The Blue Bird Review
The Blue Bird has never translated particularly well to the screen, but the only excuse for the 1976 being so bad is that the demands of the first U.S.-U.S.S.R. production were simply too overwhelming. Yet the screenplay had been written before production began, so theoretically someone -- ideally director George Cukor- should have realized in advance that this fey, annoying, cloying and bizarre film as destined for failure. However, the stilted dialogue and didactic nature of the script don't account for all the horrors of Blue Bird. Rarely has so distinguished a cast delivered such inept and/or embarrassing performances. Although Elizabeth Taylor and Jane Fonda have a few good moments, most of their work is substandard, and Robert Morley and Cicely Tyson are wasted, WillGeer is annoying. Cukor, normally a sensitive and imaginative director, has directed with no sense of style and very little competence. Some of the costumes, at least, are nice, but they're balanced by those which border on the grotesque. Blue Bird holds a certain fascination, as one of those "How did this happen" kind of films, but it loses that appeal long before its 100 minutes comes to an end. Craig Butler, Rovi
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