The Bird With The Crystal Plumage

The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (L'uccello Dalle Piume Di Cristallo) (1970)

Runtime: 96 minutes

Directed by: Dario Argento

Starring: Tony Musante, Suzy Kendall, Enrico Maria Salerno, Eva Renzi, Mario Adorf

From: Central Cinema Company Film

I figured I should watch some sort of horror film on Halloween, and why not one I hadn't seen before, and why not what has been said to be Argento's directorial debut? To steal the plot description for this giallo film from the IMDb:

“Sam an American writer in Rome witnesses a murder attempt on the wife of the owner of an art gallery by a sinister man in a raincoat and black leather gloves - but Sam is powerless to do anything as he gets trapped between a double set of glass doors in going to her aid. The woman survives and the police say that she is the first surviving victim of a notorious serial killer. But when they fail to make any progress with the case Sam decides to investigate on his own turning up several clues that point in the direction of just one possible suspect - assuming that he really knows who hes looking for...”

I've heard this described as a Hitchcockian film and that seems appropriate. A foreigner at first is wrongly accused, he starts investigating himself which seems to put himself in harm's way... the influences are clear to me. Also, things aren't always as they seem.

This is quite the debut. You can say what you wear about the acting or some parts of the plot (really, when you find out what it's all about, it does seem a little far-fetched), but it is well-done overall, from the cinematography to how the film looks, some of the setpieces are cool and the Ennio Morricone score is really good and odd and it fits what you see. 

There's some quirky humor too, which kept me amused. For example, there was a scene where Sam had to view a lineup of “perverts”. Yes, that's what they were referred to as. You also find out that the police in Italy don't consider transvestites to be perverts. Progressive for the time. I also laughed at the late 60's computers that are on display and used; wacky. So is seeing Mario Adorf (someone I know for some poliziotteschi films) in a one scene cameo as a very quirky painter who lives in the middle of nowhere, lives with many cats (he's not a cat lady; rather, he eats cats!) and he has giant hair and a full beard. That scene got a big laugh out of me.

I'll be back Saturday night. I am thinking that it's about time for me to finally see another poliziotteschi film.