Rating: 
Summary: Argento vs. Hitchcock art??
Review: I own this movie and it's very a good one!! If you like Hitchcock movies, this one is a must-have like almost all of the movies by Argento!! We have the constant terror feeling in the movie and wow the ending totally stunned me!! It's not very young but it's great quality and a good directing with an acceptable casting!! Own it, it's very not dissapointing me!
Rating:
Summary: His first and arguably one of his best
Review: I really couldn't tell you why I have yet to watch every film in Dario Argento's filmography. A few years ago it was easy to claim ignorance of many of this Italian director's important works because it was often so difficult to find any of them in an uncut form. Fortunately, DVD arrived on the scene and salivating film fans with dollars to spend prodded numerous companies to start churning out any movie they could get their hands on to satiate the masses. It wasn't too long before practically every Argento film arrived on store shelves, with many of these releases being the uncut, unrated editions. Even Troma, the flagship of flaccid filmmaking, released a so-so version of Argento's "The Stendhal Syndrome." People outside of the world of Italian horror cinema have most likely never heard of Dario Argento, unfortunately. These days, more people are familiar with the director's beautiful daughter Asia than with the horror maestro himself. What a shame. Argento's films, at least the ones I have seen, are masterpieces of style injected with truly cringe inducing gore. And to think it all started in earnest with this engaging Hitchcockian thriller, "The Bird With the Crystal Plumage." Argento and his fans never looked back, but this is an apt starting point for those unfamiliar with this director's work.An American reporter staying in Rome witnesses a truly shattering event one evening when he sees a gruesome assault takes place inside of an art gallery. Barred from interfering with the proceedings due to huge sliding glass doors, Sam Dalmas can only look on with horror as two figures, one clad entirely in black and the other a woman, struggle with each other over a very shiny knife. The person in black flees the scene of the crime, leaving behind the hapless woman with a knife wound to the abdomen. When Dalmas does his duty by calling in the police, his story leads the officers to cast a doubtful eye on the concerned American. The police insist that Sam stay in Rome until the investigation turns up some clues, much to the consternation of Dalmas and his pretty girlfriend Julia. It seems that Sam was planning to leave Rome, but all bets are off as more murders occur that the police suspect are linked to the crime seen by Dalmas. Moreover, Julia and Sam start receiving grim phone calls from an unknown person who almost certainly is the figure behind these crimes. Our hero is in a real fix, with his only supporters being his woman and a friend who works at a museum. At least the cops start to come over to his side as the bodies pile up, especially once they listen to those eerie phone calls. A unique sound in the background of one of these calls provides the break Dalmas needs to identify the killer he saw on that fateful night. The conclusion has more twists and turns than a cyclone. "The Bird With the Crystal Plumage" helped inaugurate the era of the Italian giallo (Italian for yellow), so named because in Italy cheap paperback crime novels came with yellow covers. These are the films with the anonymous, black-gloved killers toting gruesome looking knives while stalking their mostly female prey. The crimes are often seen from the point of view of the killer, giving the audience the impression that they are part of the heinous murders. Argento plays the giallo for all its worth here, matching this disturbing technique with a great score by the inestimable Ennio Morricone and camera work rarely seen in the horror genre. The cinematography here is simply divine, with the director including a shot from the point of view of a man falling from a tall building and an ultra cool scene where the camera points at a lighted doorway from inside a darkened room. All these elements combine to make this film a taut thriller of enormously entertaining dimensions. Moreover, of the few Argento films I have seen to date, "The Bird With the Crystal Plumage" contains one of his most coherent plotlines. Gorehounds might find themselves a bit disappointed with the lack of the trademark Argento gore (no sharp corners to bash a head against here!) in this movie, but the stellar camera work, truly creepy scenes of murder and mayhem, and the strong performances from Tony Musante as Sam Dalmas and Suzy Kendall in the Julia role more than make up for the 'PG' rating. Still, that rating made me wonder a bit about what the people at the MPAA were thinking when they viewed this picture. There is upsetting violence here, along with some truly disturbing scenes that hint at where Argento would go in the future. The way the killer caresses those weird looking blades (one of which, I am almost certain, appeared in a later Argento film called "Deep Red") and the participatory effect the audience feels during the killings makes you wonder how this movie got off with such a mundane rating. The DVD version of "The Bird With the Crystal Plumage" is strictly bare bones: you get the film and a trailer, which is good considering its relative obscurity but could have been better. As others have said, the audio is quite muzzy at times and the picture quality isn't anything to write home to mother about. After viewing this picture and a couple of other Argento films, I must say I really enjoy how these movies mess with your mind. Just when you think you know what's going on, good old Dario throws another curveball. He does this in many of his films, but he does it here for the first time. What a joy it is to watch it today!
Rating: 
Summary: A brillant debut!!!
Review: I saw this movie after seeing many other films from the master of horror Dario Argento and I was a little scared about this one but surprisingly I found it very interesting for a first picture from a new director. The cold colors, the calculating plot and suspense keep you into a nail bitting tension from the start to the end. The only bad thing from the movie is probably the english traduction but this is very often from foreign motion pictures. It`s a must for the fans of Dario but also a great thriller for the others.
Rating: 
Summary: plain out [bad]
Review: I wish I would have listened to my inuition about older films like this: they're never as good as they used to be. I've heard from many old timers that Dario Argento created these really cool suspenseful films that had an oddball twist in the end. Comparisons to the Sixth Sense were often made. Damnit! This movie is SO FAR below the standards of film cinema that have emerged in recent years that I would be [angry] if I had to watch it free on TV! If you're under 30, please do not watch these older films unless to satisfy your curiosity. Hitchcock was great during his time, but watching Psycho bored the hell out of me.
Rating:
Summary: Stylish and surprising thriller
Review: Mr. Stylish Himself Dario Argento debuted with this eerie and edgy little thriller/mystery about a writer living in Rome who witnesses an attempted murder in an art gallery while walking home one night. With the feeling that he is missing something in the scene he begins his own investigation, parts of which are a painting made before the first murder depicting a man in a black rain coat murdering a young woman, an eccentric old artist, a stuttering, lovable man who swears he isn't a pimp, and a clicking sound recording during one of the killer's threatening phone calls to him. Everything wraps up to a very good and very surprising ending. Has good photography and music, as well as a talented cast of lesser known European actors.
Rating:
Summary: One Of Argento's Best Films
Review: Opening the film, a man observes a murder but doesn't know what he saw happen...(typical Argento themata). As the plot thickens, the killer takes on a masochistic hatred of our hero, making his existence not only tortured (mind) but pursues him vehemently, almost as badly as the protagonist pursues the killer. Cat and mouse games indeed, and a complex, thrilling plot. A must see, even for non-Argentophiles.
Rating:
Summary: Fast-paced and clever
Review: There are two types of Dario Argento films: those after "Four Flies on Grey Velvet" (excluding "The Five Days of Milan," which was never released in the U.S.) and those before it. "The Bird With the Crystal Plumage," Argento's first film, belongs to the category of the before and includes the noticeable differences between the two. While the entire body of Argento's work is something to admire, his first three films are surprisingly well-plotted, given Argento's notorious lack of interest in matters of narrative structure. "Bird" begins with Sam Dalmas, an American writer living in Rome, witnessing an attempted murder in an art gallery. Though he is unable to do anything, his fortuitous arrival saves the victim from almost certain death. His passport confiscated and at first held as a suspect, Sam is told by the police that this is the fourth attack in one month. The only difference is, the victim, a beautiful woman named Monica Ranieri, was the first to survive. Troubled by the idea that he saw something that didn't quite fit, he soon begins his own investigation, putting both his life and the life of his girlfriend at great risk. Several attempts are made on their lives, and everytime Sam is able to learn of someone who might be able to help him, that person is murdered. Finally, in a double-twist ending, Argento reveals the identity of the killer in a cleverly constructed manner. A pure delight from start to finish, "Bird With the Crystal Plumage" is one of the most entertaining (if minimal) thrillers since Hitchcock. Another attribute is Argento's knack for always creating a cast of wonderfully offbeat characters. Be sure to catch Inspector Morosini's exclamation regarding the "perverts" in the line-up sequence. Black humor is equally interwoven with generous amounts of suspense to create a fast-paced and clever mystery/thriller.
Rating:
Summary: Fast-paced and clever
Review: There are two types of Dario Argento films: those after "Four Flies on Grey Velvet" (excluding "The Five Days of Milan," which was never released in the U.S.) and those before it. "The Bird With the Crystal Plumage," Argento's first film, belongs to the category of the before and includes the noticeable differences between the two. While the entire body of Argento's work is something to admire, his first three films are surprisingly well-plotted, given Argento's notorious lack of interest in matters of narrative structure. "Bird" begins with Sam Dalmas, an American writer living in Rome, witnessing an attempted murder in an art gallery. Though he is unable to do anything, his fortuitous arrival saves the victim from almost certain death. His passport confiscated and at first held as a suspect, Sam is told by the police that this is the fourth attack in one month. The only difference is, the victim, a beautiful woman named Monica Ranieri, was the first to survive. Troubled by the idea that he saw something that didn't quite fit, he soon begins his own investigation, putting both his life and the life of his girlfriend at great risk. Several attempts are made on their lives, and everytime Sam is able to learn of someone who might be able to help him, that person is murdered. Finally, in a double-twist ending, Argento reveals the identity of the killer in a cleverly constructed manner. A pure delight from start to finish, "Bird With the Crystal Plumage" is one of the most entertaining (if minimal) thrillers since Hitchcock. Another attribute is Argento's knack for always creating a cast of wonderfully offbeat characters. Be sure to catch Inspector Morosini's exclamation regarding the "perverts" in the line-up sequence. Black humor is equally interwoven with generous amounts of suspense to create a fast-paced and clever mystery/thriller.
Rating: 
Summary: For Completists Only
Review: This Argento mystery isn't bad but I enjoyed SUSPIRIA and TENEBRE much more (they were more colorful, gorier and crazier!). Much of what Argento became famous for is found here, his first directorial effort: characters who say and do bizarre things inappropriate to their circumstances (the day after Suzy Kendall is attacked in their apartment, she and her lover are there going about their business with the door unlocked!), a convoluted mystery, good-looking women victims. All that is missing is the intense, colorful gore. Finally, let's not leave out the unintentional hilarity of the detective bringing along the writer on the investigations!
Rating:
Summary: A SUSPENSEFUL THRILLER!!!
Review: THIS FILM HAS THE RIGHT ATMOSPHERE FOR A CREEPY THRILLER AND IT KEEPS YOU INTERESTED THROUGHOUT.
THE MOVIE ALSO FEATURES A "SURPRISE" ENDING THAT YOU PROBABLY WON'T PREDICT.
IT'S FAIRLY SAFE TO SAY THAT THIS THRILLER SUCCEEDS ON ALL LEVELS AND IS A GOOD WAY TO PASS 100 MINS. PLUS!!
I ENJOYED THIS HORROR THRILLER AS YOU WILL WHEN YOU SEE IT!!
IF YOU ENJOY THE MOVIES OF HITCHCOCK, YOU MAY ENJOY THIS FILM ALSO!!
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