Bird on a Wire

"He’s every woman’s dream and one woman’s nightmare."

1990 1h 50m EN

😐

6.2

MID

★6.2TMDB · 1,079

ComedyRomanceAdventure

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

An FBI informant has kept his new identity secret for 15 years. Now an old flame has recognised him, and the bad guys are back for revenge.

“He’s every woman’s dream and one woman’s nightmare.”

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Cast

Mel Gibson
Richard 'Rick' Jarmin
Goldie Hawn
Marianne Graves
David Carradine
Eugene Sorensen
Bill Duke
Albert Diggs
Stephen Tobolowsky
Joe Weyburn
Joan Severance
Rachel Varney
Harry Caesar
Marvin Larson
Jeff Corey
Lou Baird

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Badham
Writers: David Seltzer, Nikita Knatz, Eric Lerner
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 6.9× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

36 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Badham, shot by Robert Primes. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Hans Zimmer. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Frank Morriss shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn and David Carradine carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "He’s every woman’s dream and one woman’s nightmare.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0099141 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Badham directs. Robert Primes behind the camera. Hans Zimmer scores. Frank Morriss cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 6.9× over at the box office.
236 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by John Badham, shot by Robert Primes. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Hans Zimmer. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Frank Morriss shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn and David Carradine carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "He’s every woman’s dream and one woman’s nightmare.".
8IMDB entry: tt0099141 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 17 themes, including "martial arts", "helicopter", "poison", "veterinarian".

The technical file

Cinematography: Robert Primes
Original score: Hans Zimmer
Editing: Frank Morriss
Production design: Philip Harrison
Costume design: Eduardo Castro
Makeup / hair: Sherry Linder-Gygli
Sound: Rick Patton
Stunt coordinator: Betty Thomas Quee
Runtime: 110 min · 1h 50m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $20,000,000
Box office: $138,697,012
Return: 693% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Bird on a Wire (1990)

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John Badham

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Community reviews

What people are saying

JPV8522021-11-06
★ 6/10
Serviceable and entertaining, but throwaway action-romance-comedy with both Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn showing their individual charms. However, the plot is thin and the action kind of average. There's not a whole lot here memorable for either of the stars. Guess it's fine for a lazy Saturday. 3.0/5
GenerationofSwine2023-01-12
★ 10/10
I am currently attempting to con my wife into watching this, not because it's a great movie, but because I know it's the kind of movie that she is going to laugh at and enjoy. It has that humor that people that are ESL can really pick up on without having to be an expert native speaker to follow the word play... ... but then again, she's actually gotten good enough with English that she's watching and enjoying Monty Python so, who knows if that still applies. As I said, it's not a great film, but it is memorable, and memorable for it's dumb humor and brainless action alone that is personified by Gibson when he was at the top of his game for fun, dumb, and entertaining action/comedy flicks. Historically we can call it a cult of personality, because, honestly, you are watching it strictly because of Gibson's personality and his sense of humor. And mind you, this was before he did that thing... which he asked forgiveness for very publicly... and I personally don't see why people feel it's necessary to continue to beat a man after he made amends for a mistake. Honestly, you're watching it and remembering it because it is a funny Gibson action comedy, and nothing more. Especially since he kind of outshines Hawn in the comedy department in this one, which is kind of shocking given that she can be pretty hysterical when she wants to. In this, however, I'm not sure she was really giving it her A game, or maybe she just sulked back to a co-star routine. But, it doesn't claim to be anything more, it achieves it's goals, and it entertains.
kevin20192026-01-16
★ 8/10
"Bird on a Wire" is an incredibly engaging, entertaining, and well made action comedy which is very reminscient of "Midnight Run" (1988) on more than one occasion. After all, the general frame work - two people being pursued across the country - is principally the same, except this film successfully manages to be able to stand alone. It moves at a wonderfully cracking pace and it is full of funny and thrilling action sequences - the scenes which take place at the zoo during the final climatic reel of the film are particularly exciting and enjoyable - that have been put on the screen in the most manic way imaginable by director John Badham.