Bird

Watch Movie

Bird

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

1988

2h 41m

6.9(359 votes)

Drama

Music

Overview

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.

Links & Resources

IMDbView

Social & External

IMDb

Production Companies

The people behind it

Cast & crew

10 featured cast members

Starring

Forest Whitaker

Charlie 'Bird' Parker

Diane Venora

Chan Parker

Michael Zelniker

Red Rodney

Samuel E. Wright

Dizzy Gillespie

Keith David

Buster Franklin

Michael McGuire

Brewster

James Handy

Esteves

Damon Whitaker

Young Bird

Morgan Nagler

Kim

Arlen Dean Snyder

Dr. Heath

Creative team

Directed by: Clint Eastwood
Written by: Joel Oliansky
Produced by: Clint Eastwood

Similar Movies

5.3

2009

Hilde

A biography of Hildegard Knef, one of Germany's biggest post-war stars.

Movie

7.2

1994

Quiz Show

Herbert Stempel's transformation into an unexpected television personality unfolds as he secures victory on the cherished American game show, 'Twenty-One.' However, when the show introduces the highly skilled contestant Charles Van Doren to replace Stempel, it compels Stempel to let out his frustrations and call out the show as rigged. Lawyer Richard Goodwin steps in and attempts to uncover the orchestrated deception behind the scenes.

Movie

7.2

2004

Vera Drake

Abortionist Vera Drake finds her beliefs and practices clash with the mores of 1950s Britain – a conflict that leads to tragedy for her family.

Movie

6.6

2004

Kinsey

Kinsey is a portrait of researcher Alfred Kinsey, driven to uncover the most private secrets of a nation. What begins for Kinsey as a scientific endeavor soon takes on an intensely personal relevance, ultimately becoming an unexpected journey into the mystery of human behavior.

Movie

7.8

1961

Through a Glass Darkly

Karin hopes to recover from her recent stay at a mental hospital by spending the summer at her family's cottage on a tiny island. Her husband, Martin, cares for her but is frustrated by her physical withdrawal. Her younger brother, Minus, is confused by Karin's vulnerability and his own budding sexuality. Their father, David, cannot overcome his haughty remoteness. Beset by visions, Karin descends further into madness.

Movie

7.0

2022

Dame Valerie Adams: More Than Gold

Olympic Champion, Kiwi Icon, Tongan Leader, Orphan, Mother...winning was just part of the journey.

Movie

5.9

2023

June

Until Reese Witherspoon’s Oscar-winning portrayal of her in the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line, most contemporary audiences were unfamiliar with June Carter Cash. Kristen Vaurio’s comprehensive documentary June offers a much fuller understanding of the multitalented artist, singer, songwriter, comedian, and actress. Delightful, never-before-seen archival material reveals June’s firecracker wit and charisma as a performer

Movie

2017

Dust Radio: A Film About Chris Whitley

A look at the work, life and eventual death of singer-songwriter Chris Whitley, whose many albums (on both major and indy labels) received universally good reviews, earning him a fan base among top tier musicians and journalists; though never bringing sustained mainstream success.

Movie

6.8

1988

Camille Claudel

The life of Camille Claudel, a French sculptor who becomes the apprentice of Auguste Rodin and later his lover. Her passion for her art and Rodin drive her further away from reason and rationality.

Movie

7.1

1988

Bloodsport

An American Army Major goes AWOL to Hong Kong for an outlawed martial arts contest called the Kumite.

Movie

6.0

1994

I.Q.

Albert Einstein helps a young man who's in love with Einstein's niece to catch her attention by pretending temporarily to be a great physicist.

Movie

6.7

1995

Rob Roy

In the highlands of Scotland in the 1700s, Rob Roy tries to lead his small town to a better future, by borrowing money from the local nobility to buy cattle to herd to market. When the money is stolen, Rob is forced into a Robin Hood lifestyle to defend his family and honour.

Movie

6.9

2018

Colette

After marrying a successful Parisian writer known commonly as Willy, Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette is transplanted from her childhood home in rural France to the intellectual and artistic splendor of Paris. Soon after, Willy convinces Colette to ghostwrite for him. She pens a semi-autobiographical novel about a witty and brazen country girl named Claudine, sparking a bestseller and a cultural sensation. After its success, Colette and Willy become the talk of Paris and their adventures inspire additional Claudine novels.

Movie

7.4

2018

The Silent Revolution

In 1956 Stalinstadt, East Germany, during the Hungarian uprising against Soviets is taking place, local teenagers perform a seemingly harmless act that causes unexpected consequences.

Movie

7.8

2025

Luiz Gonzaga - Tyrant League

Portrays the life and work of the iconic Luiz Gonzaga do Nascimento. Focusing on his childhood and adolescence, the film seeks to explore the deep connections between the budding artist and the myths that shaped his

Movie

9.0

2025

Stonegate

A disturbed doctor at a state hospital murders a patient and covers it up. 13 years later, Nolan and a group of teens explore the now abandoned hospital.

Movie

7.1

1994

The Hudsucker Proxy

A naive business graduate is installed as president of a manufacturing company as part of a stock scam.

Movie

6.5

2010

Edge of Darkness

As a seasoned homicide detective, Thomas Craven has seen the bleakest side of humanity. But nothing prepares him for the toughest investigation of his life: the search for his only daughter Emma's killer. Now, he is on a personal mission to uncover the disturbing secrets surrounding her murder, including corporate corruption, government collusion and Emma's own mysterious life.

Movie

6.9

2003

Mona Lisa Smile

Katherine Watson is a recent UCLA graduate hired to teach art history at the prestigious all-female Wellesley College, in 1953. Determined to confront the outdated mores of society and the institution that embraces them, Katherine inspires her traditional students, including Betty and Joan, to challenge the lives they are expected to lead.

Movie

7.0

1992

Bad Lieutenant

While investigating a young nun's rape, a corrupt New York City police detective, with a serious drug and gambling addiction, tries to change his ways and find forgiveness.

Movie

Recommended Movies

6.5

2015

Born to Be Blue

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

Movie

6.5

2021

The United States vs. Billie Holiday

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."

Movie

7.1

1991

The Doors

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

Movie

7.3

2019

Rocketman

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.

Movie

Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody

7.0

2022

Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody

The joyous, emotional, heartbreaking celebration of the life and music of Whitney Houston, the greatest female R&B pop vocalist of all time. Tracking her journey from obscurity to musical superstardom.

Movie

7.5

2004

Ray

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.

Movie

7.3

1987

La Bamba

Los Angeles teenager Ritchie Valens becomes an overnight rock 'n' roll success in 1958, thanks to a love ballad called "Donna" that he wrote for his girlfriend. But as his star rises, Valens has conflicts with his jealous brother, Bob, and becomes haunted by a recurring nightmare of a plane crash just as he begins his first national tour alongside Buddy Holly.

Movie

6.5

2015

Heaven Knows What

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.

Movie

7.2

1956

Lust for Life

An intense and imaginative artist, revered Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh possesses undeniable talent, but he is plagued by mental problems and frustrations with failure. Supported by his brother, Theo, the tormented Van Gogh eventually leaves Holland for France, where he meets volatile fellow painter Paul Gauguin and struggles to find greater inspiration.

Movie

7.3

2010

Enter the Void

This psychedelic tour of life after death is seen entirely from the point of view of Oscar, a young American drug dealer and addict living in Tokyo with his prostitute sister, Linda. When Oscar is killed by police during a bust gone bad, his spirit journeys from the past -- where he sees his parents before their deaths -- to the present -- where he witnesses his own autopsy -- and then to the future, where he looks out for his sister from beyond the grave.

Movie

7.2

2009

Nowhere Boy

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.

Movie

6.5

2019

Greta

A young woman returns a lonely widow’s lost purse, leading to an unlikely relationship between the two — until the young woman discovers the widow might not be all that she seems.

Movie

6.5

2005

Tideland

Because of the actions of her irresponsible parents, a young girl is left alone on a decrepit country estate and survives inside her fantastic imagination.

Movie

6.4

1980

Times Square

When a 13-year-old girl befriends a defiant antisocial child of the streets, the mismatched runaways set off to the Big Apple to find their own adventure.

Movie

6.7

1992

Light Sleeper

John LeTour is a recovering drug user who suffers insomnia and still deals to a high-end New York clientele, even though he’s trying to move on from the business. John’s professional midlife crisis becomes something more acute — and dangerous — when he re-encounters an old flame while a string of seemingly drug-related murders rocks the city.

Movie

7.4

2006

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, born in the stench of 18th century Paris, develops a superior olfactory sense, which he uses to create the world's finest perfumes. However, his work takes a dark turn as he tries to preserve scents in the search for the ultimate perfume.

Movie

6.7

2019

Motherless Brooklyn

New York City, 1957. Lionel Essrog, a private detective living with Tourette syndrome, tries to solve the murder of his mentor and best friend, armed only with vague clues and the strength of his obsessive mind.

Movie

7.6

2024

Better Man

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.

Movie

6.5

1990

Mo' Better Blues

Talented but self-centered trumpeter Bleek Gilliam is obsessed with his music and indecisiveness about his girlfriends Indigo and Clarke. But when he is forced to come to the aid of his manager and childhood friend, Bleek finds his world more fragile than he ever imagined.

Movie

7.0

1960

The Young One

A jazz musician seeks refuge from a lynch mob on a remote island, where he meets a hostile game warden and the young object of his attentions.

Movie