I watched The Bird with the Crystal Plumage and I really liked it! 4/5
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Dario Argento‘s The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970) is a masterclass in tension-building, and it serves as a blueprint for the giallo genre that Argento would come to define. With its razor-sharp style, captivating mystery, and eerie visuals, the film marks a pivotal moment in Italian cinema, blending Hitchcockian suspense with the lurid violence that would become synonymous with the giallo movement. It may not be as visually audacious as some of Argento’s later works, but it still packs a punch, and its influence on the genre cannot be overstated.
The plot follows Sam Dalmas (Tony Musante), an American writer living in Rome, who becomes embroiled in a murder investigation after witnessing a brutal attack on a woman through the glass doors of an art gallery. Unable to leave the country, Sam begins his own investigation, obsessing over the details of the crime and uncovering a twisted web of clues that lead him closer to the elusive killer. The setup is deceptively simple, but Argento infuses it with a steady stream of tension and intrigue, keeping the audience guessing until the very end.
What sets The Bird with the Crystal Plumage apart is its meticulous attention to visual detail. Argento’s direction is precise, often using the camera to toy with the audience’s perspective. The opening scene, in which Sam helplessly watches the attack from behind a glass door, is a perfect example of how Argento uses framing and space to create a sense of helplessness and entrapment. The scene is as much about what Sam can’t do as what he sees, and it’s a chilling start to a film that consistently plays with ideas of voyeurism, observation, and perception.
The cinematography by Vittorio Storaro (who would later go on to win multiple Academy Awards for his work) is a key element of the film’s success. The lighting is stark, the angles are sharp, and the color palette feels cold and detached, all of which enhance the sense of dread that hangs over every scene. Even the city of Rome itself, often bathed in warm light and romanticized in other films, is depicted here as an alienating and threatening space. Argento is a master of turning familiar settings into nightmarish landscapes, and The Bird with the Crystal Plumage is no exception.
The film’s score, composed by the legendary Ennio Morricone, is another high point. Morricone’s haunting melodies, punctuated by whispers and eerie sound effects, add another layer of tension to the film. The music often feels like it’s lurking in the background, waiting to strike, much like the killer themselves. It’s a perfect complement to Argento’s visual style, heightening the sense of unease that pervades the film.
However, while The Bird with the Crystal Plumage excels in atmosphere and style, it’s not without its flaws. The pacing can be uneven at times, with certain stretches of the film feeling slow compared to the high-octane tension of the opening and closing acts. Some of the characters also lack depth, serving more as plot devices than fully realized individuals. Sam, in particular, feels like a somewhat passive protagonist for much of the film, reacting to events around him rather than driving the action forward. That said, these are relatively minor issues in the grand scheme of things, and they don’t detract too much from the overall experience.
The film’s conclusion, which ties together all of the clues and red herrings in a satisfyingly twisted reveal, showcases Argento’s knack for delivering a final twist that is both shocking and inevitable in hindsight. It’s a fitting end to a film that thrives on misdirection and subversion of expectations.
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage may not have the supernatural flair of Suspiria or the dreamlike quality of Deep Red, but it remains one of Argento’s most tightly crafted films. It’s a fascinating early entry in his filmography, brimming with the style, suspense, and gruesome creativity that would later become hallmarks of his career. For fans of giallo and thriller cinema, this is essential viewing.