This film is currently unavailable

The Bird with the Crystal Plumage
Dario Argento's hugely influential thriller, about a murder witness who becomes amateur detective, added sex and style to the murder-mystery and kick-started Italy's 'giallo' genre.
Director: Dario Argento
Overview
Dario Argento's injection of high-style into the murder-mystery created a new genre (giallo) that was hugely successful and influential, inspiring American filmmakers such as Brian de Palma and Quentin Tarantino. Tony Musante stars as an American writer who witnesses a horrific murder, but is unable to glimpse the killer's face. As he becomes a target for the killer he decides to help the police with their investigation; all the time unable to pinpoint something unusual about the night of the murder that he can't recall.
Boasting gorgeous widescreen cinematography by Vittorio Storaro and Argento's flair for baroque set-pieces, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage was an overnight sensation, earning the director the nickname of 'the Italian Hitchcock'. Now hailed as the first fully formed 'giallo' - a distinctly stylish and European take on the whodunnit thriller - the film's template in fact derives from Argento's clever fusing of two elements from the films of his mentor and Italian horror forerunner, Mario Bava. Taking the idea of an innocent embroiled in a murder case who attempts to solve the case himself from Bava's 1963 film The Girl Who Knew Too Much, and marrying it with the black-gloved murderer and stylish killings of Blood on Black Lace (1964), Argento established the formula for a genre that would become a cornerstone of Italian cinema through the 1970s and 80s.
Related

White of the Eye White of the Eye
Thriller 1987 111 mins Director: Donald Cammell
British visionary Donald Cammell directs this kaleidoscopic, highly stylised thriller about a series of brutal murders in an isolated community.
The Seed of the Sacred Fig The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Thriller 2024 167 mins Director: Mohammad Rasoulof
Mohammad Rasoulof's powerful, vital, Oscar and BAFTA-nominated thriller about a bureaucrat torn between loyalty to his family and the Iranian regime.

Insomnia Insomnia
Thriller 2002 118 mins Director: Christopher Nolan
Al Pacino shines in Christopher Nolan’s smart psychological thriller about a weary detective chasing a murder suspect in remote Alaska.

The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael
Thriller 2006 94 mins Director: Thomas Clay
Thomas Clay’s unflinching story of teen drugs and violence scandalised the British film industry 20 years ago, but is arguably ripe for rehabilitation

Memories of Murder Memories of Murder
Detective drama 2003 131 mins Director: Bong Joon Ho
A pair of detectives clash trying to solve the brutal murder of two women, in Bong Joon Ho’s masterful blend of true crime and dark social satire.

Eat the Night Eat the Night
Thriller 2024 107 mins Director: Caroline Poggi and Johnathan Vinel
Siblings find passion and peril online and in the real world, in this visually electric French drama.

Suspiria Suspiria
Horror 1977 101 mins Director: Dario Argento
Dario Argento’s phantasmagoric gothic nightmare blends operatic violence, disorienting dream logic and hyper-real visuals to create a horror classic.

The Reckless Moment The Reckless Moment
Film noir 1949 82 mins Director: Max Ophuls
Joan Bennett and James Mason become entangled in a web of secrets and unexpected attraction Max Ophüls masterful domestic noir.

Fat City Fat City
Drama 1972 97 mins Director: John Huston
A washed-up boxer (Stacy Keach), and young hopeful (Jeff Bridges), navigate dreams and despair in John Huston’s gritty boxing drama.

Highway Patrolman Highway Patrolman
Drama 1991 105 mins Director: Alex Cox
Alex Cox’s Mexican film follows the journey of a highway patrolman whose idealism eventually gives way to inevitable corruption.

To Sleep with Anger To Sleep with Anger
Comedy 1990 102 mins Director: Charles Burnett
Charles Burnett's brilliant drama about an African American family reeling from a a surprise visit from an old friend, played by Danny Glover.

The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey
Period drama 1988 91 mins Director: Vincent Ward
A group of medieval English villagers find themselves transported to '80s New Zealand, in Vincent Ward's fusion of fantasy and time-travel.

Society Society
Horror 1989 99 mins Director: Brian Yuzna
A teenager uncovers an elite ritualistic society in Brian Yuzna's stomach-churning mix of body-horror and social commentary.