Bird (1988 film)
Bird is a 1988 American biographical musical drama film about jazz saxophonist Charlie "Bird" Parker, directed and produced by Clint Eastwood from a screenplay by Joel Oliansky. The film stars Forest Whitaker as Parker, and Diane Venora. It is constructed as a montage of scenes from Parker's life, from his childhood in Kansas City, through his early death at the age of 34.
| Bird | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster by Bill Gold | |
| Directed by | Clint Eastwood |
| Written by | Joel Oliansky |
| Produced by | Clint Eastwood |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Jack N. Green |
| Edited by | Joel Cox |
| Music by | Lennie Niehaus |
Production company | Malpaso Productions |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date | September 30, 1988 |
Running time | 160 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $9–14 million |
| Box office | $2 million |
The film moves back and forth through Parker's history, blending moments to find some truth to his life. Much of the film revolves around his only grounding relationships with wife Chan Parker (Venora), Bebop pioneer trumpet player and band leader Dizzy Gillespie (Wright), and his influence (both musically and into the world of heroin addiction) on trumpet player Red Rodney (Zelniker).
Despite a lukewarm commercial performance, the film was critically well-received, with particular praise toward Whitaker's performance, for whom the film became a breakthrough. He won the Best Actor Award at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama at the 46th Golden Globe Awards, while Eastwood won the award for Best Director. Cahiers du Cinéma ranked Bird at #5 on its end-of-year Top 10 List.