IMDb > Bird (1988)
Bird
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Bird (1988) -- Trailerfan.com - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
7.2/10   3,535 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 8% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writer (WGA):
Joel Oliansky (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Bird on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
30 September 1988 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
"There are no second acts in American lives." - F. Scott Fitzgerald
Plot:
The troubled life and career of the jazz musician, Charlie "Bird" Parker. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Won Oscar. Another 7 wins & 6 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(7 articles)
At 50, Kind of Blue Still Totally Awesome
 (From newser. 17 August 2009, 12:16 PM, PDT)

Forest Whitaker Will Unveil Oscar Nominations 1/22
 (From BroadwayWorld.com. 20 January 2009, 8:13 PM, PST)

User Comments:
Brilliant and Moving more (29 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Forest Whitaker ... Charlie 'Bird' Parker

Diane Venora ... Chan Parker

Michael Zelniker ... Red Rodney
Samuel E. Wright ... Dizzy Gillespie

Keith David ... Buster Franklin
Michael McGuire ... Brewster
James Handy ... Esteves
Damon Whitaker ... Young Bird

Morgan Nagler ... Kim

Arlen Dean Snyder ... Dr. Heath

Sam Robards ... Moscowitz

Penelope Windust ... Bellevue Nurse
Glenn Wright ... Alcoholic Patient (as Glenn T. Wright)
George Orrison ... Patient with Checkers

Bill Cobbs ... Dr. Caulfield
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Additional Details

Runtime:
161 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Keith David and Forest Whitaker had previously co-starred in Platoon (1986). more
Goofs:
Anachronisms: When Charlie Parker goes to Dizzy Gillespie's house in the middle of the night and asks Dizzy to write down a tune, the year is 1953. The tune is "Now's the Time", which was published and recorded in 1949. more
Quotes:
Chan Parker: Dizzy sent you a birthday card. Seems he's back in town. Do you owe him a phone call?
Charlie Parker: I owe Dizzy everything...except a phone call.
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in Eastwood... A Star (1992) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
April in Paris more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
19 out of 29 people found the following comment useful.
Brilliant and Moving, 25 October 2001
Author: hb_wichita from Wichita KS

Those viewers who claim the film is flawed are missing the point. Screenwriter Joel Oliansky (who also directed the film "The Competition") attempted (quite successfully I believe) to combine the elements of jazz music with the visual medium of film. Rhythm, tone, the improvisational aspects of be-bop, all of these elements go into creating a movie unlike any produced. It is not to be viewed in the traditional sense of linear story-telling. The mood created by Jack N. Green's cinematography is completed suited to the atmosphere of the 1940's and 1950's. As for acting, let us point out Forest Whitaker's Best Actor Award from the Cannes Film Festival and Diane Venora's Best Supporting Actress Award from the New York Film Critics. This film resounds with fine filmmaking, headed by Clint Eastwood's passion for the music. And what music! Parker's original solos were cleaned up and integrated with modern musicians into a seamless flow. The picture won the Best Sound Academy Award (sadly, its only nomination). Look at this film as a tribute to a man and a music, a recollection of a brilliant yet dissipated life, and a kind of filmmaking rarely seen by today's audiences.

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A Failure of a biopic epatten67
Why was it Rated R? mcbain20
Best Jazz Movie Ever? hansvandergeest
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