Birdy

R

Released Dec 14, 1984

2 hr. 0 min.

Drama

List

84%

44 Reviews

Tomatometer

84%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Birdy returns from the Vietnam War scarred from the horrific experiences of battle. He is so damaged by what he saw that he has shut himself off from reality completely, imagining that he is actually a bird. Birdy is confined to a mental hospital, where the doctors are at a loss as to how to treat him. In an attempt to help, Al, his best friend from high school -- and who was also in Vietnam -- visits him every day to try and get through to him.

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Critics Consensus

Aided by strong work from Matthew Modine and Nicolas Cage, Birdy finds director Alan Parker turning a supposedly unfilmable novel into a soaring -- and emotionally searing -- success.

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Susan H

So weird, creepy, depressing.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

04/20/24

Full Review

Chris H

A film with high ideals, perhaps, to show us how war affects people, but it is let down by the fact that Birdy has always been a very strange individual and, to be frank, he seems just the same (albeit even more withdrawn) after his Vietnam experiences. Al is the more interesting character and his insecurities eventually reveal themselves. A lot of the film is made up of mawkish flashbacks to Birdy and Al's childhood, which can be tedious. Eventually the film approaches some kind of conclusion, then falls apart at the very end. It's well acted and is better than I'm making it sound but, honestly, don't expect anything profound here.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

08/21/23

Full Review

Napon A

It's a funny idea for a person to be so obsessed about becoming a bird to the point where he wants to be one, but this film makes you really believe that these people do exist.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

05/05/23

Full Review

Pat H

This movie slowly draws you into the story of two teenagers lives beginning in high school until after the Vietnam war where they were both injured and brings challenges when they return home. If you don't stay for the ending you will have watched the whole movie for naught….one of the better movies that pulls you in and then let's you go.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

Full Review

Steve P

The ending was stupid and the movie had no satifying conclusion. As a Vietnam vet, I thought it was misleading and not representative of us vets.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

Full Review

dave s

Often, the written word on the page is more impactful than what we see as a visual on the screen – such is the case with Birdy, Alan Parker's adaptation of William Wharton's novel. That's not to say that the film, despite some clunky ham-fisted dialogue, a horrible final scene and an annoying music score, is a bad movie because it isn't. It simply doesn't live up to the magic that Wharton created in the book. It's the story of two friends suffering from the ravages of war, one recovering physically while the other deals with deeply rooted psychological issues. Matthew Modine and Nicholas Cage are fine in the lead roles and the story is intriguing, despite the fact that it starts to eventually wear thin. It's probably safe to say that the movie will be appreciated more by those who have not read the novel.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

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Alan Parker

Director

Matthew Modine

Birdy

Nicolas Cage

Sergeant Al Columbato

Sandy Baron

Mr. Columbato

John Harkins

Doctor Major Weiss

Karen Young

Hannah Rourke

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William Thomas

Empire Magazine

Despite the film's heavily symbolic tone, little is revealed about either of the characters or indeed the Vietnam War.

Rated: 2/5

Dec 16, 2023

Full Review

Gene Siskel

Chicago Tribune

Far better as an antiwar film than as a poetic tribute to flight.

Rated: 2.5/4

Dec 16, 2023

Full Review

Laurie Horn

Miami Herald

The strength of this movie is in its pacing, psychological restraint, and visual texture. Birdy is disturbing — and not for those who have trouble sleeping.

Rated: 3/4

Dec 16, 2023

Full Review

Jeff Simon

Buffalo News

It has more cinematic integrity than 90 per cent of the rest of local movie fare combined. It ought to be seen.

Dec 16, 2023

Full Review

JoAnn Rhetts

Charlotte Observer

What's particularly gratifying about Cage's performance as the preening and pitiful Al is that it proves at long last that his delightful work in "Valley Girl" was no fluke.

Dec 16, 2023

Full Review

Terry Orme

Salt Lake Tribune

Director Parker does a masterful job of letting us see inside Birdy's head, and Cage, as Al, is the tool he uses.

Dec 16, 2023

Full Review

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Synopsis

Birdy returns from the Vietnam War scarred from the horrific experiences of battle. He is so damaged by what he saw that he has shut himself off from reality completely, imagining that he is actually a bird. Birdy is confined to a mental hospital, where the doctors are at a loss as to how to treat him. In an attempt to help, Al, his best friend from high school -- and who was also in Vietnam -- visits him every day to try and get through to him.

Director: Alan Parker
Executive Producer: David Manson
Screenwriter: Jack Behr, Sandy Kroopf, William Wharton
Distributor: TriStar Pictures
Production Co: TriStar Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 14, 1984, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2012
Sound Mix: Dolby, Surround

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