Dario Argento. The Italian Hitchcock. A tired analogy. Hitch was his own man, as is Dario. Argento is well known and liked in cult circles, as is just. He created some of the greatest films of the giallo canon and spawned a superb post Giallo series of films, including SUSPIRIA, which is a modern Grimm fairytale with added gore. So far only two of his giallo films have been given the UHD Arrow treatment. CAT O NINE TAILS and DEEP RED. So now THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMMAGE.

Dario Argento first film is a well loved affair of mystery and blacked gloved murder. Sam Dalmas (Tony Musante) is living in Rome working as a writer. A series of murders have haunted the city and now he is about to get involved. He witnesses a brutal attack on a woman (Eva Renzi), which leaves her almost dead. Powerless to help because he is trapped in a glass box, he stares at the horror of the event. Now the police, Dalmas and even the killer are convinced that he saw something that night, which holds the key to identifying the attacker. So he launches his own investigation parallel to that of the police, heedless of the danger to both himself and his girlfriend Giulia (Suzy Kendall).

THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMMAGE is a great film that twists and turns. Not Argento’s most effective, nor his most pleasing but it serves the audience and the fan well. It sits well in his later work and might be his best scripted piece, alongside the masterpiece that is DEEP RED.

DISC

What we must talk about and it is very important for you is this. Why do I pay more for the UHD if I have the 4K? Well I have to say that the upscaled, upscale has given us little extra for the wedge we have to pay. That is not me being anti UHD, more anti spending even more money to get a good version of a Blu Ray I bought less than 2 years back. The grade, tone, light and colour on the 4K is excellent. What am I doing paying more for just a slight, noticeable but still slight, improvement?

EXTRAS

Little here is new. There are good elements on here. Black Gloves and Screaming Mimis by Kat Ellinger, is the most impressive element to the extras her. The rest are on the old disc…

Special Features

• New 4K restoration from the original negative by Arrow Films
• 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
• Restored original lossless mono Italian and English soundtracks
• English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
• Audio commentary by Troy Howarth, author of So Deadly, So Perverse: 50 Years of Italian Giallo Films
• Black Gloves and Screaming Mimis, an interview with author and critic Kat Ellinger exploring the film’s themes and its relationship to both the giallo and Fredric Brown’s novel The Screaming Mimi
• The Power of Perception, a visual essay on the cinema of Dario Argento by Alexanda Heller-Nicholas, author of Devil’s Advocates: Suspiria and The Giallo Canvas: Art, Excess and Horror Cinema, reflecting on the recurring theme of perception and the role of art in Argento’s filmography
• Crystal Nightmare, an interview with writer/director Dario Argento
• An Argento Icon, an interview with actor Gildo Di Marco
• Eva’s Talking, an archival interview with actor Eva Renzi
• Original Italian and international theatrical trailers
• 2017 Texas Frightmare trailer
• Image galleries
• Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring writing on the film by Howard Hughes and Jack Seabrook, and a new essay by Rachael Nisbet
• Fold-out double-sided poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Obviously Creative
• Six double-sided, postcard-sized lobby card reproduction artcards
• Limited edition packaging with reversible sleeve featuring originally and newly commissioned artwork by Obviously Creative