Birdy (film)
| Birdy | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Alan Parker |
| Produced by | Ned Kopp David Manson Alan Marshall (producer) |
| Written by | Sandy Kroopf Jack Behr William Wharton (novel) |
| Starring | Matthew Modine Nicolas Cage |
| Music by | Peter Gabriel |
| Cinematography | Michael Seresin |
| Editing by | Gerry Hambling |
| Distributed by | TriStar Pictures |
| Release date(s) | December 21, 1984 |
| Running time | 120 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $7.5 million |
| Box office | $1,455,045 |
Birdy is a 1984 American film directed by Alan Parker and starring Matthew Modine and Nicolas Cage. It is based on the novel of the same name by William Wharton.
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
Two teenagers, Birdy (Modine) and Al (Cage), become friends at school and serve in Vietnam. Birdy already has a disturbing fixation with birds and his Vietnam experiences push him over the edge: when he returns from the war, he is sent to a mental hospital for assessment and his friend Al stays with him to try to reach him before its too late and he'll be separated from Birdy, leaving him alone and lost inside his mind. As the story develops, many flashback scenes show their life together as teenagers in 1960s America as well as their developing friendship and views of life.
[edit] Cast
- Matthew Modine as Birdy
- Nicolas Cage as Al Columbato
- John Harkins as Dr. Weiss
- Sandy Baron as Mr. Columbato
- Karen Young as Hannah Rourke
- Bruno Kirby as Renaldi
- Nancy Fish as Mrs. Prevost
- George Buck as Birdy's Father
- Dolores Sage as Birdy's Mother
- Pat Ryan as Joe Sagessa
- James Santini as Mario Columbato
- Maud Winchester as Doris Robinson
- Marshall Bell as Ronsky
- Elizabeth Whitcraft as Rosanne
- Sandra Beall as Shirley
- Victoria Nekko as Claire
- Crystal Field as Mrs. Columbato
- John Brumfeld as Mr. Kohler
[edit] Soundtrack
The film's soundtrack was written and performed by Peter Gabriel. The music contains some adaptations of tracks on Gabriel's third and fourth albums. The music makes heavy use of the Fairlight CMI IIx music computer, which was one of the first sampling systems. Peter Gabriel was one of the first customers of the Fairlight CMI IIx.
[edit] Reception
The film received the Grand Prize of the Jury at the 1985 Cannes Film Festival.[1] Roger Ebert gave the film four stars (out of four) and at Rotten Tomatoes currently (2011) it has a rating of 88% based on 25 reviews.
[edit] References
- ^ "Festival de Cannes: Birdy". festival-cannes.com. http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/943/year/1985.html. Retrieved 2009-06-26.
[edit] External links
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Diary for My Children |
Grand Prix Spécial du Jury, Cannes 1985 |
Succeeded by The Sacrifice |
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