<H1>Bird - DVD -- Discipline Global Mobile Shopping Cart</H1> <I>Forest Whitaker is Charlie Parker</I> <P> <IMG SRC="https://store.nexternal.com/dgm/images/birdssmall.JPG" ALIGN=right ALT="Bird - DVD" NAME="Bird - DVD" BORDER=0 HSPACE=10> Encoding: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other countries. <BR><BR>DVD Features:<BR>Region 1<BR>Snap Case<BR>Widescreen<BR>Single Side - Single Layer<BR>Audio:<BR>Dolby Digital 5.1 - English<BR>Dolby Digital 5.1 - French<BR>Additional Release Material:<BR>Trailer<BR>Isolated Music Track<BR>Text/Photo Galleries:<BR>Cast and Crew Biographies <BR><BR>Charlie "Bird" Parker had been a hero of Clint Eastwood&#8217;s since childhood, and Eastwood, having been disappointed in such jazz biopics as YOUNG MAN WITH A HORN, really wanted to make a true jazz fan&#8217;s movie about the music. He cast Forest Whitaker as Parker, the legendary alto sax player, and Diane Venora as Chan, Parker&#8217;s wife. The film shows how Parker, a genius who changed the face of modern music, was hampered and eventually destroyed by his appetite for women, food, and drugs. The two leads do a great job giving a recognizable human face to the characters&#8217; complex relationship. With wit and warmth, BIRD tells the story in direct and honest terms, avoiding all sentimentality. Eastwood&#8217;s love of Parker&#8217;s music comes across in the tremendous care that he and composer Lennie Niehaus took with reconstructing it, using Parker&#8217;s original solos. Eastwood and cinematographer Jack N. Green also patterned the dark, moody look of the film after old photos of musicians who used to appear in jazz magazines. Music lovers will be thrilled with the result, and movie lovers will find plenty to engage them in this moving tale of a great man battling his demons. <BR><BR>Theatrical release: October 14, 1988.<BR><BR>The film was shot in Kansas City and in Sacramento.<BR><BR>Estimated budget: $9.5 million.<BR><BR>Joel Oliansky's script was originally written with Richard Pryor in mind; this was when the project belonged to Columbia Pictures.<BR><BR>Actor Damon Whitaker, who plays the young Charlie Parker, is Forest Whitaker's brother. BIRD is his feature-film debut.<BR><BR><BR>Diane Venora received the 1988 New York Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress.<BR><BR><BR>Clint Eastwood: "As far as I'm concerned, Americans don't have any original art except Western movies and jazz."<BR><BR><BR>Eastwood is an accomplished pianist who has played professionally, and he used to play the flugelhorn and coronet.<BR><BR><BR>The soundtrack features Charlie Parker's original solos. They were electronically isolated from the original recordings, and current jazz musicians were hired to play all the other parts--allowing the filmmakers to create a set of "new" Charlie Parker recordings 30 years after his death. <BR><BR><BR>Chan Parker wrote a book about her life and marriage called LIFE IN E-FLAT.<BR><BR><BR>Forest Whitaker was named Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival in 1988.<BR><BR><BR>Clint Eastwood won the Golden Globe for Best Director (Drama) for the film.<BR><BR><BR>At Clint Eastwood's suggestion, Warner Bros. made a trade with producer Ray Stark to secure the rights to Oliansky's script. Stark got the rights to a Jim Thompson story, which was eventually made into the film REVENGE, starring Kevin Costner.<BR><BR><BR>Samuel E. Wright, who plays Dizzy Gillespie, was the voice of Sebastian the crab in THE LITTLE MERMAID.<BR><BR><BR>The film gave special thanks to the Estate of Charlie Parker, Chan Parker, Red Rodney, Dizzy Gillespie, Leonard Feather, Nica de Koenigswater, and Buddy Jones. <BR><BR>Director Clint Eastwood indulges his lifelong passion for jazz with this dark, brooding interpretation of the life of revolutionary bebop saxophonist Charlie "Yardbird" Parker. Starting with Parker's early years, when he used to sneak into Kansas City clubs to listen to Count Basie's band, the film moves through the many ups and downs of Parker's troubled but brilliant career--which ended all too soon. The doctor who examined Parker soon after his death estimated that the musician was somewhere between 50 and 60 years old; he was actually only 34 when he died. <BR><BR><BR></P> <P> <LI>SKU: BO897 </P> <P><B>Other products in the category <A HREF="http://www.nexternal.com/dgm/Category125" TITLE="Just For Fun">Just For Fun</A>:</B> <BR clear=left><BR><LI><A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/dgm/Product482 TITLE="A Mighty Wind - The Album (ECD)">A Mighty Wind - The Album (ECD)</A> -- From The Folks Who Brought You Spinal Tap. <BR clear=left><BR><LI><A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/dgm/Product577 TITLE="A Mighty Wind (DVD)">A Mighty Wind (DVD)</A> -- A parody of the folk music industry. <BR clear=left><BR><LI><A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/dgm/Product643 TITLE="Billy Cobham: Live At The Palais Des Festivals Hall Cannes 1989 (DVD)">Billy Cobham: Live At The Palais Des Festivals Hall Cannes 1989 (DVD)</A> <BR clear=left><BR><LI><A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/dgm/Product580 TITLE="Bjork - Later With Jools Holland(DVD)">Bjork - Later With Jools Holland(DVD)</A> -- 1995-2001/Exclusive live performances <BR clear=left><BR><LI><A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/dgm/Product669 TITLE="CD Clock - Schizoid Face">CD Clock - Schizoid Face</A> -- Time to get SCHIZOID !!! <BR clear=left><BR><LI><A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/dgm/Product607 TITLE="Concert For George (DVD)">Concert For George (DVD)</A> -- Tribute to the Quiet Beatle. <BR clear=left><BR><LI><A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/dgm/Product613 TITLE="Frank Zappa - Baby Snakes (DVD)">Frank Zappa - Baby Snakes (DVD)</A> -- The Adrian Belew, Terry Bozzio, Roy Estrada, Ed Mann, Patrick O'Hearn, Tommy Mars and Peter Wolf lineup. <BR clear=left><BR><LI><A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/dgm/Product644 TITLE="Genesis - Seconds Out (Remastered)">Genesis - Seconds Out (Remastered)</A> -- Featuring Bill Bruford and Chester Thompson. <BR clear=left><BR><LI><A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/dgm/Product578 TITLE="Jimi Hendrix - Jimi Plays Berkeley (DVD)">Jimi Hendrix - Jimi Plays Berkeley (DVD)</A> -- "one of Jimi Hendrix's finest performances ever." <BR clear=left><BR><LI><A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/dgm/Product608 TITLE="Jools Holland - Later...Legends (DVD)">Jools Holland - Later...Legends (DVD)</A> -- Paul McCartney, Johnny Cash, Elvis Costello, Dusty Springfield, Patti Smith, and many others. <BR clear=left><BR><LI><A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/dgm/Product486 TITLE="T- Shirt - No Cameras (White)">T- Shirt - No Cameras (White)</A> -- Back by popular demand. 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