USA,
1988, 161 min
Shown in 2001
CREDITS
- dir
-
Clint Eastwood
- prod
-
Clint Eastwood
- scr
-
Joel Oliansky
- cam
-
Jack N. Green
- editor
-
Joel Cox
- mus
-
Lennie Niehaus
- cast
-
Forest Whitaker, Diane Venora, Michael Zelnicker, Samuel E. Wright, Keith David
- source
-
Warner Bros. Classics, 15821 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 525, Encino, CA 91436
-
COMMENTS
Clint Eastwood appeared in person to receive the Akira Kurosawa Award in 2001. Forest Whitaker also appeared.
OTHER
Based on the life of jazz legend Charlie Parker, Bird zeroes in on the head-on collision between Parker’s unparalleled musical genius and his lifelong (since age 15) heroin addiction. Bird is directed by jazz aficionado Clint Eastwood with a courageous combination of deep admiration and unflinching honesty, presenting Parker as a man who was dominated in equal parts by a colossal talent and an incessant struggle with his own demons. Doing everything to excess, Parker found it impossible to live in the world of convention—hours late for gigs if he even showed up at all, he had trouble getting work. But if he did show up, he’d play until well past the show’s scheduled end, bringing the house down. A family man who rarely spent time with his wife and kids, Parker was kept afloat (and at times alive) by his wife Chan, who was as tolerant as she was smitten. Forest Whitaker climbs into the role of Parker like a second skin; his embodiment of Bird’s passion and pain is a privilege to watch. Diane Venora, as Chan, is cool as a cucumber, and the perfect foil for Whitaker’s chaotic restlessness. Expertly conducted by Eastwood, they play off each other to create a convincing and moving elegy to Parker’s life.
—Wendy McLaughlin
FACTOID #336
Bing Crosby was invited several times for an onstage tribute at the Festival, reports then-director Claude Jarman, but declined the honor. “Nobody wants to see those little things that I used to do,” he modestly replied. He did attend though, with wife Kathy and their friend, Rita Hayworth.
