGuire, Michael Zelniker, Samuel E. Wright
Published ID: 823
UPC: 085391182023, 883929008650,
Plot: Forest Whitaker stars as the brilliant jazz saxophonist Charlie Bird Parker in this elegiac biopic. Director Clint Eastwood pays full homage to Parker's musical genius, but also devotes ample time to the musician's twin demons--drugs and alcohol-which accelerated his death at the age of 34. In his struggles to gain widespread acceptance for his music, Bird is forever stymied by his own self-destructiveness, and forever bailed out by the love of his life, Chan Richardson Parker (Diane Venora). The film bemoans the decline of the brand of jazz fathered by Parker, which came to be replaced by more conventional material -- as illustrated by the descent into the mainstream of Parker's mentor Buster Franklin. Also starring in Bird is Samuel E. Wright as Dizzy Gillespie. That's the real Charlie Bird Parker on the film's soundtrack, though most of the background music has been re-orchestrated. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
IDDateTimeTitleReviewHelpfulVotesTotalVotes
OK.......just OK.
Added 12/29/2009

Movie was OK, not what I expected. It's worth 1 watch. Mr. Whittaker was really good in this film. He's the only memorable actor in the movie.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
Bird
Added 9/12/2009

Excellent movie. Forest Whitaker's performance as Charlie 'Bird' Parker is superb as is Clint Eastwood's directing. A little long but well worth it.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
great actor doing this movie
Added 5/25/2009

watch it too never seen it before did not know that clinton directed this one either thanks again bill
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
Go Clint !
Added 4/11/2009

trivia: the recording techniques of this soundtrack was rather revolutionary at the time (late 1980's)(was featured extensively in MIX magazine, among others pro publications). Always have loved this movie, there should be more like it - true stories about great artists. CAN ANYONE TELL ME IF THERE ARE EXTRAS ON THIS 2 DISC SET, AND IF SO, WHAT ARE THEY?? Thanks.....
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
Mainly For Fans Of Charlie Parker
Added 2/2/2009

The music in here is excellent and makes jazz appealing even to a non-jazz enthusiast like me. It better, because that's what the subject of the film is: jazz, and Charlie Parker, in particular. "Bird" was his nickname, and Parker was a good subject matter for a film - not a pleasant subject most of the time, but for jazz fans the man is a legend.

I thought the acting was good, especially by the two main people: Forest Whitaker, playing Parker, and Diane Venora as wife "Chan."

My major complaint was that it was too long. To make a film over 160 minutes when much of it is a "downer" it tough to sit through. It's generally a story about what can happen to a man who is addicted to drugs, which is what happened to this giant of jazz. That's the part of fhis life that is emphasized,, so it makes this movie a very long, sordid tale, not a happy one.

Unless one is a big jazz aficionado, one viewing of this would be plenty....but it's worth a look.

0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
OK.......just OK.
Added 12/29/2009

Movie was OK, not what I expected. It's worth 1 watch. Mr. Whittaker was really good in this film. He's the only memorable actor in the movie.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
Bird
Added 9/12/2009

Excellent movie. Forest Whitaker's performance as Charlie 'Bird' Parker is superb as is Clint Eastwood's directing. A little long but well worth it.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
great actor doing this movie
Added 5/25/2009

watch it too never seen it before did not know that clinton directed this one either thanks again bill
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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