Birdy is a 1984 American drama 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, although the film is set in the Vietnam era and not during the Second World War.
Synopsis
Two teens, Birdy (Modine) and Al (Cage), become friends at school and serve in Vietnam. Birdy has long been disturbingly fixated with birds and his Vietnam experiences push him over the edge: returning from the war, he is hospitalized for a psychiatric assessment and Al tries to reach him before he'll be separated from Birdy, leaving him alone and lost. As the story develops, flashback scenes show their lives as teens in a working-class neighborhood of Philadelphia in the United States in the 1960s, and their developing friendship and viewpoints.
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
Soundtrack
The film's soundtrack was written and performed by Peter Gabriel. The music includes adaptations of tracks on Gabriel's third and fourth albums. The music makes heavy use of the Fairlight CMI IIx music computer, an early sampling system. Peter Gabriel was one of the first buyers of the Fairlight CMI IIx.
Reception
The film received the Grand Prize of the Jury at the 1985 Cannes Film Festival. 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. Halliwell's Film Guide claimed the film "somewhat lacks plot advancement" and is "too self-indulgent even to earn marks for trying."
Synopsis
Two teens, Birdy (Modine) and Al (Cage), become friends at school and serve in Vietnam. Birdy has long been disturbingly fixated with birds and his Vietnam experiences push him over the edge: returning from the war, he is hospitalized for a psychiatric assessment and Al tries to reach him before he'll be separated from Birdy, leaving him alone and lost. As the story develops, flashback scenes show their lives as teens in a working-class neighborhood of Philadelphia in the United States in the 1960s, and their developing friendship and viewpoints.
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
Soundtrack
The film's soundtrack was written and performed by Peter Gabriel. The music includes adaptations of tracks on Gabriel's third and fourth albums. The music makes heavy use of the Fairlight CMI IIx music computer, an early sampling system. Peter Gabriel was one of the first buyers of the Fairlight CMI IIx.
Reception
The film received the Grand Prize of the Jury at the 1985 Cannes Film Festival. 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. Halliwell's Film Guide claimed the film "somewhat lacks plot advancement" and is "too self-indulgent even to earn marks for trying."
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