Sam is an American author on holiday in Rome with his girlfriend. One night, when out for a stroll, he witnesses a graphic attempted murder. The killer gets away, and the police who arrive decide to confiscate Sam’s passport so that he can’t leave until their investigations are concluded. He decides to try and crack the case himself.

The Bird With The Crystal Plumage is Dario Argento’s directorial debut and is one of the most stylish, deftly directed and self-assured debuts I’ve ever seen. It’s a cracking horror/thriller/giallo movie and was a huge success both in Italy and overseas with both audiences and critics alike. It’s easy to see why it won so many people over, and it gets better with repeated viewings.

There are twists and turns galore within the narrative, and no, I’m not going to ruin anything here. I love the fact that the killer always seems to be one step ahead of the other characters and taunts them about this over the phone. Also, look out for the police lineup scene. It’s something else, even though it doesn’t last long. In fact, Bird seems to be years ahead of its time. There are also characters who are *shock horror* openly homosexual! This was heady stuff for 1970.

When the film was released in the US, some ads included a part of a review that compared it to Psycho. Whilst it’s a great film, I don’t think it’s up there with Hitchcock’s masterpiece (but not many films are). When it was released in the UK, it had the title of The Gallery Murders and was the second film in a double-bill with a movie called Groupie Girl (no, me neither).

Listen in awe to Ennio Morricone’s kickass score for the film that is just as brilliant as Argento’s work. It’s the perfect accompaniment.

The only downside to the film is trying to decide whether it’s my favourite Argento movie as it faces stiff competition from Tenebrae, Inferno, Deep Red, Suspiria…the list goes on.

4.5 out of 5 stars