The Bird with the Crystal Plumage

With his dazzlingly shot and sadistically violent directorial debut The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Dario Argento built on the giallo blueprint laid down by Mario Bava in the groundbreaking The Girl Who Knew Too Much and Blood And Black Lace; effectively kick starting the popularity of the giallo movie in early Seventies Italian cinema. A slew of films combining art-house aesthetics and exploitative sex and violence followed suit.

This month sees the release of his chic and savage debut on blu-ray, courtesy of Arrow Video, who have once again really gone all out to give cult movie fans a package to salivate over.

Head over to Eye for Film to read my review of Argento's debut and the host of Arrow Video's tantalizing, jaw-dropping extra features - which ensure this release is a MUST for fans of Argento and giallo all'italiana...

Comments

Anonymous said…
I think this is one of Argento's better plotted films, extremely suspenseful and stylish and a very promising debut for the Maestro. That taunting soundtrack has always given me the creeps as well. Unforgettable giallo.
http://crystalplumage70.blogspot.com
20 September 2011 at 21:32
James Gracey said…
This is one of my favourite Argento films - suspenseful, stylish and more tightly plotted than later offerings. And the score by Morricone is to die for! Thanks for the linkage - will check out. :)
22 September 2011 at 08:52
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Beware the Autumn People...

Image
Having just finished reading Ray Bradbury’s creepy carnival-based Something Wicked This Way Comes , I was incredibly struck by his vivid, immensely atmospheric prose; particularly the following passage, which proved to be one of the most evocative of the whole novel. It appears late in the story, as Charles Halloway is talking to his young son Will about the duel nature of mankind. He is attempting to explain the existence of evil in the world, and warn his son about the kind of people who have completely succumbed to their darkest desires; so much so they’ve been utterly consumed by them. He recalls an old religious tract written by Pastor Newgate Phillips in which these individuals are referred to as 'Autumn People'...  “For these beings, fall is ever the normal season, the only weather, there be no choice beyond. Where do they come from? The dust. Where do they go? The grave. Does blood stir their veins? No: the night wind. What ticks in their head? The worm. What spea
Read more

Shankill Graveyard

Image
While staying with my parents recently in my home town of Lurgan, County Armagh, I naturally decided to pay a visit to a few of the local graveyards. Top of my list was Shankill Graveyard. Located just outside the town centre, and surrounded by a residential area, the site upon which Shankill cemetery stands was a place of worship in earlier centuries. Shankill Parish church was originally situated here before it was eventually moved to the town centre. The outline of a double ring fort is still noticeable. Amongst those at rest in the cemetery are the Brownlow family, who established the town in 1610 when they were given land beside Lough Neagh by the British government during the Plantation. They eventually contributed to the development of the linen industry the town became famous for throughout the seventeenth century. Their family vault is situated in the centre of the cemetery where the old church once stood. Apparently well off English families such as the Brownlow’s, sough
Read more

There’s Something About Fulci…

Image
When I began to flesh out my thoughts and hastily scribbled notes on The Black Cat , I ended up spewing forth a tangent about why I find Lucio Fulci’s film work so utterly repellent, disturbing, depressing and horrifying. Below is said tangent, and the review of The Black Cat (tangent free, sort of) can be found here . Of the countless schlocky, ultra-violent, reprehensible, disposable, exploitation-laden fare this writer has watched over the years - and the plethora of distasteful, disturbing, mind-numbingly deplorable and brain-botheringly wretched imagery I’ve witnessed as a result of watching such fare - one filmmaker and his work stands apart from the others when it comes to creating genuinely upsetting, avert-your-gaze-from-the-screen-in-disgust moments. Lucio Fulci is a director most fans of horror cinema will be familiar with. Heck, many of them will even own some of his work on DVD or something called VHS. My own experience of watching Fulci’s work is quite limited. I fi
Read more