Birdy (1984) (1984)

January 19, 2025 1:20 AM

Two high school friends return home from the Vietnam War, one seriously wounded, the other mentally traumatized and obsessed with becoming a bird.

Starring Matthew Modine and Nicolas Cage; directed by Alan Parker; screenplay by Jack Behr, Sandy Kroopf, and William Wharton, based on the book by William Wharton; with a haunting soundtrack by Peter Gabriel. 84% on Rotten Tomatoes.

posted by Pedantzilla (6 comments total)

I've not seen this, but it got me thinking about Alan Parker; you can say a lot of things about his movies, but you certainly can't accuse him of going back to the same well over and over.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 8:57 AM on January 19 [7 favorites]

I loved this when I saw it. The ending especially.
posted by chavenet at 10:33 AM on January 19 [1 favorite]

All that I really know about this film--aside from the basic premise of it--was that Nicolas Cage had a couple of teeth pulled for it, which has always struck me as being kind of on the edge of an actor's commitment to a part.
posted by Halloween Jack at 12:22 PM on January 19

I remember loving this back in the day, but I haven't thought about it in decades. I wonder if it still holds up?
posted by BlahLaLa at 1:19 PM on January 19 [1 favorite]

I saw this movie a few times back in the day when I had a fearsome crush on Matthew Modine. Since then I've thought a bit about the portrayal of mental illness and PTSD which was... dealt with but in a fairly progressive-for-the-80s way but I wonder if it would hold up.
posted by jessamyn at 10:41 AM on January 20 [1 favorite]

Favorite Nick Cage movie.. though I too have not seen it since the early 90s so...
posted by latkes at 3:04 PM on January 22