Birdy (film)
| Birdy | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Alan Parker |
| Produced by | Alan Marshall |
| Screenplay by |
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| Based on |
Birdy by William Wharton |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Peter Gabriel |
| Cinematography | Michael Seresin |
| Edited by | Gerry Hambling |
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Production
company |
A&M Films
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| Distributed by | Tri-Star Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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120 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $12 million |
| Box office | $1.4 million |
Birdy is a 1984 American drama film and adaptation of William Wharton's 1978 novel of the same name. Directed by Alan Parker, the film stars Matthew Modine and Nicolas Cage. The film focuses on the friendship between Birdy (Modine) and Al Columbato (Cage), two teenage boys living in a working-class neighborhood in 1960s Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The story is told in flashbacks, with a frame story depicting their traumatic experiences upon serving in the Vietnam War.
Parker initially turned down an opportunity to helm a film adaptation, believing that the complex novel could not be made into a feature film. The project resurfaced in 1982 when A&M Films, a newly established film division of A&M Records, acquired the film rights and commissioned Sandy Kroopf and Jack Behr to write the script. Upon reading the script, Parker returned as the film's director, and the project continued development at Tri-Star Pictures. The film's principal photography began in May 1984 and concluded in August of that year. Filming took place on locations in Philadelphia and Santa Clara, California. Birdy is notable for being the first film to be partially shot with the Skycam, a computer-controlled camera system created by Steadicam inventor Garrett Brown. The film's score was composed by Peter Gabriel.
Tri-Star Pictures intended to give Birdy a platform release which involved opening the film in select cities before expanding distribution in the following weeks. Although it received mostly positive reviews, the film's failure to garner any award nominations resulted in Tri-Star cancelling a wide release scheduled for late January 1985. Birdy was a box office bomb, grossing only $1.4 million against a budget of $12 million. Following its release, the film won the Grand Prix Spécial du Jury prize at the 1985 Cannes Film Festival.
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