Birdy Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		2.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Birdy Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson June 5, 2021

Birdy (1984) is being released exclusively as part of Mill Creek Entertainment's two-disc, Scars of War: Vietnam 4-Movie Collection.

Alan Parker's sixth feature Birdy is a moving tale of friendship set during the Vietnam War that's in the same vein as Michael Cimino's The Deer Hunter (1978). It's not produced along the same scale as the Cimino epic but demonstrates how the aftereffects of war have impacted two best friends. Birdy (Matthew Modine) and Al Columbato (Nicolas Cage) are two pals growing up in working-class Philadelphia. Al is a brawny teenager who loves to lift weights and play baseball with his friends on the sandlot. Time and again, Al hits homers over the fence that land in the yard of Birdy's parents. Instead of throwing the balls back, Birdy's mother keeps them. (This will become an important plot point later in the film.) By contrast, Birdy isn't as athletic as Al and prefers to stay in his bedroom around the aviary he keeps his canaries. Birdy hopes to fly all by himself dresses up in a bird suit to jump off a tall building. Al has a bit of vertigo himself and frets about the risks Birdy takes in his stunts. Before long, service to their country comes calling. Al and Birdy are shipped out to Vietnam where they're both wounded. Birdy suffers from physical and especially mental trauma, which leaves him in a cell by himself in a Veterans' hospital. He crouches in a sunken position (like a bird) as the light glistens through the cell walls. Birdy has hardly spoken a word since his confinement, which compels Major Weiss (John Harkins) to call in Al to see if he can shake his close pal out of this catatonic state.

Here birdy!

Birdy is based on William Wharton's 1978 novel, which won the National Book Award's First Novel prize in 1980. The Philadelphia native's debut literary work has also been adapted into a play (premiere: 1997) by Naomi Wallace. Wharton set the action during World War II but screenwriters Sandy Kroopf and Jack Behr shifted the narrative's timeline to the era of Vietnam to make it more topical to 1984 audiences. The Vietnam scenes were filmed west of Modesto, California over the course of three days, according to original reporting by The Modesto (CA) Bee. Other scenes were shot in Fremont, Santa Clara, and Hercules. The Napa Valley (CA) Register (via UPI) reported that Birdy was the first movie shot on location in San Jose, CA at Agnews State Hospital.

Editor Gerry Hambling incorporates flashbacks from the present scenes in the Veterans' hospital. The film really sizzles when it unveils what went on for All and Birdy in Vietnam during the second half. Matthew Modine gives a career-best performance while Nicolas Cage more than holds his own in his sixth screen performance. Note: the SkyCam camera patented by Steadicam inventor Garrett Brown enabled birds-eyed views during aerial sequences.

Birdy Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Mill Creek's MPEG-4 AVC-encoded BD-50 of Birdy, which is split with Casualties of War on the other layer, is struck from Sony's pressed Blu-ray release, which my colleague Marty Liebman reviewed two years ago. The best information I have on this restoration is included in the booklet of the Indicator Series' October 2019 Limited Edition: "Sony's new 2K remaster was the source of this Indicator edition, created from a photochemical preservation IP created in 1999, the film was scanned at 4K, then underwent a 2K restoration and finish, supervised by Rita Belda and approved by Alan Parker." You can refer to Marty's observations about the transfer, which I second here. I was also impressed by the texture during the Philly scenes. When a shot has a white or off-white appearance (BG or FG), the sturdy grain stands out. Mill Creek has encoded the feature at an average video bitrate of 24555 kbps. The Indicator's mean bitrate is incrementally higher at 29645 kbps.

Mill Creek Entertainment 2021 Blu-ray = Screenshot #s 1-15, 17, 19, 21, 23, and 25
Indicator 2019 Powerhouse Films Blu-ray = Screenshot #s 16, 18, 20, 22, and 24

Birdy Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Mill Creek offers a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo mix (1564 kbps, 24-bit), which is probably a clone of Sony's remastered track. The Indicator's LPCM stereo mix is encoded at 2304 kbps and 24-bit. Marty has pointed out the range of limitations on the Sony. I prefer the sonic aspects and amplitude on Indicator's presentation. Peter Gabriel's ethereal score contrasts nicely with "La Bamba," which is heard on the non-diegetic track during the ornithopter scene and two other times. Gabriel built his "compilation score" from preexisting tracks (lifted from the albums Family Snapshot, Not One of Us, Rhythm of the Heat, Wallflower, and San Jacinto) and seven original compositions. Three tracks didn't make into the final film but were included on the LP and CD releases. In "At Night," the synth orchestrations remind me of the tranquil notes Gabriel later wrote for Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002). He also uses vocals effectively in two pieces. "The Heat" features tablas and other percussive sounds.

Mill Creek's optional English SDH track contains some missing words from the dialogue as well as typos in the transcription.

Birdy Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Mill Creek's disc doesn't include any extras. The Indicator release contains Alan Parker's 1976 telefilm, No Hard Feelings (54:42, 1080p), feature-length audio commentary with Parker and the BFI's Justin Johnson, a recent 25-minute interview with Matthew Modine, a 14-minute conversation with screenwriters Jack Behr and Sandy Kroopf, a 17-minute appraisal of Birdy and William Wharton's writing by filmmaker Keith Gordon, and a 7-minute interview from 2000 with Peter Gabriel about the music for the film. In addition, Indicator has a pretty extensive image gallery taken from Modine's personal collection. The 48-page booklet is quite valuable because there's a previously unpublished essay by Parker that chronicles Birdy's production in '84. Film and TV scholar Frank Collins also contributes an original piece that's drawn from materials he perused at the BFI's Alan Parker Collection.

Birdy Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Birdy is one of Alan Parker's best films and a milestone for Garrett Brown's innovative SkyCam work. At present, Mill Creek's four-film box set with Birdy in it is slightly cheaper than Sony's MOD. If you're intrigued by the supplements in Powerhouse Films' LE (which is region free), then the UK edition is a most worthwhile investment. The movie is WHOLLY RECOMMENDED.