Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Birdy (Matthew Modine) is the weirdo kid in a working class Philadelphia neighborhood. Al Columbato (Nicolas Cage) becomes his friend. Birdy introduces Al to his love of pigeons. They're both sent to Vietnam. Birdy returns in psychological distress after a month MIA. Al returns after suffering wounds to his face. Birdy's doctor finds Al to help in his treatment.These are two great performances. Matthew Modine transforms physically and also mentally. Cage is the conduit between the audience and Birdy. He's not necessarily in the easier role at the least. They're both equally amazing. This isn't a movie about big plot developments. It's watching the obsessive Birdy going deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole.

If ever I needed convincing that Nicholas Cage is a great actor and human being, it is in this role and the brilliant performance of Birdie himself. If ever good can be portrayed as coming out of bad, it is the deeply moving message and point of making a movie like this. Who needs convincing that war is evil, that life is cruel and that love conquers all its madness? Who can even begin to understand the torment of post-traumatic stress? Those who perpetrate suffering not only to humans but animals alike can never have the empathy that defines us as human. On many levels, the story and how it is told, speaks to the heart and we weep in sympathy for the pain of those who suffer whether from mental illness, bullying or the unspeakable abuses of war. Where have all the great movie makers like Alan Parker gone? There is nothing but fake, shallow and profit orientated products that mirror the fake, shallow and insecure "virtual" relating that goes on today. For that I weep. It has created a hunger deeper than that suffered from starving Biafra.

.This is a very thought-provoking, sadly over-looked film that was made back in 1984. It's a crying shame that "Birdy" never got the bravado it deserved then and now simply and I never really understood why. I mean it's well-focused, the characters are endearing and the film itself stands on its own above over-rated and convoluted films that depends on CGI and high-budgeted goodies.It's primary focus is centred on the camaraderie between of two buddies Al Columbato (Nicolas Cage in one of his earliest starring roles) who has recently been returned home from the horrors of the Vietnam War. However his friend Birdy (an outstanding Matthew Modine) who was left hospitalized under psychological evaluation. The opening half of the movie runs at a snail's pace as Al pays a visit to Birdy as he attempts to revive his sanity by going through flashbacks to their teenage years.As the story progresses, Birdy's past is starting to take form and the viewer starts to observe is compassion and curious fixation with birds, that continually increase to epic proportions as he rapidly decreases his association with people and what he's gone through. Birdy now lives in his own world and the only touch of reality he has is his friend who's making strives to get a better understanding of his mind and how it's working.Director Alan Parker expertly touches upon a myriad of touching subjects all into one film. It deals with issues like isolation, questioning one's sanity, how friendship is put to the test, insubordination and connections. Parker succeeds in refraining from making these characters melancholy and grim by making it sincere in studying the characters primarily on the two leads (Cage and Modine). Modine was very believable as the weak and vulnerable Birdy who has strangely adapted to his new world and oblivious to the world in which he lives now.The film also has a gripping coming of age scenario as well Parker avoids from using clichés and we see a simple honest bonding between two friends. The slow pace was a benefit for the development of the characters and the cinematography adds the perfect touch to the creepy and unpredictable mood to the story.and at times some scenes are hard to adjust making the atmosphere quite uncomfortable."Birdy" should be highly recommended and has plenty to offer. It's recommended to those you may know who have felt different, a social outcast to society and how it feel when the world out there never fully understand who you really are. It's frustrating and this movie succeeds in exhibiting the kind of predicament everyone may have experienced in their lifetime.

Anti-authoritarian athlete Nicholas Cage (as Alfonso "Al" Columbato) returns from Vietnam, with his faced bandaged-up, after a battlefield explosion. While recuperating, Mr. Cage is enlisted to help shell-shocked hometown friend Matthew Modine (as "Birdy"), who followed his friend into battle. Apparently, Mr. Modine thinks he's a bird - perching himself on his hospital bed, preferably nude, and staring silently out the window. Modine would like to fly away, but doctors keep his door and window locked. Rotund military Major John Harkins (as Dr. Weiss) hopes Mr. Cage can brings his pal back down to earth.As Cage tries to find sanity in the mute birdman's brain, flashbacks reveal his meeting the anti-social Modine, who prefers pigeons and canaries to people - but makes an exception when it comes to Cage. Opposites attract, and the two are fast friends - almost lovers, although Cage prefers bleacher quickies, and Modine could only make it with a canary (curiously, he names one "Al"). In the present, Harkins tells the unsuccessful Cage his time is running out, but Cage must help either cure Modine, or lose his own sanity.This is great film-making from director Alan Parker and frequent cinematographer Michael Seresin; hopefully, they haven't tired of working together. "Birdy" also catches Modine and Cage in perhaps their best "young" career roles. The supporting cast isn't given a lot to do, but they do it well. Harkins, one of the best "Dark Shadows" repertory company character actors, always stands out, as does attendant Bruno Kirby (as Renaldi). The William Wharton story was too far ahead of the curve to be nominated for many awards, but it earned a "Jury Prize" at the "Cannes Film Festival" and appeared at #8 the annual "National Board of Review" honor roll.The Peter Gabriel soundtrack and film structure are also commendable.The film's ending is simply perfect..I am a bird now.********** Birdy (12/21/84) Alan Parker ~ Matthew Modine, Nicholas Cage, John Harkins, Bruno Kirby