World Famous Comics: The Bird With the Crystal Plumage (2-Disc Special Edition)
The Bird With the Crystal Plumage (2-Disc Special Edition)
Starring: Mario Adorf, Omar Bonaro, Giuseppe Castellano, Giovanni Di Benedetto, Gildo Di Marco Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Binding: DVD Format: Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, NTSC, Widescreen Label: Blue Underground Number of Items: 2 Release Date: October 25, 2005 Running Time: 96 minutes Theatrical Release Date: June 12, 1970
Description: The Stunning Debut By Dario Argento The Italian Master Of Terror
In his first film as writer/director, Dario Argento (SUSPIRIA, DEEP RED, TWO EVIL EYES) single-handedly created the giallo genre and instantly emerged as the filmmaker critics worldwide hailed as 'The Italian Hitchcock'. Tony Musante (TRAFFIC, OZ) and Suzy Kendall (CIRCUS OF FEAR, TORSO) star in this pulse-pounding suspense thriller about an American writer in Rome who witnesses - and is helpless to stop - a brutal assault, the cunning vengeance of a maniac, and the heart-stopping horror that lives - and kills - deep in the dark.
Blue Underground is proud to present this legendary shocker remastered in High Definition from its original camera negative - including recently discovered never-before-seen footage of explicit violence - remixed in 6.1 DTS-ES and 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround EX. Exclusive Extras in this 2-Disc Special Edition include four all-new featurettes with Argento, Oscar® winning cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, legendary composer Ennio Morricone, co-star Eva Renzi and much more!
Amazon.com: Dario Argento takes sole writing credit for his directorial debut but The Bird with the Crystal Plumage is actually an unofficial adaptation of Fredric Brown's novel The Screaming Mimi. Sam Dalmas (Tony Musante), an American novelist in Italy, is a helpless spectator to a vicious attack in an art gallery. Initially a suspect, Sam becomes the key witness to the attempted murder, the fourth in a month but the first survived by the victim. Something about the attack haunts him and so he launches his own investigation as the murders continue, the killer finally turning on Sam. Argento exhibits a sure hand in his first film, creating an easy to follow thriller spiced with tightly choreographed murder scenes and leavened with character humor (his colorful cast includes a genial stuttering pimp and an eccentric artist who lives in a house with no doors). But it's his gift for arresting images and cinematic inventiveness that gives this thriller its edge, from the opening murder where Sam impotently watches the bleeding victim while trapped in a veritable glass cage to the killer's naked eye peering through a peephole at Sam's girlfriend (Suzy Kendall) as she hysterically searches for an escape from the killer's pounding attempts to break into her apartment. Future Oscar winner Vittorio Storaro shot the film and Ennio Morricone provides an unusual, often eerie score arranged for human voices. While less baroque than Argento's later work, it's a fine first film and a standout in the giallo genre. --Sean Axmaker
Argento classic on Blu-ray at last. After Blue Underground's dreadful release of Stendhal Syndrome they needed to up the ante with this one. What we get is a very nice print of Argento's directorial debut, the colours are particularly vibrant and whilst not as pristine as some Blu-ray releases, the picture quality is an improvement on the older dvd releases of this title.
The movie itself is a classic example of the giallo movie. Based on the novel The Screaming Mimi by Edgar Wallace, Argento treats us to one of the most impressive debuts ever committed to celluloid, and one of my personal favourite giallos. Argento is often accused of being committed purely to style, and whilst his movies are among the most stylish and beautifully shot, there is also a great deal more substance to his work than he is credited with.
This disc is naturally highly recommended to fans of Dario Argento, but also to fans of the giallo and quality European cinema in general.
Further Showcase of Argento's Genius Dario Argento's first film, 1970's The Bird with the Crystal Plumage is a brilliant achievement. Terrific not only in its genre, but as a film of any kind.
This is only the second film I've seen by Argento, after the masterpiece Deep Red. This film clearly bares the mark of the same creator as the aforementioned film, employing a similar plot and artistic structure. I'm no Argento aficionado so this opinion could be flawed, but The Bird with the Crystal Plumage is the blueprint for the style and artistry that finally culminated with Deep Red.
Tony Musante plays Sam, an American living in Rome with his girlfriend Julia. Due to return to America in just a couple days, Sam witnesses a woman brutally attacked in a gallery. After being questioned by police, Sam's passport is confiscated and he is almost murdered on his way home. He soon becomes obsessed with the case and begins investigating it himself.
There are two things this film does brilliantly. It builds genuine, edge-of-your-seat tension, something Argento seems to excel at as a director, and it expertly exploits our fear of the dark.
Fear of the dark is one of the most universal fears out there. Argento knows this and employs this knowledge in many scenes. A particularly effective one is when the killer attacks Julia in her apartment after cutting the power.
As I said, this is Argento's first film and it's apparent he had a pretty set standard for his filmmaking technique. Stylistically and artistically, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage showcases a master talent with a unique vision. Ironically, Argento doesn't even fulfill his full potential with this film.
That said, few film debuts are as good as this, and even fewer horror films are as good as this one. Due to Argento's creative direction, the brilliant use of cinematography, and an atmospheric musical score by the legendary Ennio Morricone; The Bird with the Crystal Plumage is a highly inventive, highly effective thriller.
As I said about Deep Red, it makes one remember that horror films can be made by people who know how to make films and that horror can be considered an art form when in the right hands. It doesn't match the artistic achievement of Deep Red but it's still a masterpiece of its genre and a great film.
A-
Side-note; my only complaint is not about the film itself, but rather the DVD. The edition I have is bogus! There's no menu, no special features, no subtitles, and no Italian-audio. The English-dubbing is not awful, but it is an annoyance and I would much rather see the film in its intended form. Still worth a watch though!
A Dario Argento Classic Giallo - one of his very best The Bird with the Crystal Plumage is one of my very favorite Dario Argento movies, something I could watch many times in a year & still get jolted at some scenes. Tony Musante witnesses a stabbing at an art gallery and his life becomes hell from there, from the Police keeping him in Rome while they investigate to him doing his own investigating and also being hunted by the murderer. See it for the first time and the murderer is a slight surprise, see it again and you will see things from a different perspective but still enjoy the non stop action. This has everything that makes a mystery/horror/Giallo work. Good acting, lots of suspense, and it is fun watching Musante doing his own thing to find out who the killer is. Just an amazing movie, worth owning. I cant praise this movie enough. The Blue Underground 2 disc DVD is the Holy Grail for this release, its letterboxed, uncut and contains a slew of bonus features. HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION if you ask me :)
A Stunning Directorial Debut From The Italian Hitchcock! Because Dario Argento's latest film, "The Mother of Tears," will soon enjoy its American release, I wanted to revisit the first film he wrote and directed, "The Bird with the Crystal Plumage." Still regarded as one of his finest gialli, "The Bird with the Crystal Plumage" has a lean plot: a serial killer is terrorizing Rome. Beautiful, young women with no connection are being brutally stabbed. An American writer, Sam Dalmas (Tony Musante of "We Own the Night") witnesses an attack. Him and his girlfriend Julia (giallo queen Suzy Kendall of Sergio Martino's "Torso" and Umberto Lenzi's "Spasmo") are eventually stalked and attacked by the black-gloved killer.
It is no wonder that Argento is referred to as the Italian Hitchcock. His film is rife with suspense, mystery and shocking, innovative murder sequences that rival the shower scene in "Psycho." His set pieces are dazzling; they range from grungy stone buildings in the country to fog-enshrouded city streets to psychedelic high rise apartments. A great musical score is provided by the legendary Ennio Morricone who has scored hundreds of Italian gialli and Spaghetti Westerns.
"The Bird with the Crystal Plumage" is the first in Argento's Animal Trilogy. The second one, "The Cat O' Nine Tails" is my favorite of the three because of the endearing relationship between the blind man and his daughter. I've never seen the third one, "Four Flies on Gray Velvet," and don't understand why no one has given it an American release. Thankfully we have "The Bird with the Crystal Plumage." If you are a fan of Dario Argento and/or a fan of Italian gialli, you must see "The Bird with the Crystal Plumage" - a beautiful giallo named after a beautiful bird.
A good beginning for Dario, but not as intense or as brilliant as the later stuff.... I am a huge Dario Argento fan, but I've never really cared for his early work. This is his first film, and while very good in spots, is also kind of boring, even if you see it in widescreen (which you should). This film has the usual Argento plot (artist of some kind, usually an English speaking one, is in Italy and gets caught up in a murder mystery), and while it's not as frightening, surreal, or as intense as his best work (the 1975-1987 years are his best), it does have some very good scenes and an excellent twist at the end of the film. There's some very good mise en scene, with Argento using the frame very well. But there seems to be a lifelessness to this film, almost somnabulistic at times. The lead actor, Tony Musante, seems to be distant and aloof, and the other performers are just as absent, so to speak. Ennio Morricone's music is pretty haunting, but it's not as good as Goblin's soundtracks were/are. Perhaps if this was the first film of his I saw, I would like it more. Still, if you're a Dario fan, you should see this. It's the best of his animal trilogy, or, it's better than the 2nd one in the animal trilogy, Cat O Nine Tails, which is one of Dario's worst films. I haven't seen Four Flies on Grey Velvet, the third in the trilogy, except for one scene included in the documentary Dario Argento's World of Horror. Actually, most people haven't seen that one. Watch The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (great title) if you're interested in Dario. Otherwise, watch his masterful period starting with Deep Red.
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