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Oct 9, 2015 · 8:04 AM. The Birdcage: A gay film classic from 1996 that's actually an adaptation of a musical from 1983 that was inspired by a French film from 1978, that was a re-staging of a play from 1974. It’s an age-old tale of star-crossed lovers, as the daughter of a conservative politician finds love with the son of a drag club owner.
Hank Azaria and Christine Baranski appear in supporting roles. The film marked the first screen collaboration of Nichols and May, who had been a comedy duo in the 1950s and 1960s. The Birdcage was released on March 8, 1996, to positive reviews and significant commercial success.
- $31 million
- March 8, 1996
- Mike Nichols
- Jonathan Tunick
- The time was right. America was just about ready for this. At the time Ellen DeGeneres had not yet come out. Two recent movies featuring drag queens — "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" and "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything!
- "The Birdcage" was the 7th incarnation of the French farce "La Cage aux Folles" "La Cage aux Folles" ("The Cage of Madwomen") is a 1973 French play by Jean Poiret and Francis Veber with more or less the same plot as above, just substitute Saint-Tropez for South Beach.
- It was the first Elaine May/Mike Nichols movie collaboration. Younger audiences may not grasp the significance, but Elaine May and Mike Nichols were a massively influential comedy duo in the 50s and 60s who redefined both improv and standup comedy with multiple appearances on stage and TV before launching a year-long, sold-out Broadway show together.
- Most of the improvising happened in rehearsal. It can be difficult to corral brilliant comic improvisors such as Robin Williams and Nathan Lane, but Nichols insisted on weeks of rehearsal — not a common thing for movies — and let them improvise all they wanted then.
Mar 8, 1996 · The Birdcage: Directed by Mike Nichols. With Robin Williams, Gene Hackman, Nathan Lane, Dianne Wiest. A gay cabaret owner and his drag queen companion agree to put up a false straight front so that their son can introduce them to his fiancée's right-wing moralistic parents.
- (97K)
- Comedy
- Mike Nichols
- 1996-03-08
Showing all 27 items. Jump to: Photos (9) Quotes (18) Photos. Quotes. Armand : What are you giving him drugs for? What the hell are Pirin tablets? Agador : It's aspirin with the "A" and the "S" scraped off. Armand : My God, what a brilliant idea! Agador : I know. Agador : Armand, why don't you let me be in the show?
Dec 29, 2023 · December 29, 2023 1:45pm. From left: Nathan Lane, Hank Azaria and Robin Williams in The Birdcage, which won the 1997 SAG Award for outstanding cast in a motion picture. Lorey Sebastian/United...
