L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo (The Bird With the Crystal Plumage) poster & wallpaper
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Tony Musante, Suzy Kendall, Eva Renzi, Enrico Maria Salerno, Mario Adorf ... see more see more... , Renato Romano , Carla Mancini , Fulvio Mingozzi , Reggie Nalder , Werner Peters , Umberto Raho , Dario Argento

This trend-setting thriller put its director, Dario Argento, on the international map and began a flood of imitative mystery-horror hybrids which dominated Italian genre output in the early 1970s. Ton... read more read more...y Musante, best known for the television series Toma, portrays an American who witnesses the murder of a woman at a trendy Rome art gallery. Before long, Musante finds himself targeted by a mysterious killer. Based on a story by Byron Edgar Wallace, Bird and hints at the flamboyance which would become Argento's trademark. This and Argento's subsequent two films Il Gatto a Nove Code and Quattro Mosche di Velluto Grigio were much less horror-oriented than his later work. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

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79% liked it

6,042 ratings

Critics

91% liked it

22 critics

PG, 1 hr. 38 min.

Directed by: Dario Argento

Release Date: June 12, 1970

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DVD Release Date: November 23, 1999

Stats: 419 reviews

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'L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo' Dario on the set 'L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo' (1970) L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo (The Bird With the Crystal Plumage) L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo (The Bird With the Crystal Plumage) L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo (The Bird With the Crystal Plumage) L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo (The Bird With the Crystal Plumage) L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo (The Bird With the Crystal Plumage) L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo (The Bird With the Crystal Plumage)
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Flixster Reviews (419)

  • TheDudeLebowski65
    July 31, 2011
    TheDudeLebowski65
    Dario Argento's directorial debut is a stunning achievement in horror. The start of an excellent career is showcased on screen. What you have with Bird With The Crystal Plumage is a solid horror Giallo that is quite possibly Argento's most solid picture.Bird With The Crystal Plu... read moremage is a fine Giallo picture, probably the best of it's kind. Every Argento fan should seek this one out. What makes this film succeed is the eerie atmosphere than Argento paints added by Ennio Morricone ominous score. This is a classic of Italian horror, and I find it almost an insult that people try to compare this film to anyone of Hitchcock's films. Argento and Hitchcock are two different kinds of directs and both have made their mark in horror history. This is an intense horror film that brings genuine chills to the viewer and is by the films end, you are in awe at how powerful the horror is. Bird With The Crystal Plumage is one of the best Giallo films that I've seen, only matched by Lucio Fulci's Don't Torture A Duckling and Argento's own Deep Red. Bird With The Crystal Plumage is an accomplished horror film that is brilliantly directed by Argento. A must see for fans of horror, and this is one of the best films that Dario Argento has made. A unique film thats not easy to forget. The film is bold and tense, and relies on atmosphere to create effective terror. A classic worth seeing.
  • matertenebraum
    April 14, 2011
    matertenebraum
    Very fine debut that set the trend for giallo for the next half dozen years. The seeds of the genre had already been sown but here Argento strikes out stylishly and makes a massive mark. It was interesting watching this again after having seen so many giallo since first seeing th... read moreis and seeing just how much influence this had been. There are elements, particularly visually, that we will see developed in later Argento films as well as the many imitators. So many red herrings and unanswered questions, of course, but by now we are used to that and others would be freed by this incompleteness to go on and create marvellous colourful multi-layered nonsense for us all to revel in. The Morricone score must also be mentioned for it is of monumental proportions covering the widest range possible from the children's voices through symphonic passages and to the almost abstract.
  • cosmo313
    March 6, 2011
    cosmo313
    I'm not extremely familair with the subgenre known as giallo, but my research tells me that it is Italian ficttion with emphasis on horror/thriller, and mystery elements, or something like that. I've actually seen two such films before this one, but didn't know they were apart of... read more some sort of established tradition. Since I liked those, and enjoyed this, I may in the future seek out some more of these types of movies.

    From that rambling description above, you should basically have gotten that this is a msytery thriller/ slasher/serial killer type of movie. I can't really go into too many details without giving too much a way, but let's just say that plenty of American films have borrowed if not stolen from this, and other similar Italian films.

    It is an Argento film, and his first if I'm not mistaken. It is beautifully shot, fairly violent, and absolutely overflowing with tension, suspense, and great mood, atmospohere, and tone. The music by Ennio Morricone is suitably creepy, and all of this makes up for the fairly flimsy plot which might be the weakest thing at play here. It also feels very Hitchcokian, too...which is of course a good thing.

    An American man finds himself caught up in an odd series of murders in Italy, and must work with the plocie to try to solve an ever increasing epidemic of serial murders, while along the way looking out for the safety of himself and his wife. The pacing could have been a bit faster, but the murder setpieces are well done, and this is a pretty enteraining film. The ending leaves a bit to be desired, but it isn't enough of a letdown to warrant a harsher grade.

    All around some decent stuff, especially if you like some artsiness with your violence.
  • mjgildea
    February 2, 2011
    mjgildea
    I know this was Dario Argento's first movie (and actually the first of his movie's I've seen) and I've heard hordes of people talking about how great he is but based solely on this movie I just don't see it. The Bird With the Crystal Plumage certainly wasn't bad but I just didn't... read more really get into it. I wanted to like it and will likely watch it again but I just didn't feel anything outside of the last 15-20 minutes. Pretty cool score from Ennio Morricone though...
  • FilmFanatik
    December 24, 2010
    FilmFanatik
    Dario Argento's first major film is a masterpiece of suspense and mystery. Unlike the brutal and violent work later in his career, this film plays more as a thriller with very little blood and on-screen violence (it's more implied rather than shown). It's obvious the influence ... read morethat Hitchcock had on this film, but Argento's style never wavers and holds the piece together beautifully.
  • ariuza1
    December 20, 2010
    ariuza1
    Mr. Dario Argento has had a big influence on our culture and his films where just massive successes here and his first movie was the first true Giallo movie ever made and if you don't know Giallo stands for Yellow in Italian. And of course Italian cinema is big here and vice vers... read morea. Suspiria was just a shocking movie about witches and loud music that scars you to death and the color but I would like to go to his previous film or his first. But so far my favorite Argento film is Tenebrea.

    Okay very interesting plot and story,

    A man who runs an art gallery and working late but he accidently runs into a man in a rain coat trying to kill this lady but he interrupts them and he runs off. The police investigate but give up so Sam and a few friends take the case but big mistake. The serial killer is targeting them he pushes Sam's friend out a window and pushes another in front of a train. And his last words were
    "I know you!"
    Sam neededs to find out fast or he will die too.

    You will be shocked by the ending and when you finally find out who it was all along even I went WTF big I think his biggest shocker was in deep red. So in this movie look for clues and you will find out soon enough who it is. The acting is extremely good from American Tony Musante and same goes for other cast members I think the fear in there eyes gets to you. Mr. Argento direction is great I can really see it happing and with all the killing scenes of violence and the mystery parts.

    The characters are very ambiguous one of them when you first watch you are thinking is the killer but trust me you will be shocked. I think the scene was Sam almost gets run over was very shocking like always the head lights turn on and the car drives down an ally and hits him, But look carefully though at the car.

    I come to a close a very enthusiastic flick by Dario and its also one of those Rare's that I didn't give a 100% to because I just cant seem to do it. But it's a landmark in Giallo
  • ajv2688
    December 12, 2010
    ajv2688
    It's the old story of seeing a murder and wanting to figure it out on your own even though the police should be able to do it themselves, the guy's just curious and confused. It's a pretty good movie for a predictable themed film. I really love Argento's style.
  • ythelastman89
    November 23, 2009
    ythelastman89
    One of Dario Argento's best and a personal favorite. It is perhaps the most suspenseful film he's ever made, it is truly a film that is captivating from start to finish. Everything from the camera movement to sound is a vital factor in understanding the meaning of this narrative.... read more It is full of personality and has a flawless sense of emptiness in its backdrop.
  • SirPant
    September 22, 2009
    SirPant
    Classic 70's giallo from Argento, in what I feel is possibly his best film. Brilliant
  • harrycaul
    May 28, 2009
    harrycaul
    I came to The Bird with the Crystal Plumage having seen almost all of Dario Argento's other movies beforehand, so what fascinated me most was how his cinematic style seems to have emerged fully-formed with this, his very first feature. I can see a lot of echoes of this mov... read moreie in his masterpiece, Deep Red: a present-day occurrence triggering off latent insanity and a series of killings; the hero, a witness to (here, only attempted) murder, struggling to digest the truth of what he actually saw; the importance of sinister, naive artwork to the solution of the mystery, and for purposes of misdirection; and the use of geographically restricted flora or fauna to pinpoint a crucial locale. Argento was very fortunate to secure the talents of cinematographer Vittorio Storaro--who would go on to do great work with Bernardo Bertolucci--and composer Ennio Morricone, whose stellar contributions enhance his film immeasurably. This is the best-looking of Argento's early films and still, I think, one of his most brilliantly shot and edited pictures.

View All L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo (The Bird With the Crystal Plumage) Reviews

Critic Reviews

Dave Kehr
March 28, 2007
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

Dario Argento's undistinguished Italian thriller was an unexpected hit in 1969, thanks largely, one suspects, to some violent scenes that were unusually graphic for their time. Full Review

May 9, 2005
New York Times

[It] has the energy to support its elaborateness and the decency to display its devices with style. Something from each of its better models has stuck, and it is pleasant to rediscover old horrors in ... Full Review

Roger Ebert
October 23, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Its scares are on a much more basic level than in, say, a thriller by Hitchcock. It works mostly by exploiting our fear of the dark. Full Review

Donald J. Levit
April 15, 2012
Donald J. Levit, ReelTalk Movie Reviews

A watchable serial murderer-search movie, even if not the stuff of cult status. Full Review

Fernando F. Croce
November 15, 2009
Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion

Vivid mayhem Full Review

Tim Brayton
May 31, 2009
Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy

One of the most self-assured debuts of all time, a work so certain in its conception and execution that almost 40 years later I'd still quickly rank it as one of Argento's finest. Full Review

Lucius Gore
August 4, 2008
Lucius Gore, ESplatter

Those familiar with Argento's films should be able to see the groundwork that was being laid for later classics like "Deep Red" in this one. Full Review

September 26, 2007
Film4

Argento's decision to focus more on tense plot twists and less on gore (there's relatively little here) gives this an audience beyond the usual hardcore horror fan. Full Review

March 28, 2007
TV Guide's Movie Guide

A heart-stopping horror melodrama with excellent acting from all involved. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
February 25, 2007
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Short on ideas. Full Review

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