Birdman [DVD]

Michael Keaton is a washed up comic book movie actor trying to make a comeback in the dark comedy Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) also starring Edward Norton, Zach Galifianakis, Emma Stone, Naomi Watts, Andrea Riseborough, and Amy Ryan. Is this movie written and directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, a cinematic masterpiece of philosophy and social commentary or is it just a pretentious art house movie about typecast actors?Some of the biggest questions ever proposed by man are: Why do we exist? Are we meant for greatness? Are we just a social experiment by an omnipotent being from heaven? Philosophers, theologians, and scholars have been debating for centuries about creation and the meaning of life.As a society, we hold each other under different standards of worth. Celebrities are thought of as better people because they are rich and beautiful, yet are disposable when they no longer entertain. We shamelessly organize people in an imaginary hierarchy of importance by race, gender, age, religion, and even sexual orientation. Things like clothes, automobiles, and houses become status symbols. Taste in music, movies, and television can classify you as either a hipster or a mindless sheep. Ultimately, us as individuals need to figure out what we want out of life and will it have meaning.Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) tells the story of Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton), a washed up actor who’s biggest claim to fame was starring as the superhero Birdman in three cash cow Hollywood blockbusters. Twenty years have passed and his career is just about tanked. He refused to do reality shows and other projects as an attempt to make him more relevant, because he knew he would be turned into a laughing stock. In a last ditch effort he decides to scrounge up all his money to adapt, direct, and act in “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” by Raymond Carver for a Broadway show in order to put his stardom back on the map. Unfortunately for Riggan his world is collapsing as everything that can go wrong with the play and life does, and does so horrifically.To classify the movie by just the synopsis of the above paragraph would do it a complete injustice. Yes the film does indeed follow that premise, but it’s just the beautiful wrapping paper on a Christmas gift that’s much, much more. Birdman is not just a movie, but a cinematic experience that rivals nothing that I ever had the privilege of ever watching. In simple terms, it is a masterpiece. I know that’s big words to say about Birdman, but it’s a perfect amalgamation of highly skilled acting, tight script, phenomenal cinematography, masterful editing, and amazing direction all intertwined with intelligent social commentary and metaphorical existentialism.It’s absolutely perfect that the movie uses the analogy of a superhero. There has always been geeky debates on if Bruce Wayne was the mask and Batman was the true identity. In Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill Vol. 2, the character of Bill gets into a huge speech on how Superman looks at the weakness of the human race to base his alter ego of Clark Kent on. Spider-Man deals with the internal struggle that with great power, comes great responsibility even if it costs him personal happiness. I bring up those heroes because every single one of the main characters of Birdman, on multiple types of levels, all have to deal with questions of identity, existence, and purpose of life. One woman questions if she can still be a real woman even though her body rejects pregnancy. Riggan’s daughter questions if she is worthy of her father’s love and self medicates to replace feelings of neglect. One actress struggles with her purpose as a girlfriend because she can’t get her impotent boyfriend aroused who just so happens to be more truthful of himself when he’s acting compared to real life. The movie blasts innuendo and metaphors to explain everything from relationships and self-esteem to suicide and sexuality. The brilliance of the movie is also that everything is open to interpretation depending on the cues you notice and the characters you relate to. Birdman’s message is fantastic in that no matter how you translate it, there is no right or wrong. It’s all up to you. Even the secondary title is completely open to whatever you feel it means.Besides questions of existence and purpose, Birdman also cleverly throws in social commentary on just about everything. It addresses criticism of art. It addresses social media. And it also sort of bites the Hollywood hand that feeds it by respectfully making fun of big budget blockbusters and the actors who act in them. Once again how you interpret all the in your face symbolism is all up to you.The cast is lead by Michael Keaton who I think puts on his best performance of his entire career. He’s able to channel all his comedic and dramatic roles of his resume and roll them up into Riggan Thomson. I could see the intense insanity of Beetlejuice and the hopelessness of Daryl Poynter from Clean and Sober and the sadness of Bob Jones from My Life all in this one role. And of course the casting is perfect for Keaton to be Birdman since he was indeed the Caped Crusader in the Tim Burton Movies. At times, you could mentally replace the word “Birdman” every time you hear it with “Batman” and it could be the exact same movie. The character perfectly personified every single actor and actress like Adam West, Clayton Moore, and Gary Coleman who was typecast and disposed of when their popularity vanished. In my humble opinion, unless Steve Carell knocks it out of the park with Foxcatcher, Keaton is sure to win an Oscar.The entire supporting cast was phenomenal as well. Because the movie takes place while the characters are in and out of performing the fictional Broadway play, you could see how each actor slightly changed from real acting to fictional acting with subtle facial expressions and vocal inflections. It’s like how Robert Downey Jr.’s character in Tropic Thunder was a dude, playing a dude, disguised as another dude. Leading the supporting cast was Edward Norton as Mike. After an accident during practice knocked out one of the actors, Mike was hired because he has the ability to sell out shows. Norton was on top of his game in this movie. I’ve always been a fan of him since American History X and this was a performance they may just get him nominations for Best Supporting Actor. Rounding out the cast is Emma Stone as Riggan’s estranged daughter who just got out of rehab, Zach Galifianakis as Riggan’s best friend and attorney, Naomi Watts as the leading play actress Lesley, Amy Ryan as Riggan’s ex-wife Sylvia, and Andrea Riseborough as Riggan’s current girlfriend and costar Laura.The main reason as to what makes the movie and the entire cast’s performance truly spectacular is that the film is meant to be one seamless shot. The cast had to prepare long and hard to hit every cue and mark at just the right time, or the filming would have to start all over again. To a trained eye you can tell how the long flowing shots were pieced together with quick swipes and lighting, but they were so expertly edited together by Douglas Crise that the movie felt like one long scene. Initially I was impressed by how the camera went from dressing room to hallway to stage to back stage. I looked at my watch and the movie was already thirty minutes in. When I realized there would be no cuts, I sat with my eyes glued to the screen and my jaw agape as just how spectacular the whole process was pulled off. The movie is two hours long, but the camera pans from area to area over a time period of days. It felt like I was being taken through a journey of love, hate, and raw emotions. The movie also used fantastic practical effects that made Riggan’s telekinetic Birdman powers look realistic instead of being digitally created. This is movie magic at its best. The solitary musical drum score gave the film a jazzy impromptu vibe which made everything seem realistically human. On top of that, the cinematography by Oscar-winner Emmanuel Lubezki was masterfully completed in the same way he made last year’s Gravity look spectacular. I can easily see this movie being nominated for Cinematography and Editing. I know I’m throwing awards to this movie in just about every category, but trust me, it deserves it.The only flaw is that the movie is not for everyone. Some people will get the message and be in awe with all the aspects of the movie while others will be bored by the lack of action and verbose dialogue. What writer/director Alejandro G. Iñárritu has done for cinema was craft a imaginative, clever, and thought provoking masterpiece on the same levels of what Shakespeare did for the theater, Hemingway did for literature, and DaVinci did for art. Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) is the reason why movies were invented.Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) is an absolute masterpiece in every sense of the word. Michael Keaton gives an Oscar worthy performance as well as Edward Norton for Best Supporting Actor. This isn’t just a movie, but a cinematic experience that transcends philosophy and reality. Birdman is the type of thought provoking movie that makes you question things in life like existence and legacy while being cleverly disguised as a washed up superhero actor flick. This movie isn’t for everyone as it will indeed polarize audiences, but go into this movie with an open mind to realize just how intelligent it delivers metaphors and social commentary. Birdman is a fantastic film that no cinephile should miss and one of the best of the year that deserves any and all awards it receives.

For myself, this is the movie that defined my generation.I remember watching this is after coming out of the theatre, fresh out of drama school and staging a theatre run with friends in college.Ok, I was not in Broadway, but the pace, the respect for one another's craft, and the banter afterwards hit right on home. We had pretensions and were arrogant, in the theatre we thought we were creating a lasting impression, and we all felt culture was swivelling off the road.What does all this got to do with Birdman? Well, at least a whole lot. This film mainly follows an aging Hollywood actor known for a couple or roles who decided to risk it all by moving to New York and staging a play on Broadway. The hijinks, the fluctuating mutual respect between the established institutions both in Hollywood and Broadway as well as the whole ecosystem in which they live is brilliantly put on check for this film. And it nails it, big time.The blu-ray picture quality is great, there are subtitles for a lot of languages and a few extras are available on the disk.

Not entirely sure what I just watched here and I'm aware that it's certainly not gonna be for everyone but I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it a lot while basically sitting here and letting it wash over me.The plot, for what it's worth, finds Michael Keaton as Riggan Thomson - an ex super hero actor attempting to gain some credibility and purpose by writing, directing and starring in a Raymond Carver adaptation on Broadway. It's not a smooth ride as he's contending with his daughter, ex wife, current lover, highly strung actresses, bonkers method actors, critics and the small matter of the fictitious Birdman character he used to play talking to him (?!).It's all a bit nuts really, often feeling like a frenetic series of sketches strung together into this rapid fire narrative with the way it's shot trying to give the impression that it's all one single camera shot (kind of). The cast are exceptional with the likes of Naomi Watts, Emma Stone, Zach Galifianakis and Edward Norton each getting their chance to grandstand. It largely revolves around Keaton though and it's an outstanding effort from him tying things together as a guy with possibly serious mental issues (or maybe not, you figure it out).To say it's an acquired taste is perhaps an understatement but it worked for me, being genuinely funny, odd and kind of disturbing at the same time.

Bought as a gift that was well liked

Dónde empezar, la cinta es original en todos sentidos. Desde la historia, el modo de ser contada, los personajes y el inigualable manejo de las cámaras durante la película haciéndola inolvidable para todo fan del cine. Ciertamente es larga y si a uno no le agrada la idea desde el inicio, será una película lenta y aburrida. Sin embargo, no por nada ganó el Oscar a mejor película. Sin duda de las grandes películas de ésta década.

racconta la storia di un attore divenuto famoso per alcuni film in cui interpretava il ruolo di una specie di super eroe col costume da uccello, Birdman appunto, caduto ora nel dimenticatoio e che tenta di fare il salto di qualità dedicandosi al teatro.Il film riesce ad esprimere in modo eccezionale le emozioni del protagonista che vive il conflitto tra la nostalgia del successo perso e che potrebbe tornare se accettasse di fare un sequel dei suoi vecchi successi e il desiderio di sentirsi realmente realizzato come artista e ri-affermarsi facendo quel che vuole fare davvero. Interessante anche il rapporto conflittuale con il suo collega Mike Shiner e quello con la figlia Sam a cui vuole bene ma con cui non riesce ad interagire.Molto bello anche il finale.Decisamente non è un film commerciale e ha dei tempi per cui non potrà riscuotere un consenso unanime, a me personalmente è piaciuto molto.Ottima la qualità dell'edizione Blu Ray.

Von den 9 Oscarnominierungen, die Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritus Schauspieler- und Theaterfilm "Birdman" erreichen konnte, waren insgesamt 4 davon siegreich. Neben dem besten Originaldrehbuch, der besten Kameraarbeit (Emmanuel Lubezki) und der besten Regie (Innarritu) gewann der Film auch den Hauptpreis und ist nun "bester Film des Jahres".Natürlich ist da schon auch ein bissel Kalkül dabei, denn Kenner der Academy Szene wissen ja, dass gerade die Schauspieler selbst mit einem imposanten Anteil von ca. 30 % ja auch die größte Gruppe der Akademie-Mitglieder stellen und dies ist war für den Ausgang der Oscarwahl nie unerheblich. Die Dominanz der Schauspieler sorgt auch für die Triumphe der Schauspielerfilme. Eine Grund warum es Genrefilme dann doch etwas schwerer hatten. "Birdman" ist von seiner Thematik her eine Steilvorlage für alle Darsteller, die das Gefühl haben, durch ihr professionelles Können die Welt verändern zu können und die aber auch denken, dass ihre Leistung noch nie so richtig gewürdigt wurde. Der unverstandene Schauspieler....und mit der Hauptfigur Riggan Thomson schickt nun der mexikanische Top-Regisseur eine tragische Gestalt ins Rennen, die all diese Emotionen verkörpert.Thomson hat es im Filmgeschäft geschafft. Dies verdankte er einer Comicverfilmung, die den Namen "Birdman" trägt und zum Blockbuster wurde. Thomson war dieser "Birdman" und wurde auf einen Schlag berühmt, der Erfolg zog 2 Fortsetzungen nach sich. Freilich war es aber so, dass er mit einer solchen Rolle, die von der Technik des Films dominiert wird und bei den ganzen BumBumEffekten irgendwie untergeht, nie wirklich als Schauspieler überzeugen konnte. Dies ist aber die größte Antriebsfeder des Mannes, der nun vor seiner größten Herausforderung steht: Er kann in Kürze am Broadway beweisen, dass er mehr kann als Comicheld zu sein. Sein bester Freund Jake (Zach Galifianakis) produziert die Bühnenadaption der Kurzstory "What we talk about when we talk about Love" des Autors Raymond Carver und Riggan darf sich als Regisseur, Autor und Hauptdarsteller des Projekts profilieren. Alle sind aufgeregt, auch die Schauspielerkollegen (Naomi Watts, Amanda Riseboroughs). Doch kurz vor der Premiere fällt einer der Darsteller einer Sabotage zum Opfer und als Ersatz kann man den beliebten Broadway-Schauspieler Mike Shiner (Edward Norton) verpflichten, der sich aber als ausgesprochen schwierige Diva erweist. Mit seiner Egozentrik "der beste Schauspieler der Welt zu sein" könnte er den Rahmen sprengen und versuchen dem Hauptdarsteller Riggan die Show zu vermasseln, der ja selbst die Rolle seines Lebens spielen will. Als Produktionsassistentin arbeitet Riggans Tochter Sam (Emma Stone) mit im Team, die Beziehung zwischen ihrem Vater hat aber auch gewisse Problemfelder vorzuweisen. Die einflussreiche Times Kritikerin Tabitha Dickinson (Lindsay Duncan) will jedenfalls eine verncihtende Kritik schreiben, egal wie gut die Vorstellung sein wird. Denn sie hasst es, dass untalentierte Prominente sich als Schauspieler ausgeben....der Film begleitet die Protagonisten während der Probewoche und es ist vor allem auch eine Wahnsinnsleistung des Kameramannes Emmanuel Lubetzki, der hier ganz nah und ganz eng am Geschehen bleibt und seine Kamera den kleinen, engen Gängen des Theaters folgt, hinein in die Garderoben der Schauspieler, dann wieder nach draußen in dem Technikbereich und schon sind wir auf der Bühne, der Zuschauer läuft sozusagen immer mit der Kamera mit. Auch in einer großartigen Szene, in der Michael Keaton am Hintereingang des Theaters eine Zigarette rauchen will und ihm zufällig die Türe vor der Nase zufällt. Ein Teil seines roten Morgenmantels hat sich in der Tür verfangen und so bleibt ihm nichts anderes übrig - nur mit Slip begleitet - ein bisschen am umtriebigen Broadway herumzulaufen bis zum Haupteingang des Theaters. Natürlich sorgt sein Lauf in Sekundenschnelle für den größten Aufruhr und für ein Riesenthema auf Youtube und Twitter. Innaritu verlieht seiner Hauptfigur ganz beiläufig ein paar nicht ganz alltägliche Fähigkeiten...er kann fliegen und er kann Gegenstände bewegen, aber dies nur am Rande.Ansonsten ist dieser Probebericht mit Impressionen hinter den Kulissen herrlich verrückt eingefangen und Innaritu gelingt es einen würdigen Nachfolger für Joseph L. Mankiewiczs "Alles über Eva" zu erschaffen, den vielleicht besten Film übers Theater überhaupt. Somit ist - trotz der Schauspielerdomianz - die Vergabe des Oscars nicht ganz überechtigt. Der Film "Birdman" ist fantastisch inszeniert und zieht den Zuschauer - sehr schwarzhumorig - immer mehr in einen Sog hinein, der bis zum Schluß echt begeistert. Das mexikanische Regiewunderkind hat bislang keinen schlechten Film gemacht, alle seine Arbeiten waren beeindruckend. "Amores Perros" und "Babel" zähle ich sogar zu den besten 10 Filme der letzten Dekade. Und "Birdman" steht diesen Meisterwerken in nichts nach. Dickes Lob auch an das gesamte Schauspieler-Ensemble, allen voran Michael Keaton mit einer Galavorstellung. Hat der Regisseur ihn deshalb als Hauptdarsteller rausgesucht, weil er ja tatsächlich ein Opfer von "Batman" geworden ist ?

"Birdman" was the big winner at the 87th Academy Awards. Not only did it win best picture, but the film also won for best director, best cinematography, and best screenplay.What made the four-time Oscar winner the best movie of the year?For starters, it's an incredibly self-aware film that stars Michael Keaton as a washed-up actor best known for portraying a superhero. Keaton's performance is bold, unapologetic and, best of all, just plain entertaining. The role is quite complex, as Thomson seems to fade in and out of reality. His "Birdman" character seems to have crossed over into his real life and manifests itself in stressful moments.Besides Keaton, the supporting cast is arguably the film's next greatest asset. Emma Stone, Zach Galifianakis, and Naomi Watts all turn in terrific performances, but Edward Norton steals the show. Norton's take on an over-the-top method stage actor is a breath of fresh air and probably the best performance of his career.Believe me, "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)" is a captivating and ultimately astonishing film. It may ask more questions than it ultimately answers, but you've never seen anything quite like it.I really don't understand the kind of negative reviews warranted towards this masterpiece of a movie. People are comparing it to Superman / Spiderman???! Do research before you buy movies. Such movies may not be everybody's cup of tea but atleast doesn't deserve such atrocious negative reviews.With a top notch blu-ray release which is almost flawless, l would highly recommend this.