The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill (2003)

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

This is not your usual film.It's basically a documentary about an unemployed homeless man, living in a borrowed house on Telegraph Hill, who forms an astonishing relation with a flock of cherry headed conures and a lonely blue crowned conure, Connor.The story is partly about the man (Mark Bittner) and partly about the birds. Bittner is thoughtful, rather other worldly but utterly likable and highly intelligent. The birds are adorable, funny and their relationships are touching. Bittner feeds them, tends them when they're ill and observes their characters and relationships. But they remain wild and free. Bittner's book about his life with the birds led Judy Irvine to make this documentary.(Spoilers coming - do not read on if you don't want to know what happens!!)You will laugh at Mingus, the injured parrot who would rather live in the house and dances when Bittner plays his guitar but defends his lair under the fridge to the death. You may well cry when Bittner is evicted and says goodbye to his indoor birds. And you will almost certainly cry when Connor, now old and sick, is killed by a hawk.But the final twist is when the bachelor Bittner announces at the end that he and Judy Irvine are "now a pair".This is a film so unusual, so entertaining and so heart warming that everyone should see it. Essential viewing.

This film is a true delight from beginning to end. THE WILD PARROTS OF TELEGRAPH HILL is the kind of movie that you can fall in love with. Mark Bittner comes across as a sincere, responsible individual who has taken care to construct a principled existence. And, his flock of birds were the cornerstone of this life. Much has been written about this film (and the film maker), and I think that it is extremely unfortunate that many have taken him to task for not adhering to a more traditional lifestyle. I found it refreshing that Mark has made the effort to create a life which truly exemplifies his ideals. I think that this would be a much richer world if more people took the time to live their lives guided by values which reflect heartfelt beliefs. And, this is why I feel that THE WILD PARROTS OF TELEGRAPH HILL has such tremendous value.

Just saw the TV premier of this modestly-distributed movie and was delighted. Has anyone else noticed that the parrots really did more for Mark Bittner than he did for them? They changed his life in so many ways, and all for the better. There are many lessons to be learned from the movie, which is one of the few that left me both cheering and crying when it ended. I wish only the best for all, both human and avian, involved in its making.P. S. Those who previously submitted reviews to this site and saw the movie as an attempt to make Bittner appear a victim in any way certainly missed the point.

I just finished watching the DVD. We have flocks of the same birds down here in Southern California that are always fun to watch in the palm trees (I think that Mark Bittner was right in saying that these are monkeys more than they are birds). I never knew much about them; I just assumed they were migratory flocks from Mexico. The way this film took a simple story--an eccentric with a thing for wild parrots--and wove it into a larger lesson about existing in a universe that is bigger than any of us as individuals, was masterful. This is not a documentary about wildlife as much as it is a parable about our connection with everything that surrounds us. I am normally a cynic, but I found this film to be very moving. If only more people were able to slow down and feed the birds.