Bird

Clint Eastwood's 1988 portrait of the turbulent life and visionary art of jazz legend Charlie "Bird" Parker is arguably the best cinematic jazz biography ever made. Forest Whitaker took home the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival for his performance as the driven musician who changed the sound of jazz with his volcanic saxophone solos. Off-stage he's gentle and modest, with Whitaker bringing a lazy charisma and a shambling grace to his performance. But when he plays it's like he's transported, his mind on another plane and his fingers dancing across the keys in a fevered rush to keep up with his imagination. Diane Venora co-stars as Chan, the jazz aficionado who became Parker's wife. Eastwood directs from a jumpy, fragmented script that leaps around Parker's life, and he delivers a darkly textured cinematic flight that almost approaches the uninhibited passion of Parker's solos. The only supplements are a music-only audio track and a bonus six-track CD soundtrack. Three more jazz-oriented DVDs are also released by Warner this week: Bertrand Tavernier's "'Round Midnight" with Dexter Gordon, Jack Webb's "Pete Kelly's Blues" and "Blues in the Night."