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Analysis Of The Movie ' Bird '

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On August 29th, 1920, Charlie “YardBird” Parker landed in this world and 34 years later he flew away. Within those 34 years, music was eternally influenced by Bird, and this influence continues to be celebrated all around the world. In 1988, Clint Eastwood and Joel Oliansky worked together to create a documentary titled “Bird” based on Charlie Parker’s life. There are many story telling techniques used within this film that aid in making it an extremely brilliant motion picture. “Bird” is very accurate in portraying the reality of Charlie Parker’s life, and this accuracy is important because it will help to present and therefore preserve his legacy. A legacy that will intrigue and inspire musicians forevermore.
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Movie critic for the Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert explains this scene, “It shows him touring the West Coast and hearing some simple truths one night from Gillespie, who told him that the difference between them was that Diz took care of business, and Charlie took care of screwing up.” Gillespie was not a heavy drinker or an avid drug user, unlike Charlie. In that way these two musical legends were complete opposites. Because “Bird” focuses on this contrasting relationship, we are given a clearer idea of who Parker was.
Included in the aspects of “Bird” that make it such a great film is the outstanding acting performance by Forest Whitaker, who played Charlie Parker, and Diane Venora who played Chan Richardson. Some critics believe that “Bird” was a bit too scattered, but was held together smoothly because of Forest Whitaker’s acting. “Forest Whitaker 's brilliance is the force that holds the scattered pieces of "Bird" together. Only rarely in movies do characters achieve this sort of palpability, and then only when presented to us by a remarkable performer. And this is a remarkable performer giving a gentle, exuberant, charismatic performance,” proclaims Washington Post Staff Writer Hal Hinson. With such pressure to portray the center focus of the film, Whitaker truly delivers an excellent representation of the mysterious musical genius many of us have gotten to know through recordings. Diane Venora’s performance

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