Customer Reviews

Birdy

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I first saw this film in college, and I have never been able to forget it. Both Cage and Modine give outstanding performances at this early time in both of their careers. The intense and even intimate friendship they share is both touching and inspiring. I wish I were still that close with many of the friends who I thought would be "brothers" of mine forever. I'll admit that I am moved to tears several times in this film after dozens of viewings.

Peter Gabriel's soundtrack is haunting, as are many of the visual images. Yes, it definitely has one of the most "controversial" endings of any film I have ever seen. You and your friends will talk about this one for quite a while! Even if you hate the ending, don't let it ruin the rest of the film.

Spoiler: I think that at the ending Birdy is helping Al understand that his behavior -- flying and catatonia -- haven't been all that strange or even that inappropriate. When Al freaks out over his leap from the roof, he doesn't understand why. He's fine. So he simply says, "What?" It doesn't matter if the hospital orderlies catch them. What matters more is that Al might begin to understand how "normal" Birdy really is.

A tremendous film that captures the coming of age of two men, one man who is psychologically mature but socially withdrawn and the other man, his opposite. Together they find and draw strength from each other in order to survive the traumas of their lives, from the simple yet deep traumas of high school to the essential trauma of how does a man survive in a world of death and chaos. Modine and Cage are excellent in these early roles, with Modine especially interesting to watch in comparison to his role in "Full Metal Jacket". Technically, the film is excellent as well with Peter Gabriel's score adding an emotional overlay to key parts of the film. It is hard not to be moved by his score as we look through the bird's eyes in its headlong rush towards death. Those few seconds of film perhaps encapsulate most fully the fate that awaits innocence at the hands of war and the need of every being to seek solace and commiseration from those close to the heart.

?Birdy? gets my nod as one of the greatest and most compelling movies of all time in so many ways. While it is like many that focus on the effects of the war in Vietnam, this movie is the most unique story of friendship, the effects of military combat, and eccentricity like no other movie of the 1980s or ever for that matter.

Nicholas Cage and Matthew Modine star in ?Birdy? as two lifelong friends from the run-down industrial ghettos of Philadelphia where they have played baseball together and ?Birdy? has had a huge passionate obsession with birds throughout his life and has dreamed of being able to fly like a bird. However, the two friends are recruited into the U.S. Army and are involved in the fighting in Vietnam and when they return, both are horribly scarred. One has suffered physical wounds with face wounds while the other has mental scars (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and being driven mad from the horrors of fighting in Vietnam, has almost withdrawn into his own ?birdland? and acting like a bird and not responding to outside social stimuli. As a result, Birdy has been hospitalized in a decrepit mental institution. Now Al Columbato must try to get his friend Birdy to be able to emerge from his catatonic state if he wants to leave the mental hospital and return to a normal life. During all of this, we can be able to see the flashbacks into Birdy and Al?s past and see how ?bird boy?s? obsession with birds grew increasingly strong and started to strain his social life with his friend and others around him but yet see very compelling acts of bonding between the two unlikely friends and how they?ve gone through so much together even before the war.

The characters are among the most compelling I?ve ever seen in a drama movie ever. This might be considered a ?coming of age? movie but it?s so much more than just your average teen angst movie. ?Birdy? delves into some of the strangest and most unique perspectives of obsessive people with their subjects of interests and the things that true friends go through in order to stay bonded forever. The photography is stunningly brilliant and stunning beautiful thanks to ironically, it?s relatively primitive filming technology that was used in filming it. The grittiness of the movie while it may be a bit irritating, gives this movie a strangely opaque feel and some of the scenes which are throughout this film are absolutely moving and will tug at your heartstrings. All of the scenes of the birds flying into the air are perfectly filmed and enhance the movie?s emotional quality even more. While this movie is very heavy in it?s bittersweet plot, there are some really smart and honest comedic elements that are really funny without detracting anything from it?s dramatic tone and the funnier parts make this movie ever more bittersweet. Sometimes I would go far enough to say that this almost has high amounts of both even though there is far, FAR more drama. ?Birdy? is bizarre, psychotic, happy, sad, dark, bright, and a whole lot of other positive things.

Director Alan Parker creates one of the most compelling movies of all time. While nothing could ever go wrong with this movie, his directing made it so much more powerful, moving, funny in odd ways, and yet very vivid on such high levels unparalleled. This movie centers on some of the more unattractive areas of Philadelphia (At least at the time, I?m not sure about today) like industrial junkyards, landfills, and run down neighborhoods, but centering on one like these areas makes this movie so much more interesting and from my standpoint, aims to dispel the notion that all poor areas are necessarily dangerous and crime-ridden. While it was centered on Philadelphia, this movie reminds me of what many areas of Chicago looked like during my childhood memories: Weed-ridden, extremely gritty, seedy, and depressed (Many of them have seen serious gentrification in recent years), at least at the time.

Nicholas Cage and Matthew Modine in their earliest days of their acting careers are absolutely amazing as Al and ?birdy?. The interactions between the two characters in the movie are absolutely realistic and really bittersweet. While not throwing a beating by any means at his later movies, I personally think that Nicholas Cage?s acting hasn?t reached the early pinnacle as on ?Birdy? but sometimes there?s the saying that it?s ?Never as Good As The First Time? and it surely applies here. Matthew Modine is the most compelling lead in this movie as his portrayal of Birdy is incredible, vivid, and believable. By the way, he?s the guy on the album cover of the soundtrack by Peter Gabriel which brings to mind the soundtrack.

The music along makes this movie really vividly bittersweet with really powerful background music that perfectly fits with the movie?s really obscure tone with songs like ?Under Lock and Key? and ?Close Up? which is actually expanded from the 50 second version on the CD and includes the chord progression of it?s parent track ?Family Snapshot? and it?s absolutely haunting and thought-provoking. Most of the songs on the soundtrack can be heard in the background if one listens carefully and it?s absolutely haunting and makes the various scenes even more compelling. What?s even more unique is how this movie doesn?t seem to rely on generic orchestra background music for a change. The haunting music at the beginning has the haunting eerie song ?Slow Water? mixed with the song ?Quiet & Alone? and combining the two songs makes it so amazing like no other movie opening theme.

?Birdy? wasn?t a massive hit in the USA due to it?s unconventional nature and lack of a ?formulaic plot? especially when ?Terminator? and ?Temple of Doom? were riding high, but this has become one of my favorite movies of the decade. If you can find this movie on DVD, then you MUST buy this ASAP. It may be a bit slow paced at first but it allows a lot of character development and allows you to know them very well and ?Birdy? will ultimately be one of the most rewarding movies you?ll ever see. It is intense without being violent or bloody, or even immensely depressing.

This is quite simply the most brilliant and evocative masterpieces of the 1980s and one of histories lost treasures. I could go for a very long time with this review but since there is only a limited space for reviews on here, I have no choice but to end it here.

I can't really add much more to the wonderful things already said about this movie, except perhaps to point out some wonderful scenes; like the intense scene where Birdy jumps off a scaffolding, and the quirky scene with Birdy and his date in the car. But, speaking of great scenes (the movie is full of them), by far the best scene in this or any movie ever made, as well as the best ending for a movie came at (what else?) the end. Of course, I'd love to tell you the ending, but that would spoil it for those who haven't seen it. Those who have know what I mean. It's a miraculous look at the lives of two friends, a great character study, and a powerful vehicle for both Modine and Cage. By the way, kudos to Peter Gabriel's musical score, and to the use of La Bamba for the ending, which was so perfect as an end song. Buy it! Rent it! Whatever. Just watch it!

This sleeper and not very recent movie should get more recognition than it gets, since it`s a moving, well-crafted piece of film-making above most overhyped flicks around. It focuses the relationship of two friends, one (Nicolas Cage in one of his first roles) that has recently returned from Vietnam and "Birdy" (an excellent Matthew Modine), who is kept in an hospital due to (apparent) psychological disorder.
The pacing is slow (pherhaps a bit too slow during the first half), presenting Cage`s character visit to his friend in order to help him and some flashbacks that showcase their teenage relationship.

As the story unfolds, Birdy`s past is foreshadowed and the viewer comes across his passion, curiosity and obssession with birds, that starts to increase and soon reduces his bonds to other people and experiences.
Birdy has his own little world and soon gets stuck in it, and one of his few contacts with "common reality" is his only friend that struggles to understand his point of view.

Director Alan Parker manages to bring a deep, powerful and subtle movie that expertly deals with isolation, insanity, friendship, freedom, alienation and connection.
The story wisely avoids sappy and easy melodramatic fluff, delivering a strong and honest character study that lies in the range of its two leads. Modine, in particular, is utterly convincing as the fragile, confused and innocent Birdy, providing a compelling portrayal of a youngster that percieves his own peculiar universe.

This picture is also a stunning coming-of-age tale, avoiding predictable and tired cliches and presenting a unique, memmorable and sincere friendship between the two characters.
The slow pacing and the beautiful cinematography help the creation of a captivating, haunting and eerie mood to the movie, becoming weirdly unsettling at times.

"Birdy" has much to recommend and really carries a feel of its own, being a great cinematic experience for those who have ever felt "different", misunderstoodand and seem to be outside.
This is quality cinema. Highly recommended.

I have to admit, this movie stands out in every way possible of a superb drama, made simply by a quirky plot: A Vietnam soldier (Nicolas Cage) tries to help his non-speaking, bird-loving friend, aptly named "Birdy" (Matthew Modine) get over his traumatic experience in Vietnam, in a mental hospital.

What follows is a complex, strangely fascinating flashback when Birdy and his friend were not in Vietnam and were going on with their lives before Vietnam, after World War II. It leads back to the present, up to a strange, enigmatic ending.

This cinematic masterpiece is terrifically written (which should have won an Oscar for the best screenwriting) and Modine puts on a poignant, fascinating role as a "queer" teenager stripping down and laying on the floor, imagining in his mind, to be a bird. The entire movie is a truly fascinating study of how traumatic experiences can have on veterans.

For all of this, it should have won an Oscar for everything. The cinematography, the best and supporting actors, and best direction, most of all.

....

Main characters:
Al: Nicolas Cage
Birdy: Matthew Modine

SPOILER-FREE REVIEW

"Birdy" tackles the complex issue of post traumatic stress following wartime, telling the story of two childhood friends damaged by the ills of war in Vietnam. Raised in the slums of Philadelphia, Birdy and Al were very close friends as teenagers before the war. The film begins with Al returning stateside in facial bandages, headed for a military hospital at the behest of a psychiatrist who believes Al may find a way to coax Birdy from a catatonic state.

The storyline drifts back and forth between the pair's childhood and the mental hospital, interspersed with flashbacks of the war. As the movie unfolds, we learn that Al just may need Birdy as much as or more than Birdy needs him. The movie takes an agonizing look at the emotional and physical trauma war can inflict on soldiers, and manages to portray the tragedy of PTSD with a silver-lining. A five-star movie with very good acting, directing and an ending which is sure to ask questions, "Birdy" is a wonderful addition to everyone's movie library.

"Birdy" is a 1984 drama film set around two fresh Vietnam War veterans, with a score by Peter Gabriel. I picked it up mainly because of Gabriel's score, but after watching it discovered it was a brilliant and moving film as well.

Birdy (Matthew Modine) and Al (Nicholas Cage) are good friends, and have been since high school back in Philadelphia. Al's a wrestling champ at school, a bit lusty and is often getting into trouble. Birdy's a more quiet kind of guy, not really interested in girls, and sticks to himself. He loves birds, builds his own set of wings, and trains carrier pigeons. He's so far into birds and flying it's more than a bit of a worry sometimes, and has got him into trouble more than once. The obsessive nature is from his father's side. When Birdy's Dad was a boy he was really into making wicker chairs, so he understands his son. His mother doesn't understand as much, and is rather worried at and angry about Birdy's passions. Still, Al and Birdy have a good time, they're always getting part time jobs together, trying to make some money. They end up going to Vietnam, and both come back messed up, Al physically (half his face was blown off), and Birdy mentally (Birdy now acts like a bird). Birdy is now in the psychiatric ward of a military hospital, and Al, covered in bandages, has been called in to see if he can talk Birdy out of his condition. If he can't, says the psychiatrist, he'll be sent to an institution. So Al goes into the cramped white room where Birdy is, reminsicing about all times, getting no answer. He is convinced that Birdy is still there, deep inside, but the psychiatrist is convinced otherwise. In fact, after reviewing Al's records, he thinks that Al is equally messed up. Will Al be able to get through to Birdy, or will they both end up as institionalized war veterans?

Director Alan Parker has done a really good job with the look of this film, I thought. The Philadelphia we see is run down and rubbish strewn, but unlike so many films that try to be "gritty", there is a warmth to these places, they feel lived-in and loved rather than just trashy. There's an atmosphere to every place, be it under the bleachers, at the hospital, or in the darkness of Birdy's cell. The characters too, are interesting, especially the way they interact. (The scene where the usually quiet Birdy has a heated argument with Al's Dad, a gruff and usually furious man, and wins, for instance). Matthew Modine captures the quiet and intense feel of Birdy's character really well, as well as his quirky, dangerous moments that worried his friends and family so much. I've had a few friends like this in my time, and I think Modine hit the personality just right. There are a few themes and social comments running through the film (when and what is mental illness, the cold, hyper-sensitive eye of the mental health system, why young men choose to go to war, the nature of a deep friendship between two young men, etc) which were interesting concepts to digest.

Peter Gabriel's score heightens the emotion and themes really well. Give or take a new composition, the score is made up of instrumental tracks and segments from his third and fourth albums, "3" and "Security", with the production values leaning more towards that of the fourth album. Already being familiar with the music, it was interesting hearing how Gabriel chose to use it. Birdy seems to get the song "Wallflower" as his theme (which I think is rather appropriate, given the lyrics of the original) while Al, more or less, gets an instrumental of "Family Snapshot" in his vulnerable and emotional moments. Gabriel was a good choice for scoring this film, I thought. In those albums whose materials he used for the score, he dealt a lot with mentally vulnerable people through his lyrics, while on Genesis albums like "Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" explored the friendship between men (Brother John and Rael, who appear through the songs), so I think he would have understood nature of the material when scoring it. Alan Parker also made a good decision in adapting the "Birdy" book to screen. Having dealt with mental trauma very well through his last film "Pink Floyd - The Wall", he had the experience to deal with the material with sensitivity, understanding and could add the right evocative imagery and dialogue. I got a bit emotional by the end, actually.

Definitely worth a look for fans of a good drama, fans of Alan Parker and fans of Peter Gabriel.

"Birdy"is an outstanding character study with a well-written script that was directed by a very talented director (Alan Parker of "Pink Floyd The Wall", "Midnight Express", "Mississippi Burning", and "Angel Heart"). Matthew Modine and Nicolas Cage both gave unforgettable performances in this dark, disturbing yet somehow uplifting story of two friends from South Philadelphia, Al (Cage) and Birdy (Modine in the performance that easily could be one of the best ever given by any actor on screen and sadly has been overlooked for too long). Birdy is an innocent and odd young man who has been always fascinated by birds and wanted to learn to fly. Both friends had to take a traumatic tour of duty in Vietnam that affected them tremendously - both physically and mentally. The film is not about Vietnam, though - it is a brilliant story of friendship and how far Al would go for his friend. The film has one of the most original and surprising endings ever.

"Birdy" is an excellent original story of an unlikely friendship that develops into a deep emotional bond between two male friends, pure and devoid of sexual nature. While there's no female lead in this film, there are female supporting characters (including one whom briefly reveals her "significant attributes"). This film was largely overlooked by mainstream audiences because it doesn't deliver a typical entertainment formula, but, as can be told from the global spread of the reviewers here, it will greatly reward those who seek it out and can appreciate it.

Although many seem to feel the anti-war theme is a secondary part of the story, it seems the film-makers intentionally moved the story into the Vietnam era to make a more contemporarily relevant and potent statement on that level. Attributing Birdy's withdrawal to the horrors of war circa Vietnam instead of WWII certainly makes that statement more acceptable, and Birdy's desire to escape human existence completely into the world of birds seems virtually rational in this context.

As a native Philadelphian, I found it confusing trying to pinpoint which neighborhood Birdy and Al grew up in from only viewing the movie. The graffiti-less El station in the movie looks more like Frankford in Northeast Philly today than 63rd street, yet 63rd street would be much closer to the Southwest Philly area where the movie seems to have been set. The book verifies 63rd Street as the location, and also reveals enough clues to determine that Birdy and Al actually lived in Upper Darby, PA, just outside Philadelphia. (The exact location of Birdy's house could be pinpointed by determining where home-plate was situated in the local play area, as Al verifies that Birdy's yard was adjacent to left-center field, where a right-handed batter would usually place a ball hit out of play.) Even though the movie dwells on unattractive parts of the city, like junkyards and garbage dumps, it adds interest that they filmed in authentic locations in Philadelphia and New Jersey.