two thoughts

I saw the revival on Broadway a few years ago. Trust me, the movie is better.

They did this in the 1995 made-for-TV version, though they used the Tommy Tune touring revival and added more songs. It was not a successful remake, quite dull and slow-moving, and much too long. The 1963 movie exists on its own as a separate entity and can be enjoyed on that level. Unfortunately, the original play just doesn't translate well on screen. I have seen many renditions of the play and it is great in the theater, but audiences sit there while all the jokes from 1960 float right over their heads. It was topical for its time, while the 1963 film was topical for its time.

I decry many changes made for the 1963 film, including the loss of at least five good songs, but the changes also make for a smoother film. Many newer productions of the play add in the title song and ax the amusing but morbid How to Kill a Man Ballet, and they either add or delete the songs from the Tommy Tune production (i.e. "Take a Giant Step"). So "Birdie" is like Disneyland: always changing, it will never be finished...