BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE (1970)
Starring Tony Musante and Suzy Kendall
A must-see for Argento fans, this early film from the Italin Hitchcock features incredible cinematography and a complex mystery plot. Those familiar with Argento's films should be able to see the groundwork that was being laid for later classics like "Deep Red" in this one.
Musante plays an American writer in Rome who, after witnessing a murder, finds himself being stalked by the psychotic killer. The murder, which he sees through a large pane glass window, is beautifully filmed. The scene is as atmospheric and freaky as anything in an Argento film has ever been.
The story, lifted from the novel "Screaming Mimi" by Frederic Brown, is actually an intelligent mystery, and far more complex than most of the plots Argento bases his films on. This film would help launch the new subgenre in horror known as the giallo film -- Italian spaghetti horror films that generally feature black-gloved killers, lotsa blood, and complex mysteries.
Highly recommended, even though it's hard to find and is so mild compared to the director's other work that it only received a PG rating. Argento would follow it up with "Cat o Nine Tails."