The Blue Bird (1976)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Director:

George Cukor

Writers:

Alfred Hayes (writer)
Aleksei Kapler (writer)

Release Date:

5 April 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Family | Fantasy | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

A cavalcade of magic. A carnival of fun. The Blue Bird is magic for everyone.

Plot:

A pair of peasant children, Mytyl and her brother Tyltyl, are led on a magical quest for the fabulous Blue Bird of Happiness by the Fairy Berylune...

Plot Keywords:

Surrealism | Unborn Child | Child | Remake | Based On Play

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Elizabeth Taylor	...	Queen of Light / Mother / Witch / Maternal Love
Jane Fonda	...	The Night
Ava Gardner	...	Luxury
Cicely Tyson	...	Tylette, The Cat
Robert Morley	...	Father Time
Harry Andrews	...	The Oak
Todd Lookinland	...	Tyltyl
Patsy Kensit	...	Mytyl
Will Geer	...	Grandfather
Mona Washbourne	...	Grandmother
George Cole	...	Tylo, The Dog
Richard Pearson	...	The Bread
Nadezhda Pavlova	...	The Blue Bird
Georgiy Vitsin	...	The Sugar
Margarita Terekhova	...	The Milk

Also Known As:

Sinyaya ptitsa (Soviet Union: Russian title)

Runtime:

Germany:95 min | USA:99 min

Country:

USA | Soviet Union

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:6 | France:U | Australia:G | Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Finland:K-8 | Iceland:L | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | USA:G

Filming Locations:

Moscow, Russia

Company:

Lenfilm Studio

Trivia:

James Coco, originally cast as Dog, couldn't eat Russian food; the only local fare he could stomach was bread and butter. He wound up gaining so much weight his costume no longer fit, he suffered a gall bladder attack and eventually had to be replaced by George Cole. Coco later said, "They tell us [the movie] will finish by August, but not by August of what year. I understand Elizabeth [Taylor] is having Christmas cards printed."

Movie Connections:

Remake of The Blue Bird (1918)

Kids & critics turned up their noses, but film-buffs should get a kick out of it!

Remember those awful, English-dubbed "Pippi Longstockings" movies from Sweden where everyone was manic, grinning, out of step and out of tune? "The Blue Bird" is full of the same clueless qualities, only it was directed by George "My Fair Lady" Cukor and stars Elizabeth Taylor, Cicely Tyson and Jane Fonda! Filmed in Russia--with the assistance of a Russian crew and Russian rubles--this remake of the Shirley Temple chestnut defies explanation. Amateurish and yet fascinatingly so, the movie is heavier than bricks and is never seamless (it feels patched together by a child's hands). I remember watching this on HBO many years ago several times, always in stunned, mind-numbing shock. Liz Taylor (in 4 roles!) goofs around a little and she's fun to watch, Jane Fonda has a pithy few minutes as Night, the kids are decent, but everyone else is out to sea. Connessoieurs of bad cinema should feast on this for ages. Hey, terrible flicks can be fun, too! ** from ****