Charlie 'Bird' Parker
Forest Whitaker
Charlie 'Bird' Parker

“"There are no second acts in American lives."”
Saxophone player Charlie ‘Bird’ Parker comes to New York in 1940 and is quickly noticed for his remarkable way of playing. He becomes a drug addict but his loving wife Chan tries to help him.
Theatrical Trailer Official
Charlie 'Bird' Parker
Forest Whitaker
Charlie 'Bird' Parker
Chan Parker
Diane Venora
Chan Parker
Red Rodney
Michael Zelniker
Red Rodney
Dizzy Gillespie
Samuel E. Wright
Dizzy Gillespie
Buster Franklin
Keith David
Buster Franklin
Brewster
Michael McGuire
Brewster
Esteves
James Handy
Esteves
Young Bird
Damon Whitaker
Young Bird
Kim
Morgan Nagler
Kim
Dr. Heath
Arlen Dean Snyder
Dr. Heath
Moscowitz
Sam Robards
Moscowitz
Alcoholic Patient
Glenn Wright
Alcoholic Patient
I personally found <em>'Bird'</em> - directed by Clint Eastwood - to be an absolute slog to sit through. It's an interesting story no doubt, but it's told in the most mundane and boring way possible. I didn't know anything about Charlie Parker beforehand, which is what kept that aforementioned interest there. I'm no jazz fan either, but I am always happy to listen to it when it comes up though. Despite that, I just couldn't get into the film itself. It just felt like it was 160 minutes (!) worth of the following on repeat: performance, drunk and/or depressed, performance, drunk and/or depressed etc. I didn't feel like I was learning anything about Parker and his life. I literally gave an internal cheer when the credits finally rolled around. I do enjoy Forest Whitaker as an actor and he is probably the reason I'm not rating this lower. As for the rest, I don't even recall any of them - though I'm putting that down to what I've already noted, as opposed to the cast themselves who I'm sure tried their upmost. Way too long, in short. As I said it's an intriguing person to make a film about, an around 100 minute production would've been perfect in my opinion. A shame, all in all.
Read full reviewBird Wins Best Sound: 1989 Oscars
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