Bird (Special Edition)(Bonus Soundtrack CD) (Dual-layered DVD)
- Starring: Forest Whitaker, Diane Venora, Michael Zelniker
- Director: Clint Eastwood
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Description
Forest Whitaker stars as the brilliant jazz saxophonist Charlie "Bird" Parker in this elegiac biopic. Director Clint Eastwood pays full homage to Parker's musical genius, but also devotes ample time to the musician's twin demons--drugs and alcohol-which accelerated his death at the age of 34. In his struggles to gain widespread acceptance for his music, "Bird" is forever stymied by his own self-destructiveness, and forever bailed out by the love of his life, Chan Richardson Parker (Diane Venora). The film bemoans the decline of the brand of jazz fathered by Parker, which came to be replaced by more conventional material -- as illustrated by the "descent" into the mainstream of Parker's mentor Buster Franklin. Also starring in Bird is Samuel E. Wright as Dizzy Gillespie. That's the real Charlie "Bird" Parker on the film's soundtrack, though most of the background music has been re-orchestrated. Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Features
- Genre: Drama
- Category: Biopic [feature], Musical Drama, Showbiz Drama
- Theme: Alcoholism, All Washed Up, Bohemian Life, Drug Addiction, Musician's Life
- Release Date: July 22, 2008
- Rating: R (Restricted)Rating Opens in New Window - Adult Language, Adult Situations, Profanity, Questionable for Children
- Studio: Warner Home Video
- Lead Actors: Forest Whitaker, Diane Venora, Michael Zelniker, Sam Wright, Keith David
- Supporting Actors: Anna Levine, Diane Salinger, Hamilton Camp, Jason Bernard, John Miller, Karl Vincent, Patricia Herd, Penelope Windust, Sam Robards, Tim Russ, Al Pugliese, Don Starr, Glenn Wright, Richard Mawe, Richard McKenzie, Slim Jim Phantom, Tony Cox, Alec Paul Rubinstein, Ann Weldon, Bill Cobbs
- Director: Clint Eastwood
- Run Time: 2 hr 40 min
- Language: English, French
- Subtitle Language: English, French, Portuguese, Spanish
- Format: DVD
Awards
-
Awards: Academy Awards (1), Cannes Film Festival Film Festival (1), Golden Globe Awards (1)
Winner: Golden Globe Awards Best Director 1988, Clint Eastwood
Nominations: Golden Globe Awards (2)
Additional Information
- DPCI: 246-03-3329
- ASIN: B002N1BCVK
- Catalog #: 11535960
- Item can not be gift wrapped.
Shipping & Policies
- You may return this item to any Target store.Opens in New Window
- Shipping & Delivery InformationOpens in New Window
- Estimated Ship Dimensions : 7.4 inches length x 5.6 inches width x 0.4 inches height
- Estimated Ship Weight: 0.25 pound.
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Expert Reviews
Apart from being a notorious tough guy, actor/director Clint Eastwood is also a notorious jazz aficionado, and Bird is his sprawling, impressive tribute to one of the great jazz saxophonists of all time, Charlie "Bird" Parker. Parker, one of the originators of bebop, died at an early age due to a long-standing relationship with the high life. Forest Whitaker, who won best actor at the Cannes Film Festival for this role, does an excellent job of capturing the larger-than-life, ultimately destructive man whom many credit for inventing "cool." The film follows Whitaker's somber example, eluding explanations or historical documentation. Though Eastwood has made some very fine movies as a director, Bird is certainly his most accomplished and mature visually. He pulls out techniques that one might not have suspected he had. He also breaks away from the straightforward narrative style of his mentors, Don Siegel and Sergio Leone. Eastwood's almost impressionistic memory montage as Bird lays dying is probably the most striking directorial achievement that he has produced. The narrative is a bit too disorganized to deliver the full thematic punch that the movie strives for, but the performances of (Whitaker and Diane Venora as Bird's wife) and the lasting images make it a significant achievement for Eastwood behind the camera. Brendon Hanley, All Movie Guide