Birdy

Birdy

Like Francis Ford Coppola's stunning Apocalypse Now, Birdy is an anti-war film which happens to be set in Vietnam, rather than being about the Vietnam war, as such.

It's a small movie, about two childhood friends, Al Columbato (a very young Nicholas Cage) and the asexual, almost mystical Birdy (Matthew Modine) who somehow find themselves fighting a war they don't understand.

Birdy trailer

OK, that's fairly standard present-day Hollywood war movie statement...

...but Birdy is also an artistic triumph in its:

• wonderful "weaving" of Peter Gabriel's tense, tribal world music (primarily from the Peter Gabriel 4 album sans vocals)
• Sandy Kroopf & Jack Behr's intelligent, unsentimental and sometimes funny script &
• director Alan Parker's jaw-dropping sense of visuals

Told in flashback, we first see Birdy, physically unscathed but a catatonic mental patient in an Army hospital. His psychiatrist has summoned Al, who's been physically wounded but remains mentally alert, to try to bring Birdy out of his isolation. That process involves flashing back and forth:

• with Al telling stories of their youth about cars and girls to a non-responsive Birdy
• Birdy's own memories, his semi-erotic obsession for and identification with birds...&
• then to the trauma of active service in Vietnam

Al tries his best but with no results and with a deadline approaching which would mean permanent incarceration for Birdy, Al is driven to take more desperate measures.

Based on author William Wharton's original, little known and seldom remembered novel of the same name...

Parker's movie realisation of Birdy is a timeless work of Art and I recommended it highly.

Birdy DVD

"...Birdy gets my nod as one of the greatest and most compelling movies of all time in so many ways. While it is like many that focus on the effects of the war in Vietnam, this movie is the most unique story of friendship, the effects of military combat and eccentricity, like no other movie..." Amazon reviewer Distantvoyageur

Peter Gabriel's tense instrumentals are incredibly powerful in the movie and deserve to be played for further appreciation. A number of them were taken from his third and fourth SOLO albums and unfortunately the Amazon reviewers reflect this rather silly, partisan audience. Don't listen to them, listen to the samples, this is great stuff and many of the pieces develop wonderfully in the soundtrack.

Birdy soundtrack

"...The album cover of the moonlight illuminating the dark room through a window sets the general mood of this album: It's dark, haunting & very gloomy..." Amazon reviewer Voyageur

see also:

• wikipedia Birdy movie
• wikipedia Birdy soundtrack