Themes: Haunted By the Past, Mental Illness, Home From the War
Main Cast: Matthew Modine, Nicolas Cage, John Harkins, Sandy Baron, Karen Young, Delores Sage, Bruno Kirby
Release Year: 1984
Country: US
Run Time: 120 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Director Alan Parker tackles this adapation of William Wharton's novel, which retains much of the source material's texture and complexity. Matthew Modine is Birdy, who comes back from Vietnam mentally shattered and deludes himself into thinking that he is a bird, an animal that has obsessed him since childhood. Birdy is confined to a military hospital, where he spends his time sitting naked in his room, not acknowleding anyone, moving and acting like a parakeet. His best friend Al (Nicolas Cage), also a wounded Vietnam vet, visits Birdy every day, determined to bring him back to reality. Birdy is occasionally disjointed but enriched by strong performances from Modine and Cage and a number of hard-to-forget moments. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
Review
Though set in a veterans hospital after the Vietnam War, Birdy is not a film about the war or its effects; and while it might focus on a deranged patient and the struggle to return him to normalcy, the film isn't really about mental illness either. In fact, it's a credit to director Alan Parker and stars Matthew Modine and Nicholas Cage that Birdy, no matter how bizarre, maintains its focus on the humanity of central characters instead of wallowing in the weird. Parker -- who brought us Pink Floyd: The Wall and Melody, a movie about ten-year-olds in love -- is one of the few filmmakers who can establish a connection between the audience and a guy who sleeps naked in a bird cage. A good deal of praise belongs to the actors: Modine delivers a stirring performance as the title character, and Cage's blend of intensity and vulnerability is perfect for the role of Birdy's concerned friend, even if he at times goes over the edge. The film was based on a William Wharton novel originally set in World War II; another Wharton book was the source for A Midnight Clear. ~ Brendon Hanley, All Movie Guide
Nancy Fish - Mrs. Prevost; Crystal Field - Mrs. Columbato; Priscilla Alden - Waiting Room Lady; Sandra Beall - Shirley; Marshall Bell - Ronsky; Joe Lerer - Military Doctor; Richard Mason - Injured Soldier; James Santini - Mario Columbato; Bud Seese - Drunk in Jail; Irving Selbst - Fairground Announcer; Michael Shaner - Veteran; Mark Simpson - Helicopter Soldier; Charles Tamburro - Helicopter Pilot; Chris Taylor - Helicopter Soldier; Elizabeth Whitcraft - Rosanne; Maud Winchester - Doris Robinson; William Clark - Policeman on Beach; George "Buck" Flower - Birdy's father; John Brumfield - Mr. Kohler; Mic Rodgers - Stunt Player; Steve Lippe - Junkyard Proprietor; Guy Jones - Hospital Orderly; Michael Runyard - Stunt Player; Juliet Taylor; Robert Ryan - Joe Sagessa; Harry Hauss - Helicopter Pilot; Tim Davis - Veteran
Credit
W. Stewart Campbell - Art Director, Armin Ganz - Art Director, Ned Kopp - Associate Producer, Juliet Taylor - Casting, Kristi Zea - Costume Designer, Alan Parker - Director, Gerry Hambling - Editor, David Manson - Executive Producer, Peter Gabriel - Composer (Music Score), Barbara Kelly - Makeup, Michael Roberts - Camera Operator, Geoffrey Kirkland - Production Designer, Nancy Giebink - Production Designer, Michael Seresin - Cinematographer, Alan Marshall - Producer, George R. Nelson - Set Designer, Cliff Wenger - Special Effects, David MacMillan - Sound/Sound Designer, M. James Arnett - Stunts, Jack Behr - Screenwriter, Sandy Kroopf - Screenwriter, Alan Parker - Screenwriter, William Wharton - Book Author
Birdy is a 1984 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. The story is about two friends, Birdy (Modine) and Al (Cage), who 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 it's too late and he'll be separated from Birdy, leaving him alone and lost inside his mind. The film contains many flashback scenes of their life together as teenagers in 1960s America and their developing friendship and views of life.
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.
