The Bird with the Crystal Plumage
Directed by Dario Argento
Dario Argento nails the Giallo blueprint in The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, a brutal thriller that packs a gory brace of terrifying murders alongside its genre defining mix of red herrings, leather gloved slashers and stylish decor. When Sam, an American writer in Rome witnesses an attempted slaying in an art gallery, he unwittingly sets the killers sights on himself and his beautiful model girlfriend. But soon, things start to unravel as it becomes clear that the identity of the unknown slayer is very much open to question. Somebody’s killing everyone; who is the evil fiend? Could it be Sam himself? Argento’s groundbreaking shocker combines eye-popping visuals with a seamy vein of sadomasochism and a lust for violence to create a genre defining movie classic.
When Sam, an American writer in Rome witnesses an attempted slaying in an art gallery, he unwittingly sets the killers sights on himself and his beautiful model girlfriend.
Cast: Luigi Pistilli, Dagmar Lassander, Anton Diffring
Member Reviews
A great suspense thriller from the master himself Dario Argento. The acting is what you can expect from a 70s thriller. It has a great story and interesting characters that keep you intrigued. I wouldn't say this was Argento's best film as I'd give that to Phenomena or Suspiria but this film definitely is intriguing. I love the use of sound to associate the killer. The distinct clicking noise that our characters try to figure out is ominous and does help to let us know that that noise is associated with the killer in the story. The twist at the end is definitely unexpected. I saw myself suspecting the husband to be the killer until he confessed that he was the killer. The way he said it made it feel like he was trying to shift the blame onto himself to keep the real killer's identity a secret. So, giving it away that she was the killer all along was suddenly accepted and I guess made sense for the story but I definitely wouldn't have done the film that way. So yeah. This is a good film, nothing special but not boring or uninteresting.
Love this film, and love that there are plenty of red herrings along the way to keep you guessing. There were even some "clues" I thought I was brilliant to pick up on, which turned out not to be clues at all. . . And it's rare for me to get those wrong! Fun story, great visuals.
not scary pretty good story
Love it. Thrills, chills, and shadowy madness well crafted and shot to near perfection
Completely silly and fun and sometimes a little boring, but still fun murder mystery. Watch with friends to have more fun. Also two stars.