NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!

GazerRise Fantastic!

Orla Zuniga It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

Jenni Devyn Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

nycjimmy Like most music bio- films - The Eastwood Bird film centered on Parker's romantic relationship.In this case, his relationship with Chan Richardson(after two failed marriages). Despite the fact they had two kids, the film made the relationship the centerpiece of his life which is contrary to all the other bio's I've read.If I remember correctly, Eastwood took the liberty of re-recording all the rhythm tracks... which sounded suspiciously phoned in from the wrong decade.If you want to find out about Parker, read "Bird Lives" or the Miles Davis autobiography. You'll realize how "whitewashed" Clint's film really was.Another thing, I like Whitaker but I didn't think his portrayal of Parker was much of a departure from his usual schtick.

lunaticprophet There are certain movies that leave you dazed when you walk out of the theater. For me, "Bird" was such a movie.On a nice evening in 1988 I decided to take in a movie on the spur of the moment. I walked to the nearest theater (Fine Arts, Downtown Chicago) and looked to see what was playing. I had never heard of Charlie Parker nor his music, but I was developing a love of jazz and the movie being directed by Clint Eastwood didn't hurt.I went in, found a seat and had no way of knowing that, in a couple of hours, my life would be different.The music penetrated my soul in ways I could never express. I was in awe and filled with emotion as the music carried me away while the visions of Charlie Parker's life flashed in front of my face. When the final credits scrolled up the screen, I could not move. I was frozen to my seat, dazed, overwhelmed, completely awed. I couldn't get the music out of my head, songs were playing back as if I'd listened to them a thousand times. My mind felt as if it were orbiting the sun.. spinning round and round, bathed in this warmth of beauty.I didn't walk out of the the theater so much as stagger. I walked around for miles just playing over and over in my mind what I'd seen and heard and finally, hours after the movie ended I found myself in front of an all night music store where I bought the soundtrack and raced home to listen to it. No matter that I had to get up in the morning for work... no matter that the movie had ended before 10pm but I didn't find my way home until after 2am. No matter that I was dead tired from walking dazed miles in a haze of thought.I played that CD until I fell asleep then took it to work and played it all day... I played it constantly for weeks and then I started to buy other Charlie Parker CDs and reading everything I could about him. Charlie Parker is my favorite musician of all time, to this day, nearly 20 years later... and it began with this movie.

ccthemovieman-1 The music in here is excellent and makes jazz appealing even to a non-jazz enthusiast like me. It better, because that's what the subject of the film is: jazz, and Charlie Parker, in particular. "Bird" was his nickname, and Parker was a good subject matter for a film - not a pleasant subject most of the time, but for jazz fans the man is a legend.I thought the acting was good, especially by the two main people: Forest Whitaker, playing Parker, and Diane Venora as wife "Chan." My major complaint was that it was too long. To make a film over 160 minutes when much of it is a "downer" it tough to sit through. It's generally a story about what can happen to a man who is addicted to drugs, which is what happened to this giant of jazz. That's the part of fhis life that is emphasized,, so it makes this movie a very long, sordid tale, not a happy one. Unless one is a big jazz aficionado, one viewing of this would be plenty.

WillyHill74 Being a jazz musician and enthusiast, I was really excited to see this movie. However, it ended up being a dreary and disappointing film that dragged on and on.The story line, as haphazardly arranged as it is, revolves mostly (and justly so) around Parker's debilitating drug addiction, but also around his marriage to Chan. However, it never mentioned his first wife, Doris. The film also tended to dwell (perhaps unjustly so) on his musical relationship with the white trumpeter, Red Rodney. It was surprising how little of it involved Parker's best-known musical partner, Dizzy Gillespie. Miles Davis, who collaborated with Parker a lot during '48 and '49, receives only a quick glimpse in the background during a recording session.I would have liked to see much more about Parker's development and childhood. Also, I felt that the movie could have used a bit more humor, seeing as Parker was one of the first truly interesting characters in jazz, even though that was, sadly, because of his drug addiction."Bird" tends to drag on and on, with the best parts being when Parker plays on camera. I felt that the best scene was the performance at a Jewish wedding. That cracked me up, seeing Bird play a regular Klezmer song and then break into a wildly brilliant bebop improvisation. I don't know if that really happened, but it was fun all the same."Ray" is a movie from the same vein as "Bird," but far better.