The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970)
Giallo films existed before The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, but it’s this directorial debut by Dario Argento, who also handled the screenplay, that truly started a wave of the genre from about 1970-1975. It can be difficult for a first-time director to get his or her movie just right, but Argento did it, starting a career that has made him arguably the most popular Italian genre film director. With brilliant splashes of color, excellent camerawork, and a captivating plot, his cinematic knife found the target in this thriller.
The film begins with mysterious figure in black (standard villainous garb in giallo) typing a letter, then handling various knives, ultimately choosing a gleaming implement. In an intercut scene, we’re following a young woman who comes to a terrible end. This is just the prologue that sets the viewer on a mysterious journey through the eccentric Rome life of that time.
Sam Dalmas (Tony Musante) is an American writer, who’s been living in Rome with an English girlfriend, Julia (Suzy Kendall), for about two years. Unfortunately, he’s been suffering from writer’s block during this period due to his less-than-exciting experience in the country. His state of boredom will change when he witnesses an attempted murder, the central set piece of the film. Exquisitely filmed, it inserts realism in an avant-garde setting. Sam, with an almost-boyish sense of adventure, sets out on his own to find the culprit as the murderer continues to terrorize the city.
What keeps the interest of the viewer along the journey is not only the varied settings, but also the interesting characters that Sam comes across in his search. Argento filmed at day and night, in Rome and the suburbs of Naples, making use of the distinct character of late 1960’s/early 1970’s Italy. He included what could be viewed as eccentric characters that either help or hinder Sam as he seeks to identify the killer; for instance, there’s a painter that both draws and repels the viewer, who ends a scene with a smattering of black humor. Subsequent giallo films made it a point to have characters that serve as either red herrings or as comedic elements to lighten the dread.
Ennio Morricone composes a competent score for the scenes. It’s a combination of breezy vocal themes, discordant jazz, and moody orchestration. One used to his bombastic spaghetti western scores and his more recent Hollywood compositions may be put off a bit by most of the pieces. It’s not really a score to listen to on its own; however, the tracks have been fitted to suit the scenes, thus conveying the proper emotion at the right time.
As with any film, there are changes, even minor, that could possibly improve the work. The acting of the discovered murderer near the end of the film is somewhat over the top. The actor was probably directed to play it that way, and there were likely contemporary cultural reasons for depicting a psychotic in that form; however, the meticulous of the previous crimes and the disposition of the killer during this psychosis is too off. To add to this, there’s a final revelation that seems even more absurd, at least in terms of motive of some of the murders. However, one doesn’t come to giallo films for clear reasoning for the motives behind the crimes, and The Bird with the Crystal Plumage is one of the least egregious films.
If you have an interest in this genre, this film is a good place to start. It’s taut and not as convoluted as some the latter offerings in the genre. Those who have a history of viewing “cozy mysteries” will more likely latch onto this than onto some of Argento’s latter work or other lesser known Italian directors’ efforts in the field. Even after finding out the mystery of the culprit, you’ll probably want to return to the film to watch Argento paint his cinematic canvas.