The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970)

- L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo
Argento's First, 11 February 2005

Sam (Tony Musante) is an American writer vacationing in Italy. One night as he walks past an art gallery, he sees two figures inside struggling. One is obviously a woman, the other is wearing a black raincoat, gloves, and hat. The dark figure escapes out a side door after the woman is stabbed. She is not dead and stumbles down the stairs toward the front door. Sam rushes to her rescue but becomes trapped between two glass doors. When the police arrive, they naturally assume Sam tried to kill woman and was trapped as he made his escape. The police also suspect Sam in a series of murders around the city. Sam decides that his best course of action is to assist the police in finding the killer.

Mario Bava may be credited with "inventing" the giallo, but Argento made the giallo his own beginning with this, his first film. His string of successes in the genre (including The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Deep Red, Tenebre, Opera, and the underrated Sleepless) is second to none. In his first giallo, Argento employs many of the techniques that he has over the years become famous for - innovative camera work, nice use of color, and good set pieces. In addition, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage features what I consider to be one of the best scripts Argento has written. Almost everything, including the outcome, seems to be fairly logical and make sense. Argento builds the suspense very nicely throughout the movie. The first time I saw the movie, the killer's identity really caught me off guard.

One thing missing from The Bird with the Crystal Plumage that Argento uses extensively in his later films is blood. Compare the amount of on screen blood in this film with Tenebre. It's not even close. This, however, doesn't bother me. In fact, the lack of blood allows me to better concentrate on the plot as it unfolds.

The Bird with the Crystal Plumage may not be my favorite giallo, but it would make an excellent starting point for someone new to these films.

8/10