2014 Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu
A fading actor best known for his portrayal of a popular superhero attempts to mount a comeback by appearing in a Broadway play. As opening night approaches, his attempts to become more altruistic, rebuild his career, and reconnect with friends and family prove more difficult than expected.
Michael Keaton Emma Stone Kenny Chin Jamahl Garrison-Lowe Zach Galifianakis Naomi Watts Jeremy Shamos Andrea Riseborough Katherine O'Sullivan Damian Young Keenan Shimizu Akira Ito Natalie Gold Merritt Wever Edward Norton Michael Siberry Clark Middleton Amy Ryan William Youmans Lindsay Duncan Paula Pell David Fierro Hudson Flynn Warren Kelley Joel Garland Brent Bateman Donna Lynne Champlin Valentino Musumeci Taylor Schwencke Show All…
Alejandro González Iñárritu Arnon Milchan John Lesher James W. Skotchdopole Molly Conners Sarah E. Johnson Christopher Woodrow
Bradford Bell Sean Madsen Mark Purcell Aaron Glascock Martín Hernández Jeremy Peirson Roland N. Thai Skip Lievsay Bill Meadows Frank A. Montaño Tom Ozanich Jon Taylor
Brilliant. Absolutely Fucking Brilliant.
Gosh Dammit, Michael Keaton.
The entire cast wow...
THE CAMERAWORK, THE EFFING CAMERAWORK!!!
This is just too great to put into words.
When I was twelve I knew I wanted to become a teacher. I honestly don't know why, I just knew, it was a fact for me. When I started studying at seventeen, I signed up for an improv acting class, urged on by a fellow student. I fell head over heels with acting and the theatre. It was the first and only time that it made me doubt everything I thought I knew about what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Acting is addictive, it provides an opportunity to extrapolate yourself, to channel meaning, laughter, sadness or any other emotion through you towards an audience. And yes, it influences the ego which can be a terrifyingly…
The king of all things depressing Alejandro González Iñárritu tries his luck at comedy in this tale of a washed up actor played by Mr. Mom Gung Ho Michael Keaton and his second chance at success. Intense yoga. Batman's underpants. Not so fat Zach. Badasses wear toupées? The way snob film fucks talk. Pussy share? Birdman has a groovy jazzy funky New Wave percussion feel. Derek Vinyard without his tattoos. Does Alejandro González Iñárritu ever yell "CUT?" Emma Stone and Naomi Watts in the same movie? Hell to the yes! Michael Keaton's teeth. Baby mama drama. Real motherfuckers kill it in stage plays. Edward Norton's hairstyle. Ganja intervention. Emma Stone has real acting talent. The color blue is everywhere in…
Can't quite back Scott Tobias' scorching takedown of this film, but I broadly agree with him that it's self-righteous without being convincing, and self-important without being substantial. The long shots wandering through the corridors of a Broadway theater to find characters shrieking at each other just felt endlessly redundant to me, like being on an exhausting treadmill and never getting anywhere. The fact that it doesn't end at the natural endpoint, but goes on and on and on after that, just adds to the impression that it's all sound and self-important fury, flashy enough to be impressive, full of technical virtuosity, and with some really striking images, but not really saying anything except Art Is Important, and People Interpret Art Differently. I'm aware that a lot of people love this film. I guess I also am embracing its message of People Interpret Art Differently, because I interpreted this as a pretty intellectually empty exercise in self-congratulation.
I was wrong.
I don't normally say that. With cinema, I usually stay true to my reaction after a first viewing, with subsequent rewatches confirming my opinion on the film as a whole. To say that I was wrong about a film doesn't bother me, but It may seem weird to some on here considering that the film has just won Best Picture and I recently rewatched it and found it worse. Honestly, I don't know what happened on this third watch, but I loved it. Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) has messed with my head since I first saw it, combining wonderful performances and a snobby presentation. I felt annoyed after I first saw it, and my…
Yes the acting. That acting! Perfect? Acting! Certainly from Michael Keaton who gives absolutely everything he has into what is an excellent meta-commentary performance akin to that of Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler. Everyone else shines as much as they can in his shadow. Even Edward Norton's self-aware performance can barely match the former-Batman. Two former big screen superheroes go head-to-head, and the one who played an iconic DC hero beats out Marvel. Certainly a complete reversal of current reality.
But that camerawork. Holy camerawork! Immediately I had to check Emmanuel Lubezki's CV to determine his current streak of absolute beauties and despite my not seeing all of his work going to the start of his career, I shall just…
We can debate whether or not "Birdman" deserved that sweep at the Oscars a few years ago, but what's not up for debate is that this is still a very amazing film. From a technical perspective alone (that cinematography!) to the performances of Keaton, (especially) Norton and Stone. Watching this again almost made me want to forgive Iñárritu for "The Revenant."
While it does have it's moments of self-indulgence and arthouse cliché, I can't how many mazing elements this film has. Inarritu's "one-take" approach isn't just a cool trick; it reinforces the theme of theater, allowing characters and drama to build as they would on the stage. Plus, there's not one lackluster performance amongst the cast, with Norton and Stone unquestionably deserving their respective Oscar nominations.
kind of unrelated to this movie but is anyone else lowkey disillusioned w edward norton after finding out he's kind of an egotistical jerk :/
Watching this was a process of self-realisation that I might sound as obnoxious as Ed Norton when ranting about superhero films 😩
Before I say anything, I just want to say that all film is subjective and there is no right or wrong answer. So before you all start screaming at me or/and threaten to unfriend me on Facebook, please note that everyone is entitled to their own opinions. With that being said... I know a lot of people will hate me for saying this... I thought Birdman was overrated. Yes the whole one-shot thing was extremely well done and yes the acting is good, but best picture worthy? First off, Michael Keaton DID do a good job as Riggan Thompson. He had some funny lines and he gave a good performance. What I didn't understand was why Edward Norton got so…
Juggles sincerity with self hate in a way that i totally relate to. The whole film is this for 2 hours: Lol jks. But srsly tho.... Lol jks. But srsly tho.... Lol jks. But srsly tho....
A thoughtful, stupid, hilarious, mess. Someone should make the fictional Birdman series a reality. I'm looking at you "Scorseez".
'Birdman' tries so hard to be quirky, deep and different, but ends up being an enigmatic, superficial, pretentious, and dull post-modern ego trip. Once you remove the pretty and well-presented packaging (the beautiful cinematography and powerhouse performances), you are left with something that really is just an average at-best festival film.
k8 185 films
we owe this list to saul bass
wip, keeping films aprox 1000+ views so i don't go overboard !!
Peter Stanley 1,187 films
All the films from all the editions, including those subsequently removed, presently totalling 1187. An easy way of seeing how…
