THE BIRDCAGE [1996 / 2014] [Blu-ray] [UK Release] ‘THE BIRDCAGE’ is The Falling-Down Funniest Comedy You Will Ever See!
Robin Williams and Nathan lane team up with a top-notch cast in this hilarious comedy. Robin Williams as Armand, a gay cabaret owner whose son announces he's marrying the daughter of a right-wing politician [Gene Hackman]. It's an outrageously funny culture clash as Armand and his drag-queen partner Albert [Nathan Lane] try to transform themselves into straight shooters at a dinner party and pull the chiffon over the eyes of the uptight senator and his wife [Dianne Wiest].
FILM FACT: A number of songs written by Stephen Sondheim were used in the film. The song that Albert rehearses during the sequence with the gum-chewing dancer is entitled "Little Dream" and was written specifically for use in the film. Albert's first song as "Starina" is "Can That Boy Foxtrot," cut from Stephen Sondheim's “Follies.” The song that Armand and Katherine sing and dance to in her office, "Love Is in the Air," was originally intended as the opening number for the musical ‘A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum’ in 1962. The song was cut from the show and replaced with “Comedy Tonight.” ‘THE BIRDCAGE’ is a remake of the 1978 Franco-Italian film, ‘La Cage aux Folles,’ by Édouard Molinaro, starring Michel Serrault and Ugo Tognazzi.
Cast: Robin Williams, Gene Hackman, Nathan Lane, Dianne Wiest, Dan Futterman, Calista Flockhart, Hank Azaria, Christine Baranski, Tom McGowan, Grant Heslov, Kirby Mitchell, James Lally, Luca Tommassini, Luis Camacho, André Fuentes, Tony Gonzalez, Dante Henderson, Scott Kaske, Kevin Alexander Stea, Tim Kelleher, Ann Cusack, Stanley DeSantis, J. Roy Helland, Anthony Giaimo, Lee Delano, David Sage, Michael Kinsley, Tony Snow, Dorothy Constantine, Trina McGee, Barry Nolan, Amy Powell, Ron Pitts, James Hill, Mary Major, Steven Porfido, John Pontrelli, Herschel Sparber, Francesca Cruz, Brian Reddy, Jim Jansen, Marjorie Lovett, Sylvia Short, James H. Morrison, Robert K. Baruch, Al Rodrigo, Scott Burkholder (uncredited), Louis Campos (uncredited), Don LaFontaine (voice) (uncredited), Jay Leno (uncredited), Kevin Loreque (uncredited), Jody Millard (uncredited), Joel Tuber (uncredited) and Rayder Woods (uncredited)
Director: Mike Nichols
Producers: Marcello Danon, Michele Imperato, Mike Nichols and Neil A. Machlis
Screenplay: Édouard Molinaro, Elaine May (screenplay), Francis Veber, Jean Poiret (play "La Cage Aux Folles") and Marcello Danon
Composers: Jonathan Tunick and Stephen Sondheim
Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki, A.M.C., A.S.C. (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
Spanish: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
French: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
Italian: 5.1 DTS-HD Audio
Japanese: 5.0 DTS-HD Audio
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English, English SDH, Spanish, Italian and Japanese
Region: All Regions
Running Time: 119 minutes
Number of discs: 1
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Andrew's Blu-ray Review: ‘THE BIRDCAGE’ [1996] is a remake of the 1978 classic French classic comedy farce ‘La Cage aux Folles.’ This 1996 Americanised reworking features a star-studded cast including Robbin Williams, Gene Hackman and Christine Baranski. It plays out like an episode of some sort of sit-com you might see on TV, basically revolving around a disastrous dinner being held by a gay couple played by Robin Williams and Nathan Lane, posing as straight men in order to impress the very-conservative parents of his son's fiancé.
Set in a hugely exaggerated South Beach, Miami, and full of stereotypes, ‘THE BIRDCAGE’ is a very funny and extremely witty comedy about the values of homosexuality. Now, I never usually like to quote others in a break-down of a film and yes, a lot of the gay men you see in this film are the flamboyant stereotype, but so perfectly put it, that the film goes "beyond the stereotypes to see the character's depth and humanity."
Nathan Lane plays Albert Goldman. “He” or "she" as Albert would prefer to be called, is married to cabaret owner Armand [Robin Williams], and is the star drag queen of Armand's nightclub show. Lane has spot-on comedic timing, and ‘THE BIRDCAGE’ perfectly puts on show his talent as a very quick-witted comedian. Here, he plays his role deliberately over-the-top in excessive drama-queen fashion. He is just hilarious.
Hank Azaria, who plays Armand and Albert's Guatemalan housemaid, is a brilliant character actor; and Gene Hackman is good too, and seems to be more than happy to play along with it all. However, the film isn't without its flaws, albeit minor ones. Are we really supposed to believe that Calista Flockhart, who was about 30 at the time of filming, instead is a supposedly 18-year-old in this film? Same goes for Dan Futterman, who was [supposedly] 27 years of age and played Armand's soon-to-be-married 20-year-old son Val. They fail to convince, and never once had me fooled. The film is also so obviously shot in sound stages, which only pulls you away from the exuberant Miami setting. Nevertheless, with a top-of-his-game Robin Williams in the lead, and some very witty dialogue, especially on controversial topics like abortion. ‘THE BIRDCAGE’ is an outrageously hilarious feel-good comedy with a nice sentiment at its heart.
THE BIRDCAGE MUSIC TRACK LIST
LA VIRGEN LLORABA (Written by La Lupe) [Performed by La Lupe]
CONGA (Written by Enrique E. Garcia) [Performed by Gloria Estefan and The Miami Sound Machine]
MI GUAJIRA (Written by Israel "Cachao" Lopez) [Performed by Cachao]
LADY MARMALADE (Written by Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan)
SHE WORKS HARD FOR THE MONEY (Written by Donna Summer and Michael Omartian) [Performed by Hank Azaria] (uncredited)
SAY IT AGAIN (Written by Steven Goldstein, Val Garay and Anthony Lapoe) [Performed by PLANET ONE]
THE MAN THAT GOT AWAY (Written by Ira Gershwin and Harold Arlen)
I COULD OF DANCED ALL NIGHT (Written by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe) [Performed by Nathan Lane, Hank Azaria, Gene Hackman, Robin Williams (uncredited) and Dianne West] (all uncredited)
WE ARE FAMILY (Written by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers)
LITTLE DREAM (Written by Stephen Sondheim) [Performed by Nathan Lane] (uncredited)
LOVE IS IN THE AIR (Written by Stephen Sondheim) [Performed by Robin Williams and Christine Baranski] (all uncredited)
CAN THAT BOY FOXTROT (Written by Stephen Sondheim) [Performed by Nathan Lane] (uncredited)
TO THE FOUNDATION (Written by Carlton Hines)
William Tell Overture (Written by Gioachino Rossini) (uncredited)
NO PAIN FOR CAKES (uncredited) [Performed by The Lounge Lizards]
FAMILY SALSA (uncredited) (Written by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers)
Blu-ray Image Quality – The film ‘THE BIRDCAGE’ is provided with a stunning 1080p transfer in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The source print is in good shape but there are some minor signs of dirt and specks throughout. A very light layer of grain is visible as well, but its appearance can look a tad noisy and unnatural in several instances. Overall detail is noticeably soft and flat with a lack of fine textures and especially in wide shots. Colours are also a little drab and a few indoor scenes look a tad dim. With that said, sequences set in Armand's glitzy nightclub do offer some solid depth and pop. Likewise, contrast is high in several outdoor scenes and the palette emphasizes the South Florida heat with an orange tone. Black levels are well balanced as well.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – The film ‘THE BIRDCAGE’ brings you English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. It is frontloaded but solid, the audio gets the job done with a few lively splashes here and there. Speech is clear and well balanced throughout, though it can sound just a bit strained at times. There's a decent sense of directionality between the left and right speakers, spreading appropriate club ambiance, applause and laughter, etc., throughout the front soundstage. With that said, the modest design work is predominantly frontloaded with little surround activity. Thankfully, the film's score and song selection and headlined by "We are Family," come through with robust fidelity and full separation, offering great range and a solid low end in specific tracks. While there isn't much to the mix, this is a dialogue driven film, and all of the quotable lines are given due emphasis.
Blu-ray Special Feature and Extras:
Theatrical Trailer [1996] [1080p] [1.85:1] [2:16] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘THE BIRDCAGE’ and is included with a 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio sound. As is typical with a M-G-M catalogue release via 20th Century Fox, the Blu-ray has been mastered with BD-Java, no main menu and without the bookmark feature. If you stop the disc during playback, you cannot resume from the same point.
Finally, ‘THE BIRDCAGE’ is a totally brilliant funny film and a definite homage to the original French film. I remember seeing the trailer when it had its cinema release and not thinking a great deal of it, but it's definitely in the category of films where the trailer does not do the film justice. Robin Williams and Nathan Lane simply shine on screen. A story more about family and diversity than homosexuality, it would make good mature family viewing and withstands watching more than once. Of course the original classic French film was totally unique, but this American version is a very good compromise and I am so proud to have it in my Blu-ray Collection and good enough for lots of repeat viewings, as each time you see something different. But of course this film is even more poignant with the very sad fact of the awesome funny man Robin Williams passing away in 2014, which is a tragic loss to the whole world, as this brilliant comedian brought so much joy to everyone in the world; and we have now lost a total genius, who will always be in our thoughts, especially towards his family and friends. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
