Back to trending
Bird

Bird

Drama · Music · 1988

Saxophone player Charlie ‘Bird’ Parker comes to New York in 1940 and is quickly noticed for his remarkable way of playing. He becomes a drug addict but his loving wife Chan tries to help him.

Movie details

Bird

“"There are no second acts in American lives."”

1988 Drama · Music 2h 41m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.8 / 10

Community rating

Saxophone player Charlie ‘Bird’ Parker comes to New York in 1940 and is quickly noticed for his remarkable way of playing. He becomes a drug addict but his loving wife Chan tries to help him.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Bird?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

The Doors

The Doors

Music · 1991

The story of the famous and influential 1960s rock band and its lead singer and composer, Jim Morrison.

Born to Be Blue

Born to Be Blue

Drama · 2015

Jazz legend Chet Baker finds love and redemption when he stars in a movie about his own troubled life to mount a comeback.

Rocketman

Rocketman

Music · 2019

The story of Elton John's life, from his years as a prodigy at the Royal Academy of Music through his influential and enduring musical partnership with Bernie Taupin.

Ray

Ray

Drama · 2004

Born on a sharecropping plantation in Northern Florida, Ray Charles went blind at seven. Inspired by a fiercely independent mom who insisted he make his own way, He found his calling and his gift behind a piano keyboard. Touring across the Southern musical circuit, the soulful singer gained a reputation and then exploded with worldwide fame when he pioneered coupling gospel and country together.

Heaven Knows What

Heaven Knows What

Drama · 2015

A young heroin addict roams the streets of New York to panhandle and get her next fix, while her unstable boyfriend drifts in and out of her life at random.

Better Man

Better Man

Music · 2024

Follow Robbie Williams' journey from childhood, to being the youngest member of chart-topping boyband Take That, through to his unparalleled achievements as a record-breaking solo artist – all the while confronting the challenges that stratospheric fame and success can bring.

The United States vs. Billie Holiday

The United States vs. Billie Holiday

Music · 2021

Billie Holiday spent much of her career being adored by fans. In the 1940s, the government targeted Holiday in a growing effort to racialize the war on drugs, ultimately aiming to stop her from singing her controversial ballad, "Strange Fruit."

Coda

Coda

Music · 2020

A famous pianist at the twilight of his career meets a free-spirited music critic who soon becomes his rock as his mental state deteriorates.

Out of the Blue

Out of the Blue

Drama · 1981

A young girl whose father is an ex-convict and whose mother is a junkie finds it difficult to conform and tries to find comfort in a quirky combination of Elvis and the punk scene.

Nowhere Boy

Nowhere Boy

Drama · 2009

A rebellious teenager, future Beatle John Lennon lives with his Aunt Mimi in working-class mid-1950s Liverpool, England. Mimi's husband suddenly dies, and John spies his mother Julia at the funeral. Despite Mimi's misgivings, John intends to have a real relationship with his mother. Julia introduces him to popular music and the banjo and, though a family conflict looms, young John is inspired to form his own band.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Clint Eastwood

Written by

Joel Oliansky

Forest Whitaker

Forest Whitaker

Charlie 'Bird' Parker

Diane Venora

Diane Venora

Chan Parker

Michael Zelniker

Michael Zelniker

Red Rodney

Samuel E. Wright

Samuel E. Wright

Dizzy Gillespie

Keith David

Keith David

Buster Franklin

Michael McGuire

Michael McGuire

Brewster

James Handy

James Handy

Esteves

Court is in session

Put Bird on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Adrenaline Seeker

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.