The Bird with the Crystal Plumage

Dario Argento has come a long way since his first giallo. With classics such as Deep Red, Suspiria and Tenebrae under his belt he is often recognised as Italy's greatest horror director (rightly so). His style that he uses in all his movies is very noticeable here. The excellent score, long tracking shots, bloody murders and the shocking twist at the end. Although Bird with the Crystal Plumage is not as gruesome as his others and the twist not as shocking, he had to start somewhere.

Sam, an American writer in Rome witnesses the stabbing of woman in an art gallery but is powerless to help as he is trapped between two glass doors. The woman survives though, and the police tell Sam she is the first surviving victim of a serial killer. The police keep Sam in Rome which annoys him quite a bit but he soon starts to investigate after someone tries to kill him.

Bird with the Crystal Plumage, although not his best work, is still an intriguing and well-made movie. The acting is good, the score excellent and the twist sure surprised me! This is highly recommended for Argento fans.

4/5

This is one rare jewel of an intelligent thriller that was also the break-through effort for people like Dario Argento, the director and scriptwriter, Vittorio Storaro, the director of photography, and last but not least Ennio Morricone who composed the soundtrack. There are great performances by a cast of lesser known European actors who did not make it big but are great in this one. I would just like to mention two outstanding supporting performances by Eva Renzi who was never better before or after, and by Mario Adorf who convinces as half-crazed cat-eating painter. The movie will keep you glued to your seat and surprise with an absolutely unexpected twist at the end. Watch and enjoy!

If you are just getting to know the works of Dario Argento, THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE is a great place to start. A masterful giallo from, arguably, the best director of the genre.

Filled with mystery, murder, and menace, this film is one of the foundation stones for all future serial killer / stalker horror. Argento's now-famous imagery and quirky characters are on full display, adding texture to his tale of a man (Tony Mustante) targeted by a homicidal madman after witnessing an attempted murder.

There are no dull moments, and Argento shows why he is the rightful heir to Bava's throne...

Ominous music and lush cinematography override a sparse script to create a Jack-the-Ripper type thriller, which is deeply introspective, moody, and haunting.

Indeed, the script can be treacherous if used to try and solve this whodunit puzzle, which is best handled by removing psychological assumptions rather than by piecing together logical clues. Even so, the murder mystery plot is to some extent illogical.

The strength of the film though lies in its suspense, which is almost unbeatable. It rivals any of Hitchcock's works, to which it is repeatedly compared. The scene showing a knife chipping away at a wooden door is reminiscent of, and more frightening than, scenes showing bird beaks chipping away at a farmhouse door in Hitchcock's "The Birds".

I like the film too because it is so nostalgic. The reel-to-reel tape recorder and dozens of other props and visual cues, the references to philosophy and mysticism, the Morricone film score which at times sounds like the film scores from his spaghetti Westerns, all conspire to transport the viewer back to the Age of Aquarius.

The acting is fine. Tony Musante, Suzy Kendall, and Enrico Salerno are perfect for the roles they play.

This is one scary movie. Minor flaws notwithstanding, "The Bird With The Crystal Plumage" is top-notch entertainment for fans of suspense thrillers.

I recently bought a bunch of Argento movies on laserdisc because I'd seen a few and really liked them. I was pleased to find that the new titles in my collection are really good as well.

This film was Argento's first as director, and it's easy to see how he got work after that- it's great. It begins with an intriguing premise- that a witness to an attack saw more than he perceived- and pays off with a nice thriller.

My only beef is that I rewatched the beginning after it was over and, well, try it for yourself.

If you liked this and can stomach some much more extreme gore, try TENEBRAE. Maybe you shouldn't watch them back-to-back as I did, but give it a spin some time.