The stunning debut by Dario Argento the Italian Master of Terror deals with Sam Dalmas (Tony Musante), he is an American writer currently living in Rome with his model girlfriend Julia (Suzy Kendall). Sam meets with Carlo (Renato Romano) who gives him a check for his most recent work., Sam passes a small art gallery where he witnesses the attack of a woman (Eva Renzi) by a mysterious black-gloved assailant dressed in a raincoat. Sam then becomes involved in the mystery , carrying out a personal investigation to clear who's the alleged psychopatic murderer. Finally the police arrive and Sam discusses what he saw to Inspector Morosini (Enrico Maria Salerno). All the screaming in the world won't help!. A Jack-the-Ripper type story...with a twist!. Shock! Goosebump Tension!. Spine-tingling suspense that made Hitchcock a household word!. If you think you are being followed home from this movie, keep telling yourself that it's all in your mind !.
Vintage Argento mayhem with thriller, suspense, grisly killings, intrigue, twists and turns. A stunning portrait in psycho-terror, stars Tony Musante as an American writer living in Rome who witnesses a murder resulting in fateful consequences, along with other fine performers at the time, such as: Suzy Kendall , Enrico Maria Salerno, Eva Renzi, Umberto Raho, Renato Romano, Giuseppe Castellan, Werner Peters Reggie Nader and Mario Adorf. In his film debut Argento proves his capacity and skill on the cinematic shooting, showing the initial trademarks to be developed in his following films. This first important movie ¨The Bird With the Crystal Plumage" became an international hit, despite having continuous discussions with the main star, Tony Musante, who even claimed some authorship of the story. Argento followed up with two more thrillers, ¨The Cat o' Nine Tails¨ (1971), starring Karl Malden and James Franciscus, and ¨Four Flies on Grey Velvet¨(1971) starring Michael Brandon and Mimsy Farmer whose character and aspect bears remarkable resemblance to wife Daria Nocolodi which made her quite angry. These films were backed by his father Salvatore Argento who was the major promoter and producer, who financed all his projects and sometimes limited the highly imaginative and expensive productions that came out of Dario's mind. After this successful L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo(1970) in which Argento got a big hit in North America, he temporarily settled in the US, where he collaborated with director George A. Romero on the two-part horror-thriller ¨Two Evil Eyes¨ (1990) (he had previously collaborated with Romero on the horror action thriller ¨Dawn of the Dead¨ (1978)).
There's a suspenseful and thrilling musical score by maestro Morricone, including typical Ennio sounds. As well as a luxurious and evocative cinematography by expert cameraman Vittorio Storaro who would subsequently have a prestigious career for the best international directors. The motion picture was competent and originally directed by Dario Argento. Later ¨the bird with crystal plumage¨ Dario went back to directing so-called "giallo" thrillers, starting with ¨Deep Red¨ (1975), a violent mystery-thriller starring David Hemmings that inspired a number of international directors in the thriller-horror genre. His next work was ¨Suspiria¨ (1977), his masterpiece, a surreal horror film about a witch's coven that was inspired by the Gothic fairy tales of the Grimm Brothers and Hans Christian Anderson, which he also wrote in collaboration with his girlfriend, screenwriter/actress Daria Nicolodi, who acted in "Profondo Rosso" ("Deep Red") and most of Argento's films from then to the late 1980s. However, due to some vicissitudes, discussions and the little recognition of Nicolodi's authorship, it gave rise to the sad marital separation between her and Dario, which caused him deep sorrow. Argento advanced the unfinished trilogy with ¨Inferno¨ (1980), before returning to the "giallo" genre with ¨Tenebrae¨(1982), a sort of gory whodunit, and then with the haunting ¨Phenomena¨ (1985) with a very young actress: Jennifer Connellly. ). While still living in America, Argento appeared in small roles in several films and directed another violent mystery thriller, ¨Trauma¨ (1993), which starred his youngest daughter Asia Argento from his long-term relationship with Nicolodi. Argento returned to Italy in 1995, where he made a comeback in the horror genre with ¨The Stendhal Syndrome¨ (1996) and then with another version of "Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera",¨ The Phantom of the Opera¨ (1998), both of which starred Asia, in this last film she had her first on-screen love scene in front of her father, and where Asia said she lost her virginity. Most recently, Argento directed a number of "giallo" mystery thrillers such as: ¨Sleepless¨ (2001), ¨The Card Player¨ (2003) and ¨Do You Like Hitchcock?¨ (2005), as well as two gory, supernatural-themed episodes of the USA TV cable anthology series ¨Masters of Horror¨ (2005). Having always wanted to make a third chapter to his "Three Mothers" horror films, Argento finally completed the trilogy in 2007 with the release of ¨Mother of Tears¨ (2007). In addition to his Gothic and violent style of storytelling, "La terza madre" has many references to two of his previous films, "Suspiria" (1997) and "Inferno" (1980), which is a must for fans of the trilogy. L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo(1970) rating: 7/10. Essential and indispensable seeing for Dario Argento fans.
