Belying the lightheartedness of its title, Birdy is a heavy adult drama about best friends and the after-effects of war, but it takes too long to live up to its ambitious premise.
Birdy
A soaring experience unlike anything you've ever seen before.
1984 · 2h · R
Drama, War
Directed by
Alan Parker
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Birdy
Overview
Two young men are seriously affected by the Vietnam War. One of them has always been obsessed with birds - but now believes he really is a bird, and has been sent to a mental hospital. Can his friend help him pull through?
Director and cast
- Alan Parker Director
- Matthew Modine as Birdy
- Nicolas Cage as Sergeant Al Columbato
- John Harkins as Doctor Major 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
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
A very strange and beautiful movie.
Most of Birdy is enchanting.
A trifle self-indulgent -- well, it is directed by Alan Parker -- but never boring
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