Birdy

Birdy (1984)

Timing: 2:0 (120 min)

7.138/10
490

7.863/10
14762

7.2/10
27000

All about film

Video 1

Photo 34

Actors and characters

Release date

1984-12-14

Country

United States

Production

TriStar Pictures

Genre

Drama

Budget

$12 000 000

Revenue

$1 455 045

Website

http://alanparker.com/film/birdy/

Director

Alan Parker

Actors

Matthew Modine, Nicolas Cage, John Harkins, Sandy Baron, Karen Young, Bruno Kirby, Nancy Fish, George Buck, Dolores Sage, Pat Ryan
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Alan Marshall, David Manson

Operator

Michael Seresin

Composer

Peter Gabriel

Artist

Audition

Juliet Taylor

Editing

Gerry Hambling
All team (55)

• An adaptation of William Wharton's novel of the same name from 1978.
• In the novel, the characters served during World War II; in the film, they returned from Vietnam.
• The soundtrack was created and recorded in a matter of days. Peter Gabriel used tracks from his third and fourth albums as the basis for much of the music, including excerpts from “Not One Of Us,” “Family Snapshot,” “The Family and the Fishing Net,” and “San Jacinto.”
• Matthew Modine auditioned for the role of Al, but Alan Parker cast the actor as Ptakha instead.
• The birds involved in the film are mentioned in the end credits.
• While preparing for the film, Nicolas Cage demanded that two of his teeth be pulled without anesthesia, just like his character.
• This film marked the first use of the SkyCam camera in a feature film. The camera was held by wires supported by four cranes and controlled by a computer to film the scene of Ptakha’s dream flight.
• Ptakha's real name is never revealed, and it is not mentioned in the novel either.
• The soundtrack was created and recorded in a few days. Peter Gabriel used tracks from his third and fourth albums as the basis for much of the music, including excerpts from “Not One Of Us,” “Family Snapshot,” “The Family and the Fishing Net,” and “San Jacinto.”