The Birdcage is a wonderfully hilarious comedy headlined by Robin Williams and Nathan Lane and holds up as well today as it did some 10+ years ago when I last saw it.
The Birdcage
(1996)
Genre(s): Comedy
Fox | R – 119 min. – $19.99 | June 3, 2014
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MOVIE INFO: Directed by: Mike Nichols Writer(s): Elaine May (screenplay) Cast: Robin Williams, Gene Hackman, Nathan Lane, Dianne Wiest DISC INFO: Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0) |
PLOT SUMMARY
Armand (ROBIN WILLIAMS) is a gay cabaret owner whose son (DAN FUTTERMAN) announces he’s marrying the daughter (CALISTA FLOCKHART) 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 (DIANE WIEST).
SPECIAL FEATURES – 0.5/5
No menus, except for when using the remote pop-up button, and the only feature is the Theatrical Trailer (2:16; HD).
VIDEO – 4.0/5
The Birdcage dances its way debuting on Blu-ray presented in its original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer. The picture appears well maintained with OK detail levels and free of debris, scratches and other ailments however colors are a bit more muted at times so it doesn’t quite have the pop.
AUDIO – 4.25/5
The disc includes an satisfactory 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track primarily showing off the music and score though dialogue levels are nice and clear with no discernible hisses while ambient noises and off-screen sounds make use of the front and rear speakers.
OVERALL – 3.5/5
Overall, The Birdcage is a wonderfully hilarious comedy headlined by Robin Williams and Nathan Lane and holds up as well today as it did some 10+ years ago when I last saw it. The Blu-ray offers up good video/audio transfers but only has a trailer and no new features making it a quick catalogue release for the studio.
Published: 06/05/2014