Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageBirdy (1984)
Director: Alan Parker
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
A trifle self-indulgent - well, it is directed by Alan Parker - but never boring, this tells of the strange, trusting friendship between Birdy (Modine), an introverted teenager whose ideal companion is one of his pet birds, and his protective mate Al (Cage). Their relationship is explored both through flashback, larking about at school and fighting as Vietnam conscripts, and in the present: interned in an army mental hospital, the lonely Birdy appears to believe that he has actually turned into one of his own feathered pets. A military doctor has sent for Al in the hope that he can bring his pal back to his senses. But is he mad? Or can genuine freedom exist only in someone's head? You come away convinced that all that RD Laing stuff about the integrity of mad people ought not to be consigned to the dustbin of the '60s after all.Author: CS
Cast & crew
Director: Alan Parker
Producer: Alan Marshall
Cast: Matthew Modine, Nicolas Cage, John Harkins, Sandy Baron, Karen Young, Bruno Kirby full cast
Duration: 120 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Jim Jarmusch on 'The Limits of Control'
Jim Jarmusch has followed ‘Broken Flowers’ with an esoteric crime mystery. Dave Calhoun speaks to him from his New York office
Richard Linklater on 'Me and Orson Welles'
Dave Calhoun meets the 49-year-old, Houston-born filmmaker Richard Linklater to discuss his new comedy
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now