Bird With the Crystal Plumage

Warning: SPOILERS!!! This is Dario Argento's first stab (pun intended) at directing. While this giallo film is not must-viewing for giallo fanatics, it is something every fan of filmmaking in general should watch, if only to witness the origin of Argento's mastery with the camera, which made such films as DEEP RED (1975) and SUSPIRIA (1977) classics in their respective genres. There is no one alive like Argento when it comes to filmic storytelling and when he slips off to the great beyond (which I hope is not for a long, long, time), volumes will be written about his special brand of storytelling. I'm not going to wait for that to happen, which is why I am celebrating Argento's legacy by watching and reviewing the majority of his films. So let's get to this one. Someone wearing black gloves types a note on a typewriter that reads: "Sandra Roversi. Age 18. Pick up between Mirti St. and Belgrade St. 9pm. Follow to Gardens. Three." It looks like a telegram, but could it be instructions for a kidnapping or something much worse? We then see Sandra Roversi (Annamaria Spogli) walking down the street (she stands out from everyone else due to the bright red coat she is wearing) while the unknown person wearing black gloves secretly snaps photos of her. We then see that the gloved killer (I guess we can call this person that, as you will see shortly) has a collection of sharp daggers and knives, which are placed neatly and evenly on a red velvet cloth. The killer picks out a knife and then studies the photos of Sandra, picking out one and writing the number "3" on it with a red marker (I see a theme here!), then covering the knife collection with another piece of red velvet. At a newsstand, the headline of the local Rome newspaper reads "Woman Mysteriously Murdered! Third In Little Over A Month!", telling us that Sandra Roversi has been killed. We are then introduced to American writer Sam Dalmas (Tony Musante; THE GRISSOM GANG - 1971; the short-lived TV Series TOMA - 1973), who is talking to his friend Carlo Dover (Renato Romano; THE SECRET OF DORIAN GRAY - 1970), a professor at the local university. Sam is not happy with his latest writing assignment, writing manuals on the preservation of rare birds, joking with Carlo and saying it would be funny if he won a prize for doing it. Sam is suffering from a severe case of writers block, telling Carlo that he hasn't been able to write his latest novel for over two years, not even a single sentence. A friend told him to go to Italy, nothing ever happens there, so he'll have all the peace and quiet he needs to write his novel ("May he rot in Hell" says Sam about his friend). The only good thing that has happened to Sam in Italy was meeting model Julia (Suzy Kendall; TORSO - 1973), telling Carlo if he didn't set him up with the job of writing bird manuals, he wouldn't have the money to fly Julia back to the States with him the day after tomorrow. What Sam doesn't know is that things, very bad things, are about to happen in Italy and they will change his life forever. While walking home that night, Sam notices a woman struggling with someone dressed all in black in an art gallery. He almost gets hit by a car, not noticing that the person dressed in black has stabbed the woman and escaped. When Sam goes to help the woman, he becomes trapped in the gallery's entrance when the automatic door closes and locks behind him. All Sam can do is watch helplessly as the woman crawls towards him and then passes out (Without giving too much away, I'll tell you this: Pay close attention to the sculptures in the front of the gallery and try to identify them). Sam gets the attention of a pedestrian, who then calls the police. Inspector Morosini (Enrico Maria Salerno; EXECUTION SQUAD - 1972) arrives on the scene and questions Sam, telling him that the woman will survive thanks to him. He wants to know everything Sam saw and heard, down to the smallest detail, but before Sam can speak, the owner of the gallery, Alberto Ranieri (Umberto Raho; THE EERIE MIDNIGHT HORROR SHOW - 1974), arrives and identifies the woman as his wife, Monica (Eva Renzi; DEATH OCCURRED LAST NIGHT - 1970). Alberto tells the Inspector that his wife stayed late to go over the books and he came to pick her up. He also asks the Inspector who stabbed Monica and he says he doesn't know, he hopes she will be able to tell him. Monica is then transported to the hospital with Alberto following the ambulance. Sam then tells the Inspector, "There was something wrong with that scene, something odd. I can't pin it down, but I have a definite feeling that something doesn't fit." The Inspector finds a single black leather glove at the top of the stairs in the gallery that is stained with blood, pulls Sam in for questioning, takes his passport and tells him he is not going anywhere until he comes up with the bit of information that doesn't fit and even goes as far as to accuse Sam of stabbing Monica, telling him that there have been three unsolved murders of young women and for all he knows, Sam could be the killer. He lets Sam go free, but without his passport, he can't leave Italy or take Julia with him. As Sam is walking home in the fog, a dark figure tries to take his head off with a meat cleaver, but an old woman screams and Sam ducks, the killer missing him and slicing open a water pipe on the side of a building and then escapes in the fog. When Sam gets home and tells Julia about his day and tells her that they will have to postpone their trip to America. Julia is very understanding, but Sam will do anything to get out of Italy, even turning amateur detective, with Julia's help, to solve the string of unsolved murders. In the meantime, Sam racks his brain, playing what he saw in the gallery in his mind over and over, hoping to find that bit of information that didn't fit, but he still can't pin it down. Sam and Julia figure if they are going to solve the murders, they will have to start from the beginning, so Sam goes to the workplace of the first female victim. It turns out to be another art gallery and he talks to her boss and comes home with a grotesque painting showing a person in black knifing a woman in the snow. We then see the killer claiming a fourth victim (Rosita Torosh; NIGHT OF THE DEVILS - 1972), a young woman who is lying in her bed as the killer rips off her panties and then stabs her with a knife we previously saw in the killer's collection. Inspector Morosini shows up at Sam's house to tell him about the fourth victim and when he sees Julia, he believes he has seen her before, but he can't remember where. The Inspector is aware about Sam's unwanted investigation and even goes as far to make Sam a potential victim when he goes on live TV to tell the Press that he is close to solving the murders, but the killer phones the Inspector and tells him he will have a fifth victim by the end of the week. The Inspector assigns an officer to protect and follow Sam, but an assassin (the unmistakable visage of Reggie Nalder; MARK OF THE DEVIL - 1970) hits the officer with his car and tries to shoot Sam as he is walking with Julia, but Sam escapes by the skin of his teeth. Sam follows the assassin, who is wearing a bright yellow jacket with a big blue "B" on the back, which leads Sam to a convention of ex-boxing officials, all who are wearing the same yellow jacket. The Inspector then tells Sam and Julia that the officer died of a fractured spine and skull and wants to know if Sam would recognize the assassin, but Sam tells him he didn't get a clear look at his face (If you saw Dalder's face for only a fraction of a second, I guarantee you would never forget it, so at this time I am asking myself why is Sam lying to the Inspector?). The Inspector apologizes to Sam and Julia for getting them in this mess, giving Sam back his passport and telling them to go to America, but Sam tells him he feels he is close to solving the murders and prefers to stay in Italy, so the Inspector assigns two officer to protect Sam and Julia. The killer then claims a fifth victim, a young woman named Tina (Karen Valenti), who is viciously slashed with a straight razor in the elevator of her apartment building. Sam, who is getting vital information from an "innocent" stuttering prisoner named Monti (Giuseppe Castellano; SCREAMERS - 1980), is put in touch with a mysterious man named Faiena (Pino Patti; Argento's THE CAT O' NINE TAILS - 1971), who is a man of contradictions, saying one thing and doing the exact opposite (this film's comedy highlight), as Sam will soon find out when he arrives at his home (look for a bottle of J&B Scotch, Italy's favorite beverage). Faiena tells Sam, for 100,000 lire, he will identify the yellow jacket-wearing assassin and when he finds out, he will phone Sam. Sam gives him the money and he leaves, telling Sam that he will contact him tomorrow morning with the assassin's identity. As Faiena leaves, Sam gets a phone call from the killer, who tells him, "Get smart, Mr. Dalmas. Take my advice, mind your own business. Stop playing detective. It's not healthy. That was a warning yesterday. Wasn't it enough? Go back to America. Forget about the murders. There's a limit to my patience!" The killer then asks if Julia is there and when Sam says yes, we hear, "She's very young and very beautiful, would you like her to die? Because if you don't drop everything, I will kill her!" Sam records the conversation on a reel-to-reel tape recorder, which will prove useful. He plays it for the Inspector, who hears a distinct creaking sound in the recording, telling his forensics team to identify it. Sam then gets a phone call from Faiena, who tells him to contact "Needles", giving him the address, which is not far from where Sam lives. Sam goes to the address, which is nothing but a hovel, the walls plastered with naked pictures of women taken from porno magazines. Sam finds a hypodermic needle and discovers Needles is the assassin who tried to kill him, but he no longer has to worry because Needles is dead, the victim of a hotshot overdose. A forensics expert tells the Inspector and Sam that the phone call the Inspector got from the killer is not the same person who called Sam, because "every human voice, no matter how well it's disguised, has a characteristic pattern of harmonic intensities in the vowel sound" (a fancy way of saying the two disguised voices don't match). So far, the forensics team have been unable to identify the creaking sound on Sam's tape, but does this mean there are two murderers or did the killer bring in an accomplice to confuse the police? Sam tells the Inspector that he's sorry he won't be around to see the end of this case, as he and Julia are leaving for America the day after tomorrow. It seems everything that has been happening has cured Sam of his writers block, telling Carlo that he has written over forty pages to his new novel. He then plays the killer's phone call to him for Carlo and he is able to identify the creaking sound, saying it reminds him of something, only he can't think what it is at the moment. Carlo takes the tape, telling Sam he will call him if he remembers what it is. Sam suddenly gets an idea for a clue, calling the first victim's boss and asking for the name of the artist that painted the grotesque painting that he now has hanging over his fireplace mantle. The artist's name is Berto Consalvi (Mario Adorf; MANHUNT - 1972) and he lives in Aviano, Italy, an hour and a half car ride away. Sam finds out from a local that Berto is a strange duck who has boarded up all the windows and door in his house. Sure enough, when Sam gets there, he has to enter Berto's house by using a ladder to the second floor window (!). Berto tells Sam that he painted that particular piece ten years ago, when a girlfriend was attacked by a man who tried to slice her into pieces. He shows Sam some of his other paintings from that period, which upsets Sam, but we don't see the paintings (It's also obvious that Berto is a loon, as he catches cats, puts them in cages and eats them!). While Sam is making the long ride home, Julia discovers the killer is after her, trapping her inside Sam's home, cutting the electricity and phone lines. Will Sam be able to make it back in time to save Julia or is she doomed to be murdered like the other five women? And just who is the killer? If you want to know the answers to these questions as well as what didn't "fit" in Sam's memory, you'll have to watch the film, but I will give you one more piece of important information: Carlo finally identifies the creaking noise as the call of the "Hornitus Nevalis" (a species of bird that doesn't actually exist), a magnificent bird with long white feathers that look like glass. Why is this information important? The only place in the world this bird can live is Northern Siberia, but there is one of the birds being kept in Rome's zoo. Put on your thinking caps and get to work, because everything you need to know about the killer's identity is in this review. Like Argento's other giallo films (THE CAT O' NINE TAILS - 1971; FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET - 1971; DEEP RED - 1975; TENEBRE - 1982), just when you think the killer has been caught and punished, they turn out to not be the killer at all, just another red herring put there to fake-out the viewer and put the heroes of the story in more danger. It was also the first of his giallo films to use the hero's memory for the most important clue. Since this film was made before VHS or the advent of home video, audiences had to take Sam's word for the thing that didn't fit in his memory, because they couldn't rewind the footage to see it for themselves. So, is that "thing" actually there? Well, yes and no. Yes, because it can be taken that way and, no, because I did rewind the footage and the way Sam remembered it is not actually shown in that sequence. Is it a cheat on the audience? Not really, because all the clues to the killer's identity are clearly in the film. But none of that is really important, because this is the first film that Dario Argento directed, giving us an insight to a future master at work. This is also the film that caused a boom in the giallo film business from 1970 to 1975, as many giallo films that followed it had the names of animals (or insects) in their titles. For this, Argento gets my utmost appreciation because some of the giallo films that followed were memorable, some were just okay and others were awful, but there's no denying that they were still better than anything being churned out by Hollywood. All fans of the giallo flicks have Argento to thank for making the genre popular, whether you like to admit it or not. Sure, giallo films were being made before this, but without this film, they would have died quicker than they did. This film's popularity all over the world gave filmmakers the impetus to make more mystery films, full of outrageous nudity and graphic violence, which is why we should be thanking him. Shot as L'UCCELLO DALLE PIUME DI CRISTALLO (a literal translation of the review title) this film obtained a U.S. theatrical release from Universal Marion Corporation (UMC) in 1970, edited to receive a GP (later changed to PG) Rating and was then retitled by 21st Century Film Corporation in the early-'80s as THE PHANTOM OF TERROR, only this time it received an R-Rating. It also received several VHS releases, most notably by United Home Video and VCI Video. It was then released uncut on DVD & Blu-Ray by Blue Underground (long OOP) and then in the same formats by VCI Entertainment (my review is based on this Blu-Ray, which also has Ennio Morricone's isolated music soundtrack). Arrow Video also offers it on Blu-Ray, but loaded with extras. Whichever one you go for, you are bound to be pleased with the film, if only to see how the Master got his start. Also featuring Gildo De Marco (TRINITY IS STILL MY NAME - 1971), Maria Tedeschi (GIALLO IN VENICE - 1979), Bruna Erba (CHURCHILL'S LEOPARDS - 1970), Fulvio Mingozzi (SEVEN BLOOD-STAINED ORCHIDS - 1972), Omar Bonaro (ADIOS, SABATA - 1970) and the prolific Carla Mancini (DEATH SMILES ON A MURDERER - 1973). Although it was Rated both PG and R in theaters, the disc version is Not Rated.

This review is for the Blu-Ray edition of 'The Bird with the Crystal Plumage' released by VCI video in 2013.My rating is for the release as a whole, not just the plot of the movie.***NOTE*** My review is not for the more recent 4K release. More on that below.BLU-RAY & EXTRA'S: The picture for VCI's release is not all that great. The picture is 'soft' and you will see a lot of film grain. I would suggest upgrading to Arrows new 4K scan if the picture is the most important thing. The extra's are minimal. You get a theatrical trailer and that's it. You also get the original soundtrack if you choose to listen to that.ARE THERE ANY OTHER VERSIONS OF THIS MOVIE WORTH CHECKING OUT?: Yes, there is. There is an excellent 4K release from Arrow Video. This release is the definitive version of this movie. In addition to the 4K picture there are many extra's with that release.PLOT/SUMMARY: Sam Dalmas, an American writer, is in Rome with his girlfriend, Julia when he witnesses a woman, Monica, being attacked in a locked art gallery. He see's the woman being attacked by a gloved person who is wearing a raincoat. He can't get to the woman but she survives and the attacker flees. The police refuse to let Sam return home because he is a witness to the attack and the attacker has not been apprehended. A prime suspect is Monica's husband. Sam also learns that the attacker is believed to be a serial killer.Since Sam is stuck in Rome, Sam decides to do some investigating himself. While investigating, Julia is attacked but Sam gets home in time to save her. Sam gets threatening phone calls and not everything is what it appears to be. Sam's friend Carlo joins him in the investigation.WHAT DOES A BIRD WITH CRYSTAL PLUMAGE HAVE TO DO WITH THIS MOVIE? You'll have to watch to find out!PRODUCTION: This movie was a joint German/Italian production that was filmed in 1970.-It was released in the United States with a PG rating (It was still called 'GP' at the time of the new ratings system. It would change to PG shortly thereafter). It had 20 seconds cut in order to achieve that rating. 'The Bird with the Crystal Plumage' was written and produced by the great Italian horror movie director, Dario Argento.-This movie was budgeted at around $500,000 and was a financial success in multiple countries, including the U.S.-This movie is the first release in Argento's 'Animal Trilogy'. The other two movies are 'The Cat o' Nine Tails (1971) and Four Fies on Grey Velvet (1972).WHAT IS 'THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE' BASED ON? Dario Argento took his inspiration from a pulp fiction novel, 'The Screaming Mimi' by Frederic Brown. This novel had already been made into a movie in 1958, called 'Screaming Mimi'.*****WARNING - SPOILERS BELOW THIS POINT*****THOUGHTS/COMMENTS: CALLING 'LORD OF THE RINGS'... : What does 'The Bird with the Crystal Plumage have to do with 'Lord of the Rings'?... well... nothing, really... except for one small thing (I think it's kind of big!) The title gives away a big part of the story. The third book of the Lord of the Rings trilogy (It was originally just one book but was divided up by the publisher) is called Return of King. Thereby giving away the ending. The title to this movie sort of does the same thing. While watching the movie for the first time after ordering this Blu-Ray, I kept looking for the Bird. Sure enough, we get it. ABOUT THE BIRD... : I am quite used to horror and mystery movies having highly unlikely scenario's written in to them. Sometimes it bothers me, sometimes it doesn't. The idea that somebody would actually recognize the bird's call as super rare bird is far fetched at best. I think a more reasonable scenario would be for the caller's location to be identified by a more recognizable animal noise... for example, a lion's roar. I get it... they didn't want the audience to know what the sound was but still, the gave it away anyway in the title! I guess I would be OK with the idea if the bird actually had something to do with the story and having somebody around that recognized it's noise would be more likely. Ultimately, although I don't love the plot point, I can live with it. I just think it could have been better thought out.CONCLUSIONS: If you are only interested in the movie itself and just want to see it or own a version of it, the release by VCI is good enough. However, if you are a big fan of Dario Argento, you will probably want to spend the extra money and get the Arrow version.Overall, I think the movie is pretty good and one of Argento's best efforts. As I have noted above, I thought that the idea could have been executed a little bit better. In addition I don't like the idea of giving away a big part of the mystery in the title.RATINGS:Plot: 7/10 - Not the best, but pretty good.Extra's: 1/10 - Obviously not the strong point of this release.Picture: 4/10 - This can and is improved upon by Arrow's release.Overall: 4 stars - There is a better version available.

For a 1970 film it was decent. I'd like to give it 3.5/5 stars, but I can't. The IMBD is way too high for this movie. Foreign films on Amazon are always rated very high. Im guessing people over seas just give everything 5 stars if they like the film. Amazon says it is from "2013", but the film is from 1970. For the first half of the film I thought someone in 2013 had made a movie to look like a movie in the 1960s. But then I looked it up and it was 1970.Its important for a modern American audience to not judge the film compared to films made today. Everything is different. How they portrayed murderers back then was they were insane and acted obviously insane. That's an error of the time. Real killers rarely act like they should be in a mental hospital.His girlfriend's script at the end when the guy was very slowly breaking in the house was crazy. Fear and Murder in this film causes the people to all go crazy. It's not real life like at all. But I'm not judging it for this. Its just a different time.

Pretty good movie. The lead actor Tony Musante died in 2013, but this movie was released in 1970.

I am trying very hard to reconnect with "giallo" films, and it my efforts are not producing much joy. This one isn't all bad. In fact it's a 4 star film withn a good plot and well filmed, and there is some witty different dialogue and supporting characters - Mario Adorf for one, and the character "So Long". Tony Musante makes for an odd hero, but is OK and Suzy Kendall is pretty much wasted and her behaviour in the final scenes is a bit daft, but hey...who knows what I would do in similar circs? Good Scope print, colour, sound and subtitles. Dubbing as good as it ever seems to get. I have "Tenebrae" to come, but maybe I will then leave "giallo" to the many enthusiasts!

This  1970 Italian ‘giallo’ genre [English subtitled] film [aka: The Gallery Murders, aka: Point of Terror, aka: The Phantom of Terror] is a crime thriller mystery and centres on Sam Dalmas (Tony Musante), an American writer living in Rome who witnesses an attack on a woman in an art gallery but is unable to capture the assailant and ends up helping the police, but is he placing himself and his girlfriend in danger as he discovers the mysterious attacker is a serial killer?The catchy music score switches to haunting themes, highlighting the tension and fear as the suspense gradually builds as various clues are gathered and discarded along the way. However, there are numerous flaws –especially the unconvincing dialogue and actions of the characters [lose a *], especially after being attacked, but most are minor irritations.The single disc offers play, scene selection and bonus features [original theatrical trailer, Argento on BWTCP, Picture gallery, other titles]. Rated 15 [due to 20 seconds of cuts –which do little for the film] this has mild swearing, but does contain some violence [mostly implied off shot] and has a number of intense and disturbing scenes –but nothing very un-nerving, although parts are sexually suggestive it cleverly lacks nudity or sex. With a good appreciation of suspense it has a wonderful 70’s feel and is a good **** view but is dated.

One of Argento's masterpieces. From that magic era when he used to make thriller and not ridiculous horror. In thrillers you can't do wahtever you want. There are rules and even suspension of disbelief can't be abused.Maybe that's why such an ruthless director like him managed to create such good films: he had limitations and a perimeter that forced him to find clever solutions for his plots and scenes. Here you find great setting (I'm from rome and he was so good at finding unsual and uncommon places to create a completely different city and setting), great atmosphere and scenes, and a solid plot.

Darios first giallos Are just fine murder mysteries movies. I just loves this mans contribution to World cinema. You must like film making The italian style though.

I was really looking forward to this film, and my disappointing 3 stars is not due to the film itself but to the fact that the film is still apparently censored after all these years. Indeed, if you watch the trailer for the film included on the DVD, you will see that one of the murders remains trimmed for British audiences!! I am sure that the BBFC, in its more recent leniency, would now pass this film in a completely uncensored print (bearing in mind it has recently released the likes of H.G Lewis's 'The Wizard of Gore' uncut, albeit after some 30 odd years!!!) but it is typical of many British releases that they do not even bother to examine the print to restore the cuts before releasing onto DVD. If you want my advice, get yourself a multi-region DVD player and buy this film from Amazon.com in the States, as, ironically, American film distributors tend to show far more care and consideration for these European cult classics than we do ourselves. Argento's first film may lack the overtly stylish direction and explicit violence of something like his undoubted masterpiece, Profondo Rosso, but it is still a taut, well made film - after 'Blood and Black Lace' one of the most genre defining giallo's ever made. If minor cuts in films do not bother you then by all means buy this film, but, personally, I still prefer to watch films exactly as the director intended.