| "A stunning portrait in psycho-terror!" |
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The Bird with the Crystal Plumage
BOXSET/APPROX. 98 MINS/1970/ITALY R18+
BOXSET/APPROX. 98 MINS/1970/ITALY R18+
8.5
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Here we have another film that helped define the “giallo” genre and help create the reputation of its writer/director, Dario Argento's “The Bird
with the Crystal Plumage”. This comes our way courtesy of VCI Entertainment as part of their “Italian Giallo Collection”.
Sam Dalmas, (Tony Musante), an American writer in Rome witnesses a black garbed assailant attacking a beautiful redhead, (Eva Renzi), in an art
gallery. The only witness to the crime, he has his passport taken by the police to keep him around as he was scheduled to fly back to the US.
Things go from bad to worse as the killer targets him and his girlfriend, (Suzy Kendall). Taking matters into his own hands he begins trying to track
down the killer, with violent and unexpected results.
Say what you want about his more recent output, but it's near impossible to fault most of Argento's early works and this is no exception. Stylishly
lit and shot, with the first signs of his penchant for hyperactive camera work “The Bird with the Crystal Plumage” is a great film.
Along with the camera work, many other things that would become staple of his work first appear here. The black gloved killer, the beautiful female
victims, things that aren't what they seem at first glance, intricately set up killings and a wealth of red herrings. His use of music is also in evidence,
although here its a jazz based score from Ennio Morricone, (included on the DVD), rather than the haunting works of Goblin that he is most
associated with.
I should make a note that while the print is for the most part in excellent condition a few scenes are noticeably worse for wear. They include part
of a murder and the killer cutting the panties off another victim. Most likely these were trimmed from the source print and had to be replaced from a
less well preserved copy. The footage in question is by today's standards fairly mild as is the whole film in terms of what was to come from Dario.
The gore is mostly of the splattered blood variety and apart from a brief glimpse through a see-through nightie there's no real skin. And as much
as I love the inventive gore and skin of his later films this one isn't hurting due to the lack of them. The plot holds up just fine without them, though
I certainly wouldn't have minded if the female leads had shown a bit more either.
Apart from the previously mentioned soundtrack, the disc is light on extras with just the original theatrical trailer and some biographies. This seems
even more disappointing given the lavish selection of extras on its partner in the box set “Blood and Black Lace”.
Despite the lack of extras this disc is still highly recommended. It's essential viewing both for Argento fans who want to see where his journey into
the macabre started and fans of the giallo in general who need to see the film that marks the transition between the old school works of Bava and
what was to come during the genre's heyday.
with the Crystal Plumage”. This comes our way courtesy of VCI Entertainment as part of their “Italian Giallo Collection”.
Sam Dalmas, (Tony Musante), an American writer in Rome witnesses a black garbed assailant attacking a beautiful redhead, (Eva Renzi), in an art
gallery. The only witness to the crime, he has his passport taken by the police to keep him around as he was scheduled to fly back to the US.
Things go from bad to worse as the killer targets him and his girlfriend, (Suzy Kendall). Taking matters into his own hands he begins trying to track
down the killer, with violent and unexpected results.
Say what you want about his more recent output, but it's near impossible to fault most of Argento's early works and this is no exception. Stylishly
lit and shot, with the first signs of his penchant for hyperactive camera work “The Bird with the Crystal Plumage” is a great film.
Along with the camera work, many other things that would become staple of his work first appear here. The black gloved killer, the beautiful female
victims, things that aren't what they seem at first glance, intricately set up killings and a wealth of red herrings. His use of music is also in evidence,
although here its a jazz based score from Ennio Morricone, (included on the DVD), rather than the haunting works of Goblin that he is most
associated with.
I should make a note that while the print is for the most part in excellent condition a few scenes are noticeably worse for wear. They include part
of a murder and the killer cutting the panties off another victim. Most likely these were trimmed from the source print and had to be replaced from a
less well preserved copy. The footage in question is by today's standards fairly mild as is the whole film in terms of what was to come from Dario.
The gore is mostly of the splattered blood variety and apart from a brief glimpse through a see-through nightie there's no real skin. And as much
as I love the inventive gore and skin of his later films this one isn't hurting due to the lack of them. The plot holds up just fine without them, though
I certainly wouldn't have minded if the female leads had shown a bit more either.
Apart from the previously mentioned soundtrack, the disc is light on extras with just the original theatrical trailer and some biographies. This seems
even more disappointing given the lavish selection of extras on its partner in the box set “Blood and Black Lace”.
Despite the lack of extras this disc is still highly recommended. It's essential viewing both for Argento fans who want to see where his journey into
the macabre started and fans of the giallo in general who need to see the film that marks the transition between the old school works of Bava and
what was to come during the genre's heyday.
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