Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20308 in DVD
• Released on: 2000-04-17
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Arabic, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
• Dubbed in: French, German, Italian, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 115 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Based on William Wharton's transcendent novel of the same name, this film is about many things: friendship, war, and, of course, birds. The framing device is an effort by a horribly scarred combat soldier (Nicolas Cage) to break through to his best friend, Birdy (Matthew Modine), hospitalised after seemingly being driven mad by fighting in the Vietnam War. Cage then flashes back to their boyhood, where Birdy, a canary aficionado, was considered the school weirdo but managed to be a solid companion none the less. Directed by Alan Parker, it works best as a coming-of-age story, but misses the bizarre psychological transferences of the book, in which Birdy imagines himself within the world of canaries he creates in his bedroom at his parents' house. Modine is fine as an out-of-it misfit enraptured by his own little universe. --Marshall Fine

Special Features
1.85 Wide Screen
16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
DVD 5
French\German\Italian\Spanish
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital Surround English French Spanish
Mono German Italian
Dolby Digital Surround
Mono
Interactive Menus
Scene Selections
Theatrical Trailer
Filmographies
Arabic\Czech\Danish\Dutch\English\Finnish\French\German\Greek\Hebrew\Hindi\Hungarian\Icelandic\Italian\Norwegian\Polish\Portuguese\Spanish\Swedish\Turkish

Synopsis
In Alan Parker's adaptation of William Wharton's acclaimed novel, the title character is a Vietnam vet hospitalized for postwar trauma. Lying in a state of amentia, Birdy (Matthew Modine) fantasizes about birds in flight, an obsession that has haunted him since childhood. Now this fascination acts as a barrier to reality and the pain of his years in Vietnam. After doctors' efforts fail to cure him, his childhood friend Al (Nicolas Cage)--also a discharged soldier nursing wounds from the war--is brought in to try to coax Birdy out of his hallucinations.
BIRDY, told largely in stark, lyrical flashbacks from Al's point of view, is both a heartrending examination of the psychological consequences of war and an ode to the spiritually rejuvenating powers of friendship and imagination. The two young leads turn in powerful, humane performances. Parker (MIDNIGHT EXPRESS) provides innovative direction, most notably in the film's stunning, controversial ending.

Customer Reviews

Parker pulls off another classic...
Alan Parker's 'Birdy' focuses on two war veterans struggling to cope with post traumatic stress disorder.

The movie is constucted cleverly as a series of flashbacks in which we see the two characters growing up together, one with a searing passion for birds, and the other with an infatuation for women. After their return from Vietnam, both men deal with their experiences in very different and bizarre ways.

The title character is committed to a mental hospital whilst his friend, who has suffered hoffific injuries in battle, fights to bring him back to sanity.

Matthew Modine and Nicholas Cage give arguably the best performances of their careers in this movie. Alan Parker's direction is faultless as he infuses aspects of humour with the heartbreaking reality of war. Peter Gabriel's soundtrack finishes the combination that makes this movie a 'must see'.

Alan Parker directed the movies 'Pink Floyd - The Wall' and 'Midnight Express' before 'Birdy'. He has since directed 'The Commitments' and 'Evita' amongst others.

Fabulous film
If you have never seen this you've missed a treat. Its a story of male friendship, of two teenage boys in the USA a rare thing to see well protrayed. Oone of the boys becomes fixated upon the idea of being able to fly hence his nickname of birdy. It also relays the horror experienced by young men who get sent to war. The sound track is by Peter Gabriel and adds to the action well. Not quite as good as the book (which dealt with the World Wars rather than a later conflicts ised here) Never the less a touching film, it will have you laughing and crying. It is one of my all time favorites.