Product Details

• Actors: Mel Gibson, Goldie Hawn, David Carradine, Bill Duke, Stephen Tobolowsky
• Directors: John Badham
• Writers: Eric Lerner, David Seltzer, Louis Venosta
• Producers: Dana Satler Hankins, Eric Lerner, Fitch Cady, Keith Rubinstein
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Universal Studios
• VHS Release Date: March 26, 1996
• Run Time: 110 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6301795121
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #215,120 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This action-comedy from 1990 makes the critical mistake of trying to mix a potentially suspenseful plot with the kind of humor that Mel Gibson can only get away with in his Lethal Weapon movies. It doesn't work here because the movie's supposed to be a Hitchcockian thriller and Mel's wisecracking--not to mention some implausible plot twists and ridiculous chase scenes--makes it impossible to take any of this movie seriously. It works best as a lightweight vehicle for Gibson and Goldie Hawn, who bring their own established appeal to their roles as old lovers who are reunited under unexpectedly dangerous circumstances. After testifying against some drug-running killers, Mel's been safe under the protection of the FBI's witness relocation program, and Goldie coincidentally enters his life again just as the bad guys are hot on Mel's trail. They join up and go on the run from the villains and ... well, let's just say director John Badham doesn't have any big surprises up his sleeve. Goldie and Mel are enjoyable, as always, but you'd have to be their biggest fan to watch this movie more than once. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You have the right to n attorney. I am an attorney!, February 18, 2008

By 

Gunner (Smyrna, Georgia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Bird on a Wire (DVD)

Bird On A Wire DVD

Bird On A Wire is about a guy (Mel Gibson) who is in the Witness Relocation Program (WRP)going by the name Billy Ray Bowers, named for both the scoundrels that could have been his Daddy, per his Momma. One day his ex-fiancé ( Goldie Hawn) drives up to the gas station where he is working and tells him to fill `er up, unleaded.

Goldie Hawn at 45 still had great legs and takes every opportunity throughout the movie to show them off..

The movie is filled with action and for the ladies even has a shot of Mel Gibson's back-side.

Recommended for fans of Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn ( of Laugh-In fame).

Gunner February, 2008

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A GREAT COMIC PAIRING!, August 24, 2000

By 

[e-mail] (BOLTON, LANCASHIRE, ENGLAND) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bird on a Wire [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Superstars Mel Gibson and the loveable Goldie Hawn star in this enjoyable, action-comedy. The plot is somewhat convoluted but the general story is that Rick (Gibson) is hiding under the FBI witness re-location program but he gets nervous when an old flame, Marianne (Hawn) recognises him. Before he can assume a new identity, the man he put in jail (David Carradine) is released and comes to pay his respects. Rick and Marianne find themselves reunited when they are thrown into a cross country, action packed adventure, avoiding gangsters, police and an amorous veterinarian, played by Joan Severance. There is nothing short of great chemistry between the two leading players, even if there roles are quite typical of roles they have both played in other films. Never the less this film holds many laughs and good points and the unforgetable climax in an elaborate zoo exhibit is where the film really scores best.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars AN INTELLIGENT REVIEW OF BIRD ON A WIRE, March 12, 2000

By 

Richard R. Titsch, III (Princeton, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bird on a Wire (DVD)

This movie sure got bashed bewtween Malten and Shannon. Well, let's give it a thoughtful review - just for kicks. On the upside, this movie did illustrate, well, the laughable personal and professional behavior of just about everyone in the late 1980s. In fact, the illustration by itself should get a rise out of people who lived as adults through the "Crazy 80s" and others. The government and its representatives were represented in this movie as what most Americans would believe to be true to form, Gibson was a protected government informant and Hawn was his high school love, it helped the movie and Gibson that she was a rich, divorced attorney. Her character enabled Gibson to emerge victorious in a battle planned by a corrupt FBI Agent and an honorable FBI agent who became the unfortunate victim of Alzheimer's Disease. Their adventure was wild and wooley. However, on the downside, it did fall short in that there were certain scenes in which there was an unrealistic portrayal of technical procedure (like the bank scene for instance) and other scenes which did take away significantly from the movie. Basically folks, the movie was a no brainer, but it was fun and Hawn and Gibson made a pig into a chicken - rent it for fun, you won't have any regrets!