Birdy

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Summary: Visually Stunning
Review: There is so much to love about this film. Firstly, it exemplifies great performances from Modine and Cage. Matthew Modine as Birdy is one of the most wonderful character portrayls on film. Modine creates a painful vulnerability to the character - showing beauty, innocence and alienation all in one. The film showcases the unusual friendship between the two boys - its an intense and unliklely friendship, but at the same time there is a deep understanding and respect. The performances, coupled with the beautiful photography and Peter Gabriel's vivid soundtrack, makes Birdy a special film that has aged rather well.

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Summary: An ode to friendship and standing up for what you believe in
Review: This beautiful movie, directed by Alan Parker (The Wall, The Commitments, Evita, Angela's Ashes), is a true ode to the power of friendship and a piece of encouragement for those who are willing to fight for what we believe in, in spite of adversity.

Matthew Modine (Full Metal Jacket, Any Given Sunday) plays Birdy, a young man who has a fascination for birds, whose life gets drawn by them, gradually taking him "away" from the rest of the world. Nicholas Cage (this was one of his first movies) plays Al Columbato, Birdy's best friend, who has just come from Vietnam, to learn that his friend is held in a mental institution, where he has done nothing but perch and stare at the window like a bird without saying a word, since he came back from Vietnam. As Al talks to Birdy every day, he draws him closer to reality while he gradually realizes that the war has not only left him scars on his face, but also on his mind.

A very strong criticism against war, Vietnam and the life of veterans lies at the very core of the movie. Peter Gabriel fans will be rewarded by the movie, since all the music to it is composed and interpreted by him (enough said). Worth seeing over and over!

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Summary: A must-see!!!
Review: This is my all time favorite movie. The characters brought to life by Cage and Modine will touch your heart. They just don't make them like this anymore.

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Summary: Don't miss this video.
Review: This is one of my favorite films ever. Cage and Modine are just starting off, and they deliver awesome performances. Peter Gabriel's soundtrack is haunting, as are many of the visual images. This film still moves me to tears after many viewings. It definitely has one of the most "controversial" endings of any film I have ever seen. You and your friends will talk about this one for quite a while!

Rating:
Summary: One of the best films I've ever seen.
Review: This is one of my favorite movies of all-time. The story line and characters captivate you. Birdy was an outstanding movie. Matthew Modine prepossessed me. It was the kind of movie that I didn't want to end. During the credits, I kinda shed a tear because I didn't want the movie to end. It's that captivating. A must see.

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Summary: it is fantastic
Review: this move is my report theme. so i have much interest. and very santimental to me.

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Summary: I Believe I Can Fly
Review: This sleeper and not very recent movie should get more recognition than it gets, since it`s a moving, well-crafted piece of film-making above most overhyped flicks around. It focuses the relationship of two friends, one (Nicolas Cage in one of his first roles) that has recently returned from Vietnam and "Birdy" (an excellent Matthew Modine), who is kept in an hospital due to (apparent) psychological disorder.
The pacing is slow (pherhaps a bit too slow during the first half), presenting Cage`s character visit to his friend in order to help him and some flashbacks that showcase their teenage relationship.

As the story unfolds, Birdy`s past is foreshadowed and the viewer comes across his passion, curiosity and obssession with birds, that starts to increase and soon reduces his bonds to other people and experiences.
Birdy has his own little world and soon gets stuck in it, and one of his few contacts with "common reality" is his only friend that struggles to understand his point of view.

Director Alan Parker manages to bring a deep, powerful and subtle movie that expertly deals with isolation, insanity, friendship, freedom, alienation and connection.
The story wisely avoids sappy and easy melodramatic fluff, delivering a strong and honest character study that lies in the range of its two leads. Modine, in particular, is utterly convincing as the fragile, confused and innocent Birdy, providing a compelling portrayal of a youngster that percieves his own peculiar universe.

This picture is also a stunning coming-of-age tale, avoiding predictable and tired cliches and presenting a unique, memmorable and sincere friendship between the two characters.
The slow pacing and the beautiful cinematography help the creation of a captivating, haunting and eerie mood to the movie, becoming weirdly unsettling at times.

"Birdy" has much to recommend and really carries a feel of its own, being a great cinematic experience for those who have ever felt "different", misunderstoodand and seem to be outside.
This is quality cinema. Highly recommended.