Bird

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.

The story of jazz great Charlie Parker. The film follows his rise from clubs to records and follows him across tours, drug abuse, personal loss and his eventual death. At the time of his death at 34 he was so eaten up by drugs that the coroner assessed his age at 65.

This is a well put together film about a creative but flawed artist. The plot doesn't glamorise him too much, although it maybe sympathises a little with his addiction and doesn't show it quite as harshly as it could have done. That said he is a pretty unpleasant person when he isn't performing. The film focuses on his adult life, which is good as it saves us child actors running around and it means more time is spent on the important years. The covers a lot of time, but it doesn't feel rushed. His drug addiction is honestly handled and it shows both the ups and downs of his life as a user.

The direction is pretty good, it's obvious Eastwood likes his jazz, and he uses the clubs well getting a great sense of mood. Elements are quite funny and this tempers the more tragic side of his life well. Whittaker is excellent in the lead role, but Diane Venora as his wife is not as good. She doesn't totally carry her lines in the same way - she's OK but you feel like something is missing. The rest of the cast come and go - there are good performances all round from a mostly low-key cast. The main star is the music, and it's treated with a lot of respect with Eastwood giving it plenty of time and creating a good mood for it to work in.

Overall a tragic story well told with a good central performance and great music.

The life of jazz great Charlie "Bird" Parker.

Clint Eastwood's homage to Charlie Parker. A great, sensitive biopic. I am not a fan of jazz music, and know very little about it, but you don't have to be a jazz aficionado to enjoy this movie.

Eastwood, a great fan of jazz and very knowledgeable on the subject, gives a great insight into Charlie Parker, especially his drives and personal demons. It could easily have become a very dry, paint-by-numbers, examination of Parker's life but Eastwood gives his character great depth and shows him warts and all. A very sensitive yet revealing portrayal.

Excellent performance by Forest Whitaker as Charlie Parker. Good supporting performances, especially by Diane Venora as Parker's wife, Chan.

I. feel that the person that wrote negative things about the movie "Bird" missed the point. He mentioned the fact that the movie didn't go into the interracial marrige of Charlie and Chan Parker. I for one am glad that it didn't. I hate movies that beat the audience over the head with the fact that people can't, won't,and don't except blacks and whites in relationships that are positive. I felt that even though Mr. Parker had an addiction to drugs and had a wondering eye at times, he truely loved his wife. Mrs Parker not only loved her husband the jazz musician but her husband the man and looked out for his well being as best she could. The movie never let me forget that he was an addict but it also showed his genious and creativity. I'd give it a 9 because there was an uneveness about it that made it less than pefect. I truely wished that they had shown more of how he interacted with other greats like Miles Davis and Art Blakey.

If you like Jazz you can't 'not like' this movie. If you like Noir you will dig the overall look of it. My only problem is that Eastwood concentrates more on presenting the tragic side of Charlie parker's life and so we get a very dark and somber film.

While we do get glimpses of Parker as 'musician', Forest Whitaker's, Parker as 'junkie', tends to weigh down the story. If Eastwood had to choose between highlighting the story of 'The greatest jazz musician of all time' or 'The premature death of a self-destructive Junkie', It's obvious which route he chose to take...the easiest one.

Ultimately it becomes more a movie about Parker's relationship with his wife Chan, and less about Parker's relationship with Jazz. In my opinion, Clint doesn't really succeed at showing us why we should love the character of Bird and maybe this was not his intention; but if a separation of the personality (warts and all) and his art is necessary to show an honest depiction; then why not also highlight the music and allow it to speak for itself? In this case, by making it a more satisfying listening experience like Formans "Amadeus" or Tavernier's "Round Midnight". The way they allowed the music be THE lead character of the movie.

Still, the improved fidelity in the remix of the soundtrack makes some of these old recordings easier digestible for those who may be new to Parker's music. Incidentally, this is the best fidelity of Charlie Parker you'll find anywhere. On the whole this is not a bad movie; It is not a complete depress-fest like two other movies about drug induced pop culture icons: 'The Doors' or 'Sid & Nancy'. Indeed this movie has its moments. There's a scene where Parker (blowing on his sax) wakes up Dizzy in the middle of the night to improvise on 'Now's the Time'. I also love the scene where he takes a gig with Red Rodney to play at a Jewish wedding. I wanted more of this type of interaction with his fellow Jazzers!