Clint Eastwood "Bird" Charlie Parker Story

[Lopesmarson]

Charlie was One of the best

[lkrauss100]

that man doesn't look at all like bird, he's too fat

[babybirdhome]

How did I never hear about this movie?!

[5t3r3054x]

Anybody knows which song plays at 1:30? Thanks on advance

[BASSHEAD89030]

@5t3r3054x

april in paris

[5t3r3054x]

@BASSHEAD89030 Thanks a lot!

[masnak1994]

I dont think there's anybody who looks like bird...

[KyleTroy909]

I bet Clint Eastwood wishes he could remake this movie, he could do it so much better today. This movie is a disgrace to Charlie Parker

[anga10na]

ありがとう。

[aaronamccoy]

fun movie

[willwelsh816]

Bird actually had a real deep voice, and I don't think Whitaker looks anything like Bird.

[robertvideo]

Miles Davis said it long ago, and it is still true - Every jazz musician should get down on their knees every day and thank God for Edward Kennedy Duke Ellington

[HermerTV]

very cool film

[mjjcng8958]

why are ya'll crtiqing this movie? i mean really it is a movie that like every other movie about real life people is not going to be 100% please and ya'll act like ya'll knew charlie parker in real life

[Streamline09]

Forrest is a tremendously gifted actor. But Bird was not so emotive on the stand when he played. I know folks who watched him play at the 3 Deuces and at Birdland. So I don't understand how Clint could have let that go through in his direction. But I give him credit for the effort. Let's hope Don Cheadle does better with Miles, which I suspect he will.

[udongo106]

Don't forget his stay in Camarillo during his recovery. I gave a dedication to this subject.....

[conn6m]

1. There is a massive problem with this film and it is to do with the music. This was recorded by charles mcpherson (Alto Sax) in parts (these parts are ok). However, the actual charlie parker solos are taken out of their 1940s Rhythm section and grafted onto a modern group BIG MISTAKE. Charlie Parkers music (bebop) can best be described as Rhythm chasing melody (forget about all that bebop scale stuff) what the Rhythm section does predicts the outcome of the solo.

[conn6m]

@conn6m 2. If you don't believe me compare the new recordings to the old. There is something terribly wrong with the new recordings compared to thoes on the original Savoy, Dial and mercury labels. Parker is reacting to a group of muscians who are not there,

Lennie Niehaus has a lot to answer for.

[Vapor419]

@afoolnluv35 that made no sense

[afoolnluv35]

what a tragedy the world enacted by not treasuring such an amazing talent. only showing recognition & appreciation, once his beauty no longer walked the earth. how very sad his life... not only did the world not understand his value, but it seems that parker, himself, claimed that same notion & advidly participated in his own early demise. i suppose 1 looking in, will never know the enormous strain & control of an eternal demon. i pray that now... his peace is timeless.

[jasonmj85]

A Coltane film needs to be made...well made. With Denzel Washington playing Coltrane.

What do you think?

[tafelgetrank]

@jasonmj85 Denzel Washington would not be a good choice to portray John Coltrane. It would have to be a relatively 'unknown' actor for it to work well. I agree, though - someone should DEFINITELY make a movie about Coltrane. Even a movie just about a particular album, such as 'A Love Supreme'. I'm reading the book by Ashley Kahn now.. fan-fucking-tastic. Movie please.

[mjjcng8958]

@tafelgetrank well denzel has already done mo betta blues  but if it came down to it an unknown would be great for the movie

[Baronsfsdf]

Try asian women *lushfmlk.info*

[avq5]

Eastwood could have focused less on the drug issue, but then some would call it a weak portrayal.

Coincidentally, the artist Jean Michel Basquiat, who was a huge fan of Bird's, lived and died very similarly. When the movie "Basquiat" was released there was criticism of the fact that his addiction was not portrayed prominently enough.

You can't please everyone

[mjjcng8958]

@avq5 alot of guys in that scene where in fact dope addicts that was the way it was. it would be like telling the story of the hippies w/o talking about drugs. i believe eastwood was trying to show us what destroyed the man in the end

[astronomicato]

Bird



[figthersdreams]

Greatest under rated movie ever.

[andifyouhadtwocoats]

a great movie about the greatest gay jazz man of all times

tender moments galore, a treat especialy since the director is probably straight

my man and I love it

your truley

Rab Hines

[mjjcng8958]

@andifyouhadtwocoats who was gay? do you mean happy

[Davesax1965]

I think people are forgetting that this is a FILM. Find a '47 Conn 6M with a Great Neck mouthpiece, no problem. Find a black actor to play it... slightly more problematic. Find one who plays it like Charlie Parker - and looks like him.... no chance. :-) I thought "Bird" was a great attempt to portray Charlie Parker and should be applauded. Incidentally, the official Charlie Parker website doesn't even mention drug addiction once.

[caveman2015]

did he really sell his soul?

[goodchessactor]

I agree with LSD. Whittaker doesn't do a good Bird. Too much shoulder movement and even the movements are out of sync with the beat. His "playing" looks completely fake. I guess they put too much emphasis on correct fingering and forgot about the rest.

[solostrad]

what's with the shoulder shrug thing, bird definitely didn't do that.

[piccinini02]

these movies makes these guys looks like if they were a miracle. Like if they were born knowing everything. buts thats not true, they made themselfs giant with hard work.

[gogorobo]

Thats so true. Any documentary or dramatisation skips the years spent practising, playing badly, messing up etc which even the best musicians have to go through.

[mahoose6]

Mmmm, despite the "flaws" there is a lot of truth to this.

Bird...

[theblademaster01]

What is the song called, which is played at the end? (From 1:29)

[mahoose6]

@theblademaster01 April In Paris from Charlie Parker with Strings on Verve.

[theblademaster01]

Thanks, I heard this song many times but I never knew to find it again : )

[whatuthought]

The song is "April in Paris"

[LSDpeasantry]

That guy doesn't even look like bird when he played!! He moves WAYYY too much and has all this affected tension in his shoulders and face! If you've ever seen footage of Bird playing, he was perfectly calm, still and effortless, not like some hokey actor trying to be all like 'cool' and jazzy.

[poopstickmc]

parker was calm cause he was doped up as fuck

[mjjcng8958]

@LSDpeasantry denzel didnt look like malcolm x and he polayed him in a movie

[TheMocitytx]

@LSDpeasantry true

[Tzazilas]

@LSDpeasantry oh come on you guys. Always complaining 'bout everything! Can you get a clone of bird and make him be like him? Do it. Whitaker played him great. A bit of more tension in his "acting as sax player" but that's ok. He's an actor, not a saxman. Besides, by showing this tension makes you think how big and how deep inside the music was while playing as Parker. Great movie

[MrDonknow]

where can i watch this only for free???????

[BraxtonCo]

I dig Charlie Parker, I dig Clint Eastwood, I dig Forest Whitaker ,I di NOT dig this movie. It did not do Bird justice, It did not do Diz justice, Miles wasn't even in it but Red Rodney was? Definitely not Clint's best work.

[lvanhalen]

@BraxtonCo I didnt see the movie but I dig Charlie Clint andMr Whitaker great actor.

[pvelectric]

see this movie, then look carefully at all the actual pictures of Bird on albums and in books, listen to his voice on the alternate takes in the Bird with his big band and chorus sessions at Verve. Charles Bukowski; "A man like Charlie Parker comes along only every two hundred years or so."

[BuckshotLaFunke]

In an interview with Gene Lees trumpeter Art Farmer stated that Dizzy Gillespie was portrayed rather clownesque in this movie, and that he was in fact more sophisticated and intellectual.

[wibla64]

one of the best movies Clint made ever...

[lupoistheman1]

@wibla64,

On my top 10 Clint Eastwood directed films

[LePoteAmarcel]

i don't like this film, it doesn't insist on the reality : work! you only see drugs, ladies, success, etc.

[MrBleekgilliam]

this movie was too depressing too I heard Charlie had charisma and a good sense of humor

[musiclover609]

I hadnt heard of this movie til recently. Im going to have to see it. Looks good, and Clint Eastwood is the man

[Markus2829]

Super Film

[funlovinchristian]

Beautiful film from Clint, I've lost count the number of time's i've seen it. . "Magical"

[bjorliin]

Is the part when bird visits stockholm in this movie?

[willy1986tralara]

is this movie a good one?

im a big fan of bird and dizzy

[thedirtydeltas]

Its stunning!

[Surmusicp]

why so much romantic bullshit??

bebop is a much more complex thing than that..

hehehehehehe

[Tommyfroboy]

this movie completely failed in portraying Bird accurately.

[jazzpsalti]

cmon ppl didn't have that kinda info then... we should be glad there's even a movie.

He deserves a better one though. And this film generated a lot of new press for bird

[Surmusicp]

i think you are right....the fact of his drugs adiction seems to be more interesting than than his succes in musical fields...

but this is a movie..we have the idea that a movie should be tragedy, comic, war....musicians are not interesting without talking about drugs and "boheme"..

[figthersdreams]

@Tommyfroboy How is that? Coud you clarify?

[madazzie]

It's accurate. Clint Eastwood is a huge Bird fan as well as a fan of jazz music in general. The flick is fantastic! I encourage you to see it.

[iscream22]

I LOVE me some Charlie Parker and ive never seen this flick. Ill have to check it out. I hope its a accurate portrayal.

[dropfan195]

Does anyone know what the name of that tune that bird starts this trailer off with is?

[BuckshotLaFunke]

Dropfan, the first tune sounds like Rhythm changes to me, the second one, with strings, is 'Laura', followed by 'April in Paris'.

[bopkick5]

it cood well be a lil ol' toon called lester leeps in from a live one from rockland palace in da early 50s bruv. tho dey overdubbed de rithem section

[thefatha]

i think phil woods played the sax for this or some of the soundtrack,...

[kazznsxr]

not really... they extracted real Bird play & dubbed over it with comtemporary muscian's rhythm sections.

[simplydiv22]

Diane Venora's performance as Chan Parker blew me out of the water. She's a one of a kind actress. A natural force.

[tadd1]

Dear enorbet2,

I have to respectfully disagree with you. There are better ways of becoming acquainted with the great Charlie Parker- Namely through his music ! Secondly, there is footage of Bird that still exists in which the viewer can get a good sense of how Bird Carried himself. There is nothing positive about introducing people to Bird via this 'minstrel show' of a movie. (I don't doubt Eastwood's love of jazz). The soundtrack is not great. I should know, I do this for a living.

[bopkick5]

yo it aint dat bad , yo itz betta den stiff neks playin jazz

[tadd1]

I usually don't get upset because of a bad movie, but, as an avid jazz fan this one really irks me. They're finally paying (long overdue) homage to one of the world's greatest artists, so why can't they get it right?!

[enorbet2]

I think it's a bad idea to talk smack about this movie since it could possibly prevent some people from ever being introduce to Bird. Even several people in the audience will disagree about their experience and the script was written and music played as a result of Eastwood's love of Jazz, interviews with Teddy Edwards (friend and bandmate) and Chan, Charlie's wife. The soundtrack is great. The movie isn;t that bad as music movies go.

[Fjord76]

Man,you're so right...I've read an itw with Max Roach where he speaks about how wrong this movie is:it's more a movie about heroin addiction than about music;there are a lot of white people around Bird(don't get me wrong,i'm white!) which shows the pressure of Hollywood studios on Eastwood's work(as you put it a "minstrel show movie").Max also speaks about how clever Bird was and that he's been ashamed of how he's portrayed in this movie...but what does Mr Roach know about movie making,huh?...;)

[tadd1]

I saw this poor excuse for a movie when it first came out. I absolutely hated it and thought it was totally jive to the point where it was embarrassing to watch. When I spoke to people who actually PLAYED with Bird, I was surprised to hear the same reaction. Too bad the general public buys everything they're spoon-fed by the mass media. Shame on you Clint Eastwood and Forest Whitaker !

Bird was a creative genius who commanded respect and dignity! He was NOT the bumbling fool portrayed here.

[LeSPOCK]

Next challenge for Forest Whitaker: Louis Armstrong's interpretation!

[ochoastl]

One person who I think would do a good Louis Armstrong... Tracy Morgan. He looks like him and has done has an impression of him in the past.

[Affenbart]

forrest whitaker is the best... and charlie parker is better than the best of course^^

[xlfutur1]

This guy did a good job playing Bird, except the way he played the saxophone. If you watch videos of Charlie, he played with little movement. he looks like he is bored to death when he is playing, even when the tempo is burning. Of course they had to make it look like it was a big effort to play the alto, but in reality he made it look way too easy. The guy was a genius, and its tough to protray a genius correctly.

[ReggaesRockers]

What a stupid interpretation of Parker's personality, way over exaggerated

[jodete81]

upload the movie ....subanla

[valentynesuite]

one of the few masterpieces about the life of an artist

[doddsalfa]

So,what kind of family does Spike Lee comes from?Well,your the only one that knows:)

[mikhailr13]

did jones throw the symbal because nobody really heard bebop before, or was he just simply bad

[OjAiSaXpLaYeR]

Bad,,,,he didnt discover bop until a goodwhile later and hours upon days and nights of practicing,,,at the jam , before a few days after he thought all songs were in one key,,,,,,pretty bad huh? But what a growth from that.!

[mikhailr13]

whats the song at the beggining when hes in the club?

[valentynesuite]

lester leaps in by lester young

[mastersgta1]

the Dizzy looks soooo real in this film! lol

[blades168]

I got the soundtrack. The music is great.

[keke1390]

i love this movieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

[72seeker72]

I love Parker's music, but this movie looks corny.

[lowgrau]

This movie is not so good.

And with all this right-now Clint v. Spike shit goin' on, I don't think Clint (the guy's a great guy, I painted his house once, and he Loves Jazz) realizes what kind of family Spike Lee comes from.

Neither do you.

And you...

[Thyo1991]

This is the best movie Ive ever seen...Good work

[Jazzcat479]

Btw, just becauseI haven't watched it, I am wondering, was this movie good???

[Jazzcat479]

Did I hear the song Ballade at all? :)

[moshesor]

i love when he plays laura, a wonderful song and a great movie... thanx for posting this...

[birdlives239]

I guess Dizzy was right.

[roosevltacepluto]

What is the name of the song Forest whitaker is playing in the gray suit ?

[mihailkrugtheadonis]

"Laura", of course!

Originally recorded for the second "With Strings" album in 1950. Bernie Leighton (p), Ray Brown (b), Buddy Rich (d), Joe Lipman (arr/cond). Get the Complete Verve CD box, everything's there.

William

[mihailkrugtheadonis]

"Laura", of course!

Originally recorded for the second "With Strings" album in 1950. Bernie Leighton (p), Ray Brown (b), Buddy Rich (d), Joe Lipman (arr/cond). Get the Complete Verve CD box, everything's there.

William

[JULEZJAZZ]

I do have to say that this was a great flick,but when is Eastwood going to do one about Coltrane?

[globalistbrat]

Eastwood, most of all, like his buddy Lennie Neihaus, loved, LOVED Charlie Parker's playing.

[bronco3250]

I took Jazz class at FSU, and our Professor was a technical advsior on this film. He said it is very accurate, unlike most Hollywood films based on musicians. I guess Eastwood is an accomplished jazz pianist in his own right.

[SixteenRainings]

This is a great movie, and a lot of it is accurate of to what really happened in Bird's life. The crash cymbal part is true, the coroner report is true. Forest did a great job playing as Bird, and put up one of the most convincing 'fake playing' acts I've ever seen. If your interested in jazz it's a great movie to own.

[klactv]

I own a copy of the movie. It has some very good (mostly musical) moments,but in places I find it tedious. I miss Dizzy's trumpet, Monk, Powell. All the same, a good thing the movie was made. I always hated Jo Jones for throwing that cymbal.

[SixteenRainings]

Even thought he threw that cymbal, you've got to think about what would have happened if that cymbal was never thrown. Charlie was humiliated, but he came back later and blew everybody out of the water. But, I'm not disagreeing; I thought that was a really bad move.

[JULEZJAZZ]

I agree joe Jones was a bastard for throwing the symbol. He truely is the greatest of all time. Although I am a Coltrane feak. Both the greatest in their own rights. Too bad the greatest artists from every art gets taken away from the world too soon. RIP to Bird, Trane, Hendrix, Joplin, Holiday and so many more and thank you for your wonderful music we all cherish. PS. I have and love the movie. Same reason I started playing sax myself.

[saxmaster100]

Did forrest actually play the sax in the movie?

[ozmusicshop]

no. They used the actual recordings of Charlie parker imposed on a re recorded rhythm section.

[jazzmaster01]

They weren't actual recordings of Parker, they were of another artist (who i sadly forget the name of), who worked of transcribed solos

[seerskater]

my sax teacher told me who it was today, but i forget who. and not all of them were rerecorded again, only a few

[AlannahBabalon156]

Lennie Niehaus I think it was that re-did some of the solos, but dont quote me on that,lol.

[Glove398]

NO, they used the actual recordings of Bird. You can pick up the originals (or you once could) . You can also pick up the sound track which has liner notes that state that they lifted Bird's solos and recorded musicians playing with Bird's solos in a studio setting..

[Glove398]

Sorry, jazzmaster, but you're wrong. They used the actual recordings of Bird with his band. You can pick up the CDs of Bird (or you once could) with his band playing these solos. You can also pick up the soundtrack to the Eastwood movie which has liner notes that state that they lifted Bird's solos and superimposed Bird's solos with a new rhythm section. Personally, I hated the sound quality of the solos they chose, but I guess there would have been legal issues had they used studio sessions.

[Ollie00000008]

this looks hilarious

[lubitel11]

Sure, a great true story, a superb casting, a fantastic production design, some classic music, but, most of all, I still keep on wondering where the hell get this man so much MAGIC almost every time he's behind the camera. Mr Eastwood actually did THE Jazz Movie!

The very last American genius...

[lupoistheman1]

Every film Clint Eastwood directs is beyond superb! He is just so incredibly talented.

[BirdLives88]

" This is the year I´m supose to die" ...shit man

[aop9]

wonderful movie

[keem008]

This was a excellent movie

[jakeypitkinSax]

I agree: "You ain't Dizz and you sure's hell ain't Duke!"

[goodchessactor]

"You can't make a living playing Jazz."

"Duke can, Dizz can." One of the few parts I remember along with. "Everyone says you've  gone crazy"!