cinema history class: the bird with the crystal plumage (1970)

The session: "Giallos in Honor of Mrs. Zuber"
Keith's mother-in-law passed away, so this month of giallos is dedicated to her.

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL.

Week 1: The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970)
Directed by Daroio Argento

My Level of Prior Knowledge:
This is one of those movies that I was peripherally aware of -- primarily through my association with Keith and this class. But I really knew very little about it beyond the basics.

Plot:
After witnessing a murder, an writer decides to involve himself in the investigation -- with terrible consequences for himself and his lover.

Reaction and Other Folderol:
By way of full disclosure, I should note that I have, sadly, come to realize that I'm not really a big fan of the genre. I can't exactly say why. I remember, back in 2017, The Quad Cinema (in Manhattan's Greenwich Village) was having a Bava festival -- showing the films of Mario Bava. Ethan and I saw half a dozen or so Bava giallos, and I was less than enthralled. It has been suggested that I overloaded myself, seeing too many of the films in a short period, so maybe there's that.

At any rate (and trying to factor out my general disinterest in the giallos), this is a good mystery. There were many twists and turns, and I really had no idea where it was going until the end. There were a lot of red herrings, and I loved the sense of artistic voyeurism. Tony Musante, known for his performances in some great Spaghetti Westerns, turned in a really strong performance, but the real kudos go to Suzy Kendall who played the girlfriend. There's a scene near the end, where she is alone in her apartment trying to keep the murderer from breaking in. That scene is pure adrenaline and suspense, and Kendall made it.

I'm not sure what it says about how movies have trained me that, during the final scene -- almost an epilogue -- I kept expecting something shocking to happen. Maybe the plane would explode, maybe the flight attendant would reveal herself as the murderer. Something. After Carrie and other movies with endings that did the same, it just didn't feel right to me to have the movie end with a clear ending.

I'd like to note something about giallos. They tend to have poetic, intriguing titles that are peripherally related to the plot, but that don't really tell you what the movie is about. This is a good example -- the title is a reference to a specific -- and important -- element of the plot. But it doesn't really give much away. Unlike, say, Slumber Party Massacre, the tile of which kind of tells the audience exactly what to expect.

Ratings
Me: 8
Bob-O: 9.6
Christina: 9.6
Dave: 9.7
Ethan: 8.5
Joe: 10