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The Bird with the Crystal Plumage [Blu-ray] [1969]

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Tony Musante (Actor), Suzy Kendall (Actor), Dario Argento (Director) Rated: Suitable for 15 years and over Format: Blu-ray
4 out of 5 stars 48 customer reviews
1 new from £127.00 3 used from £49.95

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Product details

  • Actors: Tony Musante, Suzy Kendall, Eva Renzi, Enrico Maria Salerno, Mario Adorf
  • Directors: Dario Argento
  • Producers: Salvatore Argento
  • Format: Anamorphic, PAL, Widescreen
  • Language: English
  • Subtitles: English
  • Region: All Regions (Read more about DVD/Blu-ray formats.)
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: 15
  • Studio: Arrow Video
  • DVD Release Date: 13 Jun. 2011
  • Run Time: 96 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B003NEQ752
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 70,873 in DVD & Blu-ray (See Top 100 in DVD & Blu-ray)

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Product Description

Product Description

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.

Tony 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.

Special Features:

  • Brand new High Definition restoration of the film from the original negative presented in Director of Photography, Vittorio Storaro s original 2:1 Univisium aspect ratio
  • 4 Sleeve art options with original and newly commissioned artwork
  • Two-sided fold-out poster
  • Exclusive collector's booklet featuring brand new writing on the film by Alan Jones, author of Profondo Argento
  • Brand new HD restoration of the film presented in 1080p
  • A Crystal Classic: Luigi Cozzi Remembers Dario s Bloody Bird (1080p)
  • Sergio Martino: The Genesis of the Giallo (1080p)
  • The Italian Hitchcock: Dario Argento Remembers The Bird With the Crystal Plumage (1080p)

Review

Now king of the spaghetti slasher, Argento made his directorial debut with this tightly constructed thriller. --Geoff Andrew, Time Out

[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 such handsome new décor. --New York Times

Argentos most Hitchcockian venture --Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine

[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 such handsome new décor. --New York Times

Argentos most Hitchcockian venture --Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine

[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 such handsome new décor. --New York Times

Argentos most Hitchcockian venture --Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine

[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 such handsome new décor. --New York Times

Argentos most Hitchcockian venture --Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine

[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 such handsome new décor. --New York Times

Argentos most Hitchcockian venture --Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine

[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 such handsome new décor. --New York Times

Argentos most Hitchcockian venture --Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine

[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 such handsome new décor. --New York Times

Argentos most Hitchcockian venture --Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine

[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 such handsome new décor. --New York Times

Argentos most Hitchcockian venture --Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine

[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 such handsome new décor. --New York Times

Argentos most Hitchcockian venture --Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine

[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 such handsome new décor. --New York Times

Argentos most Hitchcockian venture --Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine

[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 such handsome new décor. --New York Times

Argentos most Hitchcockian venture --Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine

[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 such handsome new décor. --New York Times

Argentos most Hitchcockian venture --Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsExcellent debut
By Jamie S. on 8 Feb. 2006
Format: DVD
This is the first Dario Argento film I have seen and chose to see it first because it is his directorial debut. Unlike the films he is best known for, namely horror, this film is more of a suspense thriller. The plot surrounds the murders of three women in Rome and an attempted murder of another women. The attempted murder is witnessed by an American tourist who then becomes involved in the police investigation when they confiscate his passport. The direction is excellent and right up until the final scenes you have no idea who the killer really is. This film may look a bit dated now compared to some of the polished, modern hollywood productions. However the film is still excellently put togehter and well worth seeing before you see other films by Dario Argento.
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5.0 out of 5 starsMagnificent Debut from the Italian Master
By Colonel Decker on 3 Oct. 2013
Format: DVD
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage was Dario Argento's first film and yet it is made with such maturity and thought that it could have been a film made bang in his prime.

There are touches of Bava and especially Hitchcock in here. The chase scene on foot reminds one of the scene in Torn Curtain made just a few years prior to this.

Now to be honest with you I am not a big fan of the man in the street witnessing a murder and then investigating it. As is such the case with this film. In reality surely he would leave that job to the police? This theme is repeated in the often loved Deep Red, which in my opinion I feel is overrated.

Here it works because instead of having some superb individual scenes which Deep Red has, this film is much more engaging for the viewer.

You are drawn into the characters, the script is tight, the killings highly effective or for a better word atmospheric and there is even a hint of light comedy in a few scenes.

It's a five star film all the way, and it is still stunning to think this was Argento's first effort. What an effort.

My DVD purchase that I am basing this review on is from the Blue Underground 2 disc collection. Superb widescreen picture, comes with plenty of extras and commentary. This I think is the way to go with this purchase.

An excellent film, no question.
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4.0 out of 5 stars"Bring in the perverts!" - and avoid Arrow's UK Blu-ray!
By Trevor Willsmer HALL OF FAMETOP 50 REVIEWER on 28 July 2006
Format: DVD
NB: As is their wont, Amazon have combined reviews of multiple editions from different labels on different formats. This review refers to the Blue Unerground US release and Arrow's UK release.

The Bird with the Crystal Plumage is not particularly gory, but it does establish a blueprint for most of Dario Argento's later work, with the crucial misunderstood attempted murder both referencing Antonioni's Blow-Up and prefiguring the killer-in-plain-sight twist of Deep Red. Best of all is Argento's mastery of vivid color and the Scope frame (the gallery window is even designed at an exact 2.35:1 to match the screen ratio). It still lacks the bravura and panache that would distinguish Deep Red, Suspiria and Inferno, and the best that can be said of the performances is that they don't get in the way: Tony Musante's hero and Mario Adorf's cameo as a cat-eating artist pass muster, as does Enrico Maria Salerno, the Italian voice of Clint Eastwood in Sergio Leone's westerns (the perverse side of my nature thought Eastwood could at least have returned the compliment by dubbing him into English), but Suzy Kendall definitely looks better than she acts and some of the supporting cast pull out most of the stops. Still how can you not love a film with lines like "How many times do I have to tell you, Ursula Andress belongs with the transvestites, not the perverts!"

Blue Underground's Region 1 NTSC DVD and now sadly deleted Blu-ray is some 30 seconds longer than the previous VCI issue and boasts superb picture quality and a choice of English or Italian tracks (it was shot in English, as per all of Argento's films).Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsVCI DISC IS A WORTHY INVESTMENT.
By Mr. K. Arts on 16 Sept. 2013
Format: Blu-ray Verified Purchase
***THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE VCI BLU-RAY!!!*****

Dario Argento's debut, that established his name as a major figure in film-making has had some rough treatment over the years. Most famously Arrow released a director of photography approved transfer from Vittorio Storaro that looked ok but was in entirely the wrong ratio. As a result the Blue underground release shot up in value after it went out of print and collectors have had to pay a hefty sum to get a quality HD release of the film. This seems to be as a result of European and American releasing company's having access to different materials and the general complexity of international film rights.

VCI have delivered a print that's region free and actually looks SLIGHTLY better than the Blue underground one. Fans who own the BU release need not rush out to claim this release as while the color scheme is somewhat brighter and more vivid, and more detail apparent with a nice layer of natural film grain, the release is not a big enough upgrade to warrant jettisoning those BU discs just yet. It has the complete soundtrack on the blu-ray and a trailer but it also lacks the added bonus material also found on both the Blue underground and Arrow releases.

The Cheapest option for newcomers is to pick up this release for the film, and if the added bonus materials are your thing, pay a lot less for the Arrow release which generally goes for next to nothing, and save yourself a few quid on the eye wateringly expensive BU release.

Overall though, this is an excellent presentation of the film from VCI at an affordable price.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsBird with the Crystal plumage.

One of Dario argento best films. Recommended.

Published 1 month ago by roy beech r.beech
4.0 out of 5 starsSeen of a whitnessed brutal attck in a museum, ...

Seen of a whitnessed brutal attck in a museum, the police are interested to question the man concerned. Being an American citzen in Italy, they keep his passport. Read more

Published 4 months ago by David
4.0 out of 5 starsFour Stars

A good Argento giallo

Published 6 months ago by Susan Foreman
4.0 out of 5 starsOne of Argento's masterpieces

One of Argento's masterpieces. From that magic era when he used to make thriller and not ridiculous horror. In thrillers you can't do wahtever you want. Read more

Published 8 months ago by Elleppi
2.0 out of 5 starsHighly Overrrated Snorefest!

Dario Argento has always seemed to me,to be a highly overrated Director and Crystal Plummage is an obvious example of this. Read more

Published 8 months ago by Mrs. D. Moncrieff
5.0 out of 5 starsRegion Free - This disc is not region locked.

Great film and bluray. Not region locked as stated. Plays on UK PS3, PS4 and BluRay player fine.

Published 9 months ago by Zak Stargrinder
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

excellent

Published 10 months ago by Lesley Johnston-Clark
3.0 out of 5 starsAwful transfer from Arrow on Blu-ray

I'm really surprised people haven't made a bigger fuss about it, but I was really let down by this Arrow Blu-ray release of TBWTCP. Read more

Published 11 months ago by A. Salas
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

goood

Published 11 months ago by david
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

v.happy

Published 14 months ago by emyr glyn williams

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