The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970)
"L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo" (original title)

A writer is stalked by a serial killer after witnessing a murder attempt on one woman's life.

Director:

Dario Argento

Writer:

Dario Argento

Stars:

Tony Musante, Suzy Kendall, Enrico Maria Salerno

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tony Musante	...	Sam Dalmas
Suzy Kendall	...	Julia
Enrico Maria Salerno	...	Inspector Morosini
Eva Renzi	...	Monica Ranieri
Umberto Raho	...	Alberto Ranieri
Renato Romano	...	Professor Carlo Dover (as Raf Valenti)
Giuseppe Castellano	...	Monti
Mario Adorf	...	Berto Consalvi
Pino Patti	...	Faiena
Gildo Di Marco	...	Garullo
Rosita Torosh	...	4th Victim (as Rosa Toros)
Omar Bonaro	...	Police Detective
Fulvio Mingozzi	...	Police Detective
Werner Peters	...	Antique Dealer
Karen Valenti	...	Tina, 5th Victim

Storyline

Sam, an American writer in Rome, witnesses a murder attempt on the wife of the owner of an art gallery by a sinister man in a raincoat and black leather gloves - but Sam is powerless to do anything as he gets trapped between a double set of glass doors in going to her aid. The woman survives, and the police say that she is the first surviving victim of a notorious serial killer. But when they fail to make any progress with the case, Sam decides to investigate on his own, turning up several clues that point in the direction of just one possible suspect - assuming that he really knows who he's looking for...

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Plot Keywords:

serial killer | killer | writer | murder | police | 

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Taglines:

All the screaming in the world won't help!

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Genres:

Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

GP

Details

Country:

Italy West Germany

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

12 June 1970 (USA)

Also Known As:

Point of Terror

Filming Locations:

Agnano, Naples, Campania, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Central Cinema Company Film (CCC), Glazier, Seda Spettacoli

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min 97 min (1972) 108 min (VHS)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first installment of Argento's Animal Trilogy (a trilogy of giallo films with animals in their titles). The trilogy includes The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970), The Cat O' Nine Tails (1971), and Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971).

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Goofs

Language: It's never explained whether Dalmas speaks fluent Italian, or whether all the Italians (including the imprisoned pimp) speak fluent English. Furthermore, while all of the featured magazines, newspapers, street signs are in Italian, some letters and the computer print-out at the forensics lab is for some reason in English.

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Quotes

Inspector Morosini: Bring out the perverts!

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Connections

Referenced in Taxi für eine Leiche (2002)

User Reviews

Excellent, lovingly made thriller

Bird With Crystal Plumage is as fine a thriller as you're likely to come across. It strikes me as having Hitchcock's mastery of suspense coupled with the hip urban paranoiac intrigue of the film Blow Up. But Argento has a style that is more original than referential. What we have here is a very stylish giallo with very few peers.

The film follows Sam, an American in Italy who happens to bare witness to an attempted murder. But Sam isn't sure just what he's seen because a vital piece of information has left his memory. It doesn't add up. Since the local authorities on the case won't allow him to leave the country anyway, Sam decides to do a little investigating on his own. Of course, snooping leads him into some dark places and puts him in contact with some shady sources. Not only that, it's apparent that someone wants him out of the picture.

If you've never seen this, you'll never guess how it ends--it comes out of nowhere and the only complaint I will voice about the entire film is that the finale feels a bit forced. Beyond that, it's all gravy. Argento shows much love for the details, like the flick of a razor and a splash of blood. The tension is thick as Sakrete by the last act and, needless to say, Argento piles on atmosphere, especially in the death scenes. Bottom line: 9/10.