Bird-
WARNER BROS deserves praise for releasing one of their "art-house" like titles which fared poorly at the box-office, "BIRD".  Clint Eastwood directed this powerful autobiography of Charlie "Yardbird" Parker, one of the great jazz musicians of all time.  It's no secret that Eastwood is a big jazz fan and his affection serves the subject matter well.
Eastwood's depiction of Parker never seems false.  It does, however,
feel bleak.  In fact, while "BIRD" is extremely well made, it's so
depressing that it's not an easy film to watch. Forest Whitaker is outstanding as "Bird", and he presents Charlie as such a decent guy, that it's all-the-more hard to watch him slowly spiral into despair.  But, spiral he does, for a "long" time!  Eastwood doesn't seem to care about taking his time to tell his story.  While this allows us the chance to hear a decent amount of "Bird's" music, it also leaves some footage that should've been cut due to redundancy. 
WARNER BROS has presented the film with its proper 1.85:1 aspect ratio and 16:9 enhancement.  While it's obvious that Eastwood is intentionally shooting for a "dark" look to the film, there is too little detail visible in many important scenes.  The color values are fine, but
Eastwood and cinematographer Jack Green appear to be striving for   a subdued look, thus color is restrained substantially throughout the
film.  There is also a great deal of grain, but this appears intentional
as well.
WARNER BROS. should be commended for remixing the score in Dolby Digital 5.1 sound.  While the surrounds aren't that aggressive, there is distinct separation for the front speakers.  Dialogue is always
intelligible and free of distortion.
There is an isolated music track offering both the film's soundtrack by
Lennie Niehaus as well as the original music of Parker.  Unfortunately,
Parker's music is severely shortened at times to fit certain cues.  It's
unfortunate that WARNER BROS. didn't actually offer complete Parker selections on a separate track. 
The original theatrical trailer is included with 16:9 enhancement and
monaural sound.