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.
Acting
Whitaker's physical transformation into Parker is otherworldly.
Sound
Eastwood reconstructed lost recordings—Parker's actual sax, finally heard.
Cinematography
Sepia-soaked memories bleed into harsh black-and-white reality.
Director
Clint Eastwood
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
Sam Robards
Moscowitz
George Orrison
Patient with Checkers
Bill Cobbs
Dr. Caulfield
Hamilton Camp
Mayor of 52nd Street
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Whitaker learned saxophone fingerings but the actual playing is dubbed by saxophonist Charles McPherson. The lip-syncing is so precise musicians still debate what they see versus hear.
Eastwood spent years trying to make this, using his Dirty Harry clout to get a 'uncommercial' 161-minute tragedy greenlit. Studios wanted a hit soundtrack; he wanted Parker to finally get his due.
US
