The Bird with the Crystal Plumage

While not the first giallo film (Mario Bava’s 1963 work The Girl Who Knew Too Much gets that distinction), The Bird with the Crystal Plumage anticipates the indelible mark that Argento would leave on the genre. Tony Musante plays Sam, an American writer living in Rome. He witnesses a knife attack on a woman in an art gallery, but the leather-clad assailant escapes before Sam can stop him. Sam is not only a key witness for the police but gradually becomes obsessed with solving the case on his own. This is the first film in Argento’s Animal Trilogy and features a great score by Ennio Morricone. In Italian with English subtitles. (96 mins., 4K DCP)

The screening is introduced by Cleveland-based Laura Wimbels, creator and host of Lenora’s Midnight Rental, a monthly YouTube show that spotlights the golden age of VHS viewing, especially horror films for the Found Footage Festival.

See the complete Retrospective: Dario Argento lineup.

Please note: The films in this series include scenes of violence, horror gore, and other disturbing images.

IMAGE CAPTION  
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, courtesy of the American Genre Film Archive.