The Bird With The Crystal Plumage [Blu-ray]

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An international commercial and critical success on release, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage has been credited with popularizing giallo, an Italian genre of horror-thriller developed in the 1960s, [4] and launched Argento's career as a filmmaker. Dario Argento’s The Bird with the Crystal Plumage begins with a set piece that beautifully condenses the relationship between theme and function in the classic giallo. Sam Dalmas (Tony Musante), an American writer trying to rejuvenate his creativity in Italy, stumbles upon an apparent murder being committed in a posh art gallery. A faceless figure in gloves and a raincoat is accosting Monica Ranieri (Eva Renzi) on the top floor of the building. An exterior shot of the gallery is so transfixing—so rife with prismatic visual variables—that we’re as stunned as Sam, forced to drink everything in at the rapid rate with which Argento provides the stimuli. Monica and the assailant struggle over a knife and the latter escapes down the stairs while she tumbles to the ground floor at the entranceway of the gallery, bleeding from a stab wound. The assailant pushes a button to open one but not both of a nearby exit’s automatic doors, trapping Sam in the glass entrance to the gallery as he witnesses Monica’s suffering. Suzy was far better in Assault, which was released a year after The Bird with the Crystal Plumage). The score for The Bird with the Crystal Plummage was composed by Ennio Morricone, [10] his first for a giallo film and his first of five collaborations with Argento. The Bird with the Crystal Plumage" was the directorial debut of the great Dario Argento; a filmmaker from Italy who primarily enjoyed working in the horror and thriller genres. He didn't often branch out, but he was always willing. However, be it a drama, a comedy, or a darned action movie that he makes next; the man will always be known for the kinds of films that he made and made well. My personal favorite out of all Argento's features is "Deep Red". His acclaimed "Suspiria" would come in second. And as of now, I'm pretty sure that this film deserves third place. It's the film that put the director on the map as someone to watch; someone to care about. This is the film that helped re-launch the sub-genre of "Giallo Horror"; a little thing that started with masterpieces such as the early works of Mario Bava. Argento's film is just as good. "The Bird with the Crystal Plumage" is all about plot and all about style. It works like a good deal of Argento's films work, although it doesn't quite go as "all-the-way" with surrealism as his later features would. He could only do so much with what he got, and I assume that wasn't much, at that. But when you've got "not much" and you're still able to make a great piece of cinema and a riveting work of art, then maybe money and production value doesn't matter so much anymore. Perhaps it's all in the ambition and skill of the filmmaker. Times have changed; for both the worst and for the best.

The cult giallo classic takes a stab at Ultra HD, thanks to a new restoration and remaster of the original 35mm 2-perf Techniscope negatives. This HEVC H.265 encode gives fans an excellent upgrade over previous Blu-ray releases although the condition and photographic quality of those negatives bring with them a few minor limitations worth mentioning. Most notably, several moments can stand out as soft and blurry. But again, this is the result of Vittorio Storaro's stylized cinematography, especially since he sometimes alternates between shallow and deep focus on a wide-angle lens in the same scene. In all Arrow's edition still provides a solid set of features, covering the film's production and impact to a satisfying degree. ClosingIt also established the key traits that would define Argento’s filmography, including lavish visuals and a flare for wildly inventive, brutal scenes of violence. See his offering Tenebrae reviewed elsewhere if you want further proof. “Grows obsessed” The Power of Perception, a visual essay on the cinema of Dario Argento by Alexanda Heller-Nicholas, author of Devil's Advocates: Suspiria and The Giallo Canvas: Art, Excess and Horror Cinema, reflecting on the recurring theme of perception and the role of art in Argento's filmography Arrow Video on Facebook". Facebook. Archived from the original on 30 April 2022. [ user-generated source] A little over 50 years ago, this fascinating offering redefined the ‘giallo’ genre of murder-mystery thrillers and catapulted writer/director Dario Argento to international stardom. a b c Lucas, Tim (2007). Mario Bava: All the Colors of the Dark. Video Watchdog. pp.810–2. ISBN 978-0-9633756-1-2.

In 1970, young first-time director Dario Argento (Deep Red, Suspiria) made his indelible mark on Italian cinema with The Bird with the Crystal Plumage – a film which redefined the 'giallo' genre of murder-mystery thrillers and catapulted him to international stardom. After initially becoming a suspect himself, Sam is increasingly obsessed with trying to decipher what he saw on that violent night, digging into a string of similar murders. He becomes the audience surrogate, questioning what he saw in the same way that an audience member should question the images up on the screen. What did he miss? What did we miss? In an eventual common trait of the giallo, the hero ends up both a suspect, at least initially, and a target. Giallo is often about average people who are thrust into worlds of violence and Sam Dalmas is a typical genre protagonist, someone whose safety is threatened by what he’s seen even as he can’t quite comprehend exactly what he witnessed. In giallo, plunges into violent worlds are sudden—Sam doesn’t ask to be a crucial part of this case, but he has no choice once he opens that door. Argento's inexperience as director led him to nearly be fired and replaced by Lombardo mid-production, but thanks to his robust contract he was able to complete the film. [9] Then we get a chance to hear from Dario's first DOP, Vittorio Storaro, in a 10-minute interview called Painting With Darkness, in which he discusses his techniques and innovations for the film. Quite honest about the importance of his role in the making of this, or any film, Storaro talks about his use of intense close-ups to harness the emotions and inner-workings of the characters during moments of high tension. Dario's love of POV shooting and the unusual angles that are incorporated are also looked at in a, sadly, all-too brief session. Dario Argentoprovides a new 31-minute interview for this edition under the heading Crystal Nightmare. Argento talks specifically about this film and its production, from his script to the film’s multiple releases (its initial release didn’t do all that well after being buried by the studio). This being his first film all of the execs behind the film were unsure of him and he came close to being fired at least once. His inexperience also could make things tense when working with others as demonstrated in his story of suggesting to Ennio Morricone that he should listen to music samples to get an idea of the score he wanted (apparently Morricone wasn’t impressed by this suggestion). The film was mostly a learning experience, with Storaro helping him a lot along the way and that stigma of him being a newcomer more than likely led to the film being buried by the studio before being rediscovered. Argento isn’t the most energetic speaker but he manages to keep it engaging and he comes off very forthcoming.To accommodate the international cast and better facilitate English-language distribution, the film was shot primarily in English and MOS, with all dialogue and foley dubbed in. The English-language version was supervised by Robert Rietti; Tony Musante and Suzy Kendall did their own English dubbing. The Italian version was overseen by Mimmo Palmara. The Bird With The Crystal Plumage has probably never looked better on home video than it does here on Blue Underground's 1080p release. But, this said, there are still some issues that the transfer has not been able to overcome. Rear Window" Witness: Sam is trapped between the glass doors when he witnesses the murder attempt on the girl. Dario Argento was introduced to Brown's novel by his friend Bernardo Bertolucci, who had acquired the rights to Brown's novel and intended to direct a film adaptation himself. [9] Argento wrote the screenplay over several weeks vacationing in Tunisia. Titanus mogul Goffredo Lombardo optioned the script after being impressed by Argento's work on the film Metti, una sera a cena. Audio commentary by Troy Howarth, author of So Deadly, So Perverse: 50 Years of Italian Giallo Films

Blue Underground have provided the same quartet of interviews that graced their Special Edition SD release. First up is a surprisingly decent session with Dario Argento, himself, entitled Out Of The Shadows. Notoriously uncomfortable and laborious when it comes to such things as discussing his own work on-camera, the filmmaker actually comes over quite well this time out, no doubt because of his evident pride at what he accomplished on his fledgling directorial mission. He describes the less-than-overjoyed reaction he gained from Morricone when he provided the musical genius with ideas of how he thought the score should sound, and he manages to answer the question that both Alan Jones and Kim Newman posed when commentating on the movie - about whether or not a real camera was dropped from a sixth floor window to obtain that incredible swift-descent shot. The interview lasts for 18 minutes. Filming took place primarily on-location in Rome, mostly in the Flaminio quartiere. Studio scenes were shot at the INCIR De Paolis soundstages. The racecourse sequence was filmed at the Agnano Racecourse in Naples. Presented in its original 2.35:1 ratio, the film is certainly much more stable than many other versions have been, though there are still odd judders here and there. Damage to the print is only minimal and the image, itself, is quite clean and bright. The grain, you'll be pleased to note, remains intact and there doesn't appear to be any sign of overt or unwelcome noise reduction having taken place.

It must be said, however, that whatever misgivings this final rant has, the overall cluster of interviews are well worth the effort. I'd love to have heard from Tony Musante, though. Take My Hand!: When Sam and Inspector Morosini are attempting to arrest Alberto, he falls out of the open window while fighting them. Sam and Morosini each grab one of his arms, but are not able to hold him and he falls to his death. A scene with an eccentric artist might leave some cat lovers reaching for the off button. But while the movie may be littered with problems, its positives far outweigh the negatives. And one of the best things about it is I was still guessing who the killer was in the final few minutes. A staggeringly assured debut, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage establishes the key traits that would define Argento's filmography, including lavish visuals and a flare for wildly inventive, brutal scenes of violence. With sumptuous cinematography by Vittorio Storaro (Apocalypse Now) and a seductive score by legendary composer Ennio Morricone (Once Upon a Time in the West), this landmark film has never looked or sounded better in this brand new 4K Ultra HD presentation from Arrow Video! The giallo film genre is older than Dario Argento, but he remains its godfather, the filmmaker most associate with the Italian horror explosion of the 1970s. Mario Bava’s 1963 film The Girl Who Knew Too Much is often credited as the first giallo, but it was Dario Argento’s The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (now available from Arrow on UHD) seven years later in 1970 that altered the landscape in ways that the horror genre is still reflecting more than a half-century later. Loosely based on Frederic Brown’s novel Screaming Mimi (which had been adapted into a film with Anita Ekberg in 1958), Argento’s directorial debut launched the filmmaker’s obsession with the themes and defined the style that would make the giallo one of the most essential genres of the 1970s. Violence, sex, voyeurism, the fallibility of perception, obsession—all of the themes that would work their way through Argento’s filmography and influence fellow giallo filmmakers are here in his first film. Argento and his crucial collaborators like cinematographer Vittorio Storaro and composer Ennio Morricone couldn’t have known how far this bird would fly.