User Reviews

This funny and snappy little 27 minute documentary offers a nice peek into the making of the excellent and atmospheric horror-Western winner "Dead Birds." Among the folks featured in the doc are director Alex Turner, screenwriter/producer Simon Barrett, and cast members Henry Thomas, Mark Boone Junior, Patrick Fugit, Isaiah Washington, Nicki Aycox, and Michael Shannon. Among the subjects covered are revisions done to the script (in the original draft of said screenplay Washington's character Todd committed suicide), the designing of the grotesque subhuman creatures, the casting of top of the line thespians, scouting locations in the Deep South, prison inmates working as members of the crew as part of a rehabilitation program, the first day and last night of shooting, and the finished movie's premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. Moreover, there's plenty of amusing footage of people goofing off on the set which includes Thomas playing the bagpipes and Fugit constantly practicing how to properly handle a six shooter. Don LiLego's groovy country rock songs on the soundtrack further add to the infectiously breezy and lighthearted merriment. It's obvious that everyone involved with making "Dead Birds" had a lot of fun working on the film and this sense of pure fun in turn makes the documentary a hugely entertaining experience to watch. Worth seeing for fans of the picture.