AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Stometer Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Curt Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

guywhoacts This is a wonderful character study of two friends throughout life.Al (Nicolas Cage) and Birdy (Matthew Modine) put in some great performances, to be expected by this point from Cage. Birdy wants to transcend his human experience and learn to fly. Cage humors his aspirations and wants to help his friend.Later on, the friends go through something neither can fully comprehend. (Vietnam War) The ramifications of the war weigh heavy on their heads.It's a tale about friendship, and what it means to be there for someone. Highly recommend.

itamarscomix Birdy is one of my favorite films from the 80's, one that slipped mostly unnoticed as far as award recognition goes. Though it has a lot of the 80's feel in it (especially in Peter Gabriel's wonderful soundtrack), it aged far less than many films of its time, and while it plays around with various clichés, it refuses to go all the way with any of them, and so manages to be fresh and surprising even now.A lot of that originality may be missed when referring to Birdy as a war film, or a story about PTSD. The film follows two friends and Vietnam vets before and after the wars, through intersecting flashbacks - a familiar tool in war films. But this time the flashbacks are as important as the scenes taking place in the present; the war experience, surprisingly, is only one example - maybe the ultimate one - of society bringing down people that live on its fringes, which is what Birdy is all about. It's a buddy film, a psychological drama, a social critique, a film about friendship and madness and non-conformism, and maybe a coming-of-age story (or a not-coming of age story), but war plays a much smaller part than might seem at first, and wisely, 'Nam flashbacks (which we've seen so many of in so many films) are few and saved till the very end.Special attention should go to the two lead actors - Nicholas Cage and Matthew Modine, both in the very early stages of their careers and both supplying one of the definitive performances of their careers (in Modine's case probably the peak of his career). They create real, full, flawed characters, aided by Alan Parker's sensitive directorial work and by poetic, beautiful cinematography. The film deals with some difficult and very dark questions, but it manages to keep the audience interested and even entertained without compromising its message. The 80's feel does pop-up every now and then, and some of the flashbacks to the 50's and early 60's rely too heavily on well-tried clichés of period films (most jarringly, the use of La Bamba and other hits of the time period in certain scenes, clashing with the beautiful score). But all those little flaws don't make Birdy anything less than a classic.

jkenny-2 I have only one thing to add about this movie, which I just watched for the first time. It has the MOST PERFECT ending of any movie ever! Those who say detracting things about the ending must not get it, must not have been paying attention! The director has been building up, so expertly, an incredible sense of tension whether or not Birdy's old neighborhood buddy will be able to reach his shattered mind. In the last split second, we find out. The abruptness is not a "gag"; it sums up the tale perfectly. Jeesh! Just think about it, would ya?...What a great, realistic, thoughtful, touching flick! AND WHAT A GREAT ENDING!

safoocat This is a great story for anyone who loves birds. It's also a blistering critique of war and the damage it does to the soldiers. It's as relevant in 2007 as it was when it was made.I found the bird scenes inspiring with the bonding between the boy and his birds. The teenage love scenes also brought back some memories for me, a child of the 60's. It's a great male bonding movie.Nicholas Cage brings his usual intensity to the role of friend to his childhood friend in need with dignity and passion.The music is also good and the photography as seen from the eyes of a bird is an added treat. The period scenes of the old neighborhoods were very well done. There was a lot of suspense but not the kind of gratuitous violence without purpose that is seen in so many modern movies.