1970 | X | 1h 36min
Horror | Mystery | Thriller | Foreign Language
Written by Argento, the film borrowed liberally from Fredric Brown's novel The Screaming Mimi, which had previously been made into a Hollywood film, Screaming Mimi (1958), directed by Gerd Oswald.
Horror | Mystery | Thriller | Foreign Language
Original Title The Bird with the Crystal Plumage
Director Dario Argento
Stars Tony Musante, Suzy Kendall, Enrico Maria Salerno, Eva Renzi
Release Date 19 February 1970 (Italy)
Country of Origin Italy | West Germany
Language(s) Spoken Italian
Sound Mono | Colour Colour Aspect Ratio 2.35 : 1
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (Italian: L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo) is a 1970 giallo film directed by Dario Argento, in his directorial debut. The film has been credited with popularizing the Italian giallo genre. It is the first installment in the Animal Trilogy, and was followed by The Cat o' Nine Tails (1971) and Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1972).
Stylistic.
The film was nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe award for best motion picture in 1971. The film was originally cut by 20 seconds for its US release and received a 'GP' rating, though it was later re-classified as 'PG'. It has since been released in the US uncut. Upon its release the film was a huge box office hit, grossing 1,650,000,000 Italian Lira, The film was also a success outside of Italy, gaining €1,366,884 admissions in Spain.
"Now king of the spaghetti slasher, Argento made his directorial debut with this tightly constructed thriller."—David Thompson, Time Out