Actor Robert Blake, a man with a long and complex legacy, has died, a representative for his son-in-law Gregg Hurwitz confirmed to Variety. The former child actor was best known for his Emmy-winning role as the cockatoo-owning undercover cop in the popular 1970s TV series “Baretta” and, more infamously, for his trial following the 2001 murder of his wife. He was 89.
As reported by the Associated Press, Blake died from heart disease on Thursday at his home in Los Angeles.
These two aspects of Blake’s legacy were inseparable in some ways, and the personal turmoil that made the latter at least circumstantially plausible (the case against Blake hinged on motive — he may have wanted to be free of his rocky marriage) fueled his acting.
Blake was acquitted of the murder charge, as well as of one count of soliciting murder, in his criminal trial in 2005, but in a civil trial later that year,...
As reported by the Associated Press, Blake died from heart disease on Thursday at his home in Los Angeles.
These two aspects of Blake’s legacy were inseparable in some ways, and the personal turmoil that made the latter at least circumstantially plausible (the case against Blake hinged on motive — he may have wanted to be free of his rocky marriage) fueled his acting.
Blake was acquitted of the murder charge, as well as of one count of soliciting murder, in his criminal trial in 2005, but in a civil trial later that year,...
- 3/10/2023
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
One of director Dario Argento's first jobs was writing the script for Sergio Leone's celebrated Western "Once Upon a Time in the West." Argento also wrote multiple other thrillers and genre films in his native Italy before directing his first feature "The Bird with the Crystal Plumage" in 1970. It proved to be the first of three amazing gialli that would prove to be Argento's calling card. The other two would be "Cat o' Nine Tails" and "Four Flies on Gray Velvet," completing what is now called The Animal Trilogy.
"The Bird with the Crystal Plumage" is about an American couple vacationing in Rome, when one of them (Tony Musante) witnesses a murder in an art gallery. The man is so shaken by what he saw that he ends up joining the police investigation. There are many plot reveals involving who was buying and selling paintings from the gallery,...
"The Bird with the Crystal Plumage" is about an American couple vacationing in Rome, when one of them (Tony Musante) witnesses a murder in an art gallery. The man is so shaken by what he saw that he ends up joining the police investigation. There are many plot reveals involving who was buying and selling paintings from the gallery,...
- 10/20/2022
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Dario Argento’s chilling giallo aesthetic kicks off the summer season at Film at Lincoln Center.
IndieWire exclusively announces “Beware of Dario Argento: A 20-Film Retrospective” hosted by Film at Lincoln Center and Cinecittà. The retrospective rolls out from June 17 through 29, and ushers in the third decade of collaboration between Film at Lincoln Center and Italian state-owned film archive Cinecittà, whose main shareholder is the Italian Ministry of Culture.
Argento’s vast catalog of classic films like “Suspiria” and “Inferno,” both part of the “Three Mothers” trilogy, debut new 4K restorations by Cinecittà. Seventeen films are newly restored. The famed director will be in person for select screenings, introducing films and conducting Q&As. The lineup also will host the North American Premiere of “Dark Glasses,” Argento’s first film in 10 years, distributed by Shudder.
“We are delighted to celebrate the 30th anniversary of our ongoing partnership with Flc, by...
IndieWire exclusively announces “Beware of Dario Argento: A 20-Film Retrospective” hosted by Film at Lincoln Center and Cinecittà. The retrospective rolls out from June 17 through 29, and ushers in the third decade of collaboration between Film at Lincoln Center and Italian state-owned film archive Cinecittà, whose main shareholder is the Italian Ministry of Culture.
Argento’s vast catalog of classic films like “Suspiria” and “Inferno,” both part of the “Three Mothers” trilogy, debut new 4K restorations by Cinecittà. Seventeen films are newly restored. The famed director will be in person for select screenings, introducing films and conducting Q&As. The lineup also will host the North American Premiere of “Dark Glasses,” Argento’s first film in 10 years, distributed by Shudder.
“We are delighted to celebrate the 30th anniversary of our ongoing partnership with Flc, by...
- 5/31/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Hello, everyone! Before we say goodbye to the month of July, we have one last round of home media releases on tap, and there are a lot of great films headed to Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K that genre fans are going to want to check out. After a successful run in theaters, A Quiet Place Part II is getting released on a variety of formats, and if you haven’t had a chance to nab the first film as part of your collection, Paramount has also put together a 2-Movie Collection for the Quiet Place films on Blu-ray as well.
Both Dario Argento’s The Bird with the Crystal Plumage and Don Coscarelli’s The Beastmaster are getting the 4K treatment this Tuesday, and Scream Factory is keeping busy with a handful of releases this week, too, including The Dead Zone, Brotherhood of the Wolf, and Chamber of Horrors. Other...
Both Dario Argento’s The Bird with the Crystal Plumage and Don Coscarelli’s The Beastmaster are getting the 4K treatment this Tuesday, and Scream Factory is keeping busy with a handful of releases this week, too, including The Dead Zone, Brotherhood of the Wolf, and Chamber of Horrors. Other...
- 7/26/2021
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
The newest addition to the stable of horror and sci-fi on Ultra HD is Dario Argento’s debut feature, the game-changer that launched the full-blown giallo thriller. Argento takes a few twists from the Hitchcock playbook but otherwise shapes his whodunnit with a new, slick style of his own. Cinematography by Vittorio Storaro and design by Dario Micheli emphasize visual texture and tactility — we contemplate soft skin, slippery plastic and sharp straight razors. The horrors embrace architecture and high fashion, exchanging visual fetishes for psychological depth. And don’t forget a typically eccentric Ennio Morricone music score. As always, Arrow includes a full menu of extra delights.
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage
Ultra HD + Blu-ray
Arrow Academy
1970 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 97 min. / Street Date July 27, 2021 / L’uccello dalle piume di cristallo / Limited Edition
Starring: Starring: Tony Musante, Suzy Kendall, Enrico Maria Salerno, Eva Renzi, Umberto Raho, Raf Valenti, Giuseppe Castellano,...
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage
Ultra HD + Blu-ray
Arrow Academy
1970 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 97 min. / Street Date July 27, 2021 / L’uccello dalle piume di cristallo / Limited Edition
Starring: Starring: Tony Musante, Suzy Kendall, Enrico Maria Salerno, Eva Renzi, Umberto Raho, Raf Valenti, Giuseppe Castellano,...
- 7/24/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
“I can hear it now: “Go to Italy. It’s a peaceful country, nothing much ever happens there.”
Dario Argento’s The Bird With The Crystal Plumage (19709) will available on 4K Ultra HD July 27th from Arrow Video. Ordering info can be found Here
In 1970, young first-time director Dario Argento made his indelible mark on Italian cinema with The Bird with the Crystal Plumage – a film which redefined the ‘giallo’ genre of murder-mystery thrillers and catapulted him to international stardom. Sam Dalmas, an American writer living in Rome, inadvertently witnesses a brutal attack on a woman in a modern art gallery. Powerless to help, he grows increasingly obsessed with the incident. Convinced that something he saw that night holds the key to identifying the maniac terrorizing Rome, he launches his own investigation parallel to that of the police, heedless of the danger to both himself and his girlfriend Giulia.
A staggeringly assured debut,...
Dario Argento’s The Bird With The Crystal Plumage (19709) will available on 4K Ultra HD July 27th from Arrow Video. Ordering info can be found Here
In 1970, young first-time director Dario Argento made his indelible mark on Italian cinema with The Bird with the Crystal Plumage – a film which redefined the ‘giallo’ genre of murder-mystery thrillers and catapulted him to international stardom. Sam Dalmas, an American writer living in Rome, inadvertently witnesses a brutal attack on a woman in a modern art gallery. Powerless to help, he grows increasingly obsessed with the incident. Convinced that something he saw that night holds the key to identifying the maniac terrorizing Rome, he launches his own investigation parallel to that of the police, heedless of the danger to both himself and his girlfriend Giulia.
A staggeringly assured debut,...
- 6/29/2021
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
[This October is "Gialloween" on Daily Dead, as we celebrate the Halloween season by diving into the macabre mysteries, creepy kills, and eccentric characters found in some of our favorite giallo films! Keep checking back on Daily Dead this month for more retrospectives on classic, cult, and altogether unforgettable gialli, and visit our online hub to catch up on all of our Gialloween special features!]
The beginning isn’t always the start; what appears to be fully formed still has branches screaming at the roots of whence it came. This is my florid way of saying that Dario Argento’s remarkable The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970) may not be Giallo Ground Zero, but rather cemented the form in ways still felt today. This is one of the best feature debuts in all of horror.
Argento had already been involved with the Italian film industry before Bird; starting out as a film critic before moving on to screenwriting (he co-wrote the story for Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West), and eventually wresting control for himself. The result is a film that not only captured audiences back in his homeland, but had some critics calling him the “Italian Hitchcock”. A little early in the game perhaps - but this happens when someone...
The beginning isn’t always the start; what appears to be fully formed still has branches screaming at the roots of whence it came. This is my florid way of saying that Dario Argento’s remarkable The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970) may not be Giallo Ground Zero, but rather cemented the form in ways still felt today. This is one of the best feature debuts in all of horror.
Argento had already been involved with the Italian film industry before Bird; starting out as a film critic before moving on to screenwriting (he co-wrote the story for Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West), and eventually wresting control for himself. The result is a film that not only captured audiences back in his homeland, but had some critics calling him the “Italian Hitchcock”. A little early in the game perhaps - but this happens when someone...
- 10/17/2020
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
1996: Gh's Brenda called Miguel for help stopping Sonny's wedding.
2004: Days of our Lives' Tony "died" following a tiger attack.
2007: All My Children's Dixie "died" after eating poisoned pancakes.
2014: Billy and Adam were involved in a fiery crash on The Young and the Restless."History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into different and unexpected images."
― Anselm Kiefer
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1958: On The Edge of Night, Bill (Carl Frank) and Mike (John Larkin) tried to convince Dalton there may be mitigating circumstances in the case, but he insisted on moving forward with the prosecution as quickly as possible.
2004: Days of our Lives' Tony "died" following a tiger attack.
2007: All My Children's Dixie "died" after eating poisoned pancakes.
2014: Billy and Adam were involved in a fiery crash on The Young and the Restless."History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into different and unexpected images."
― Anselm Kiefer
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1958: On The Edge of Night, Bill (Carl Frank) and Mike (John Larkin) tried to convince Dalton there may be mitigating circumstances in the case, but he insisted on moving forward with the prosecution as quickly as possible.
- 1/30/2019
- by Roger Newcomb
- We Love Soaps
1976: Another World's Mac told Iris to leave Clarice alone.
1978: Dallas' Ray fell for country singer Garnet McGee.
1984: Days' Bo found Roman dead but the body disappeared.
1985: Ryan's Hope's Jillian couldn't remember Frank."The best prophet of the future is the past."
― Lord Byron
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1957: On The Edge of Night, Billy (Pud Flanagan) asked Mary (Anne Sargent) and Roger (Allan Nourse) Harper to legally adopt him.
1963: General Hospital introduced a new opening sequence.
1969: On The Doctors, Dr. Nick Bellini (Gerald Gordon) clashed with Dr. Steve Aldrich (David O'Brien) after Nick's wife, Althea, walked out on him. Meanwhile, the staff...
1978: Dallas' Ray fell for country singer Garnet McGee.
1984: Days' Bo found Roman dead but the body disappeared.
1985: Ryan's Hope's Jillian couldn't remember Frank."The best prophet of the future is the past."
― Lord Byron
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1957: On The Edge of Night, Billy (Pud Flanagan) asked Mary (Anne Sargent) and Roger (Allan Nourse) Harper to legally adopt him.
1963: General Hospital introduced a new opening sequence.
1969: On The Doctors, Dr. Nick Bellini (Gerald Gordon) clashed with Dr. Steve Aldrich (David O'Brien) after Nick's wife, Althea, walked out on him. Meanwhile, the staff...
- 11/27/2018
- by Roger Newcomb
- We Love Soaps
Suspiria. Courtesy of Tk.Cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, who shot Dario Argento’s debut The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970), believes it to be “the blueprint for all Argento movies.” It first introduced the gloved hands and the knives. It displayed a tendency towards strange supporting characters and underlying fetishes. As a film about seeing and memory, Argento would essentially remake the film in 1975 as Deep Red, but would incorporate these fractured images and wounded pasts into nearly all his characters and the films that would follow. His cinema is one of convoluted gender roles and impotence. Argento’s films evolve and progress over time, but always keep traveling back to these same questions, essentially using the framework of The Bird with the Crystal Plumage in various settings and situations in his attempts to dig deeper into these issues. It is an investigation that begins two years prior to Argento’s directorial debut,...
- 9/23/2018
- MUBI
“Right! Bring in the perverts!”
The Bird With The Crystal Plumage screens Midnights this weekend (July 13th and 14th) at The Moolah Theater and Lounge as part of Destroy the Brain’s monthly Late Nite Grindhouse film series.
Having served his time in the cinematic trenches both as a film critic and a screenwriter (notably collaborating with Bernardo Bertolucci on Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West), Dario Argento, the man who would become known as “The Italian Hitchcock” made his directorial debut with The Bird With The Crystal Plumage, a snappy little giallo, the success of which cemented his path within the genre. Admittedly, there are only a few moments of outright horror and/or gore, but the newcomer’s sharp grasp of tension, atmosphere, camerawork, and pacing are beyond reproach in this telling of Sam, a vacationing American (Tony Musante) who on his last day...
The Bird With The Crystal Plumage screens Midnights this weekend (July 13th and 14th) at The Moolah Theater and Lounge as part of Destroy the Brain’s monthly Late Nite Grindhouse film series.
Having served his time in the cinematic trenches both as a film critic and a screenwriter (notably collaborating with Bernardo Bertolucci on Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West), Dario Argento, the man who would become known as “The Italian Hitchcock” made his directorial debut with The Bird With The Crystal Plumage, a snappy little giallo, the success of which cemented his path within the genre. Admittedly, there are only a few moments of outright horror and/or gore, but the newcomer’s sharp grasp of tension, atmosphere, camerawork, and pacing are beyond reproach in this telling of Sam, a vacationing American (Tony Musante) who on his last day...
- 7/10/2018
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
New Yorkers of two centuries ago surely complained loudly about rampant street crime, but in the 1960s the media really ramped up the reportage paranoia. Had a new age of senseless violence begun? A New York play about terror on the subway is the source for this nail-biter with a powerful cast, featuring an ensemble of sharp new faces and undervalued veterans.
The Incident
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1967 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 99 min. / Street Date February 20, 2018 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95
Starring: Tony Musante, Martin Sheen, Beau Bridges, Jack Gilford, Thelma Ritter, Brock Peters, Ruby Dee, Ed McMahon, Diana Van der Vlis, Mike Kellin, Jan Sterling, Gary Merrill, Robert Fields, Robert Bannard, Victor Arnold, Donna Mills.
Cinematography: Gerald Hirschfeld
Film Editor: Armond Lebowitz
Production design: Manny Gerard
Original Music: Terry Knight, Charles Fox
Written by Nicholas E. Baehr
Produced by Edward Meadow, Monroe Sachson
Directed by Larry Peerce
Various pundits...
The Incident
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1967 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 99 min. / Street Date February 20, 2018 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95
Starring: Tony Musante, Martin Sheen, Beau Bridges, Jack Gilford, Thelma Ritter, Brock Peters, Ruby Dee, Ed McMahon, Diana Van der Vlis, Mike Kellin, Jan Sterling, Gary Merrill, Robert Fields, Robert Bannard, Victor Arnold, Donna Mills.
Cinematography: Gerald Hirschfeld
Film Editor: Armond Lebowitz
Production design: Manny Gerard
Original Music: Terry Knight, Charles Fox
Written by Nicholas E. Baehr
Produced by Edward Meadow, Monroe Sachson
Directed by Larry Peerce
Various pundits...
- 2/27/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Guest reviewer Lee Broughton is back with an in-depth look at Sergio Corbucci’s grand ‘Zapata’ Spaghetti Western. Set in post-1900 Mexico, Tony Musante’s rebellious peon wants to be a hero of the revolution but he primarily robs the rich in order to pay the extortionate wages that are demanded by Franco Nero’s interloping Polish mercenary-cum-military advisor. The resultant political allegory is played out on an almost epic scale and is suitably enlivened by the presence of a villainous Jack Palance, a plethora of large scale action scenes, an imaginatively used period car and biplane and a rousing soundtrack score by Ennio Morricone and Bruno Nicolai.
The Mercenary (Il mercenario)
Region B Blu-ray
88 Films The Italian Collection
1968 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 106 min. / A Professional Gun, Il mercenario / Street Date, 8 Jan 2018 / £15.99
Starring: Franco Nero, Tony Musante, Jack Palance, Giovanna Ralli, Franco Giacobini, Eduardo Fajardo, Franco Ressel, Raf Baldassarre, Tito Garcia.
The Mercenary (Il mercenario)
Region B Blu-ray
88 Films The Italian Collection
1968 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 106 min. / A Professional Gun, Il mercenario / Street Date, 8 Jan 2018 / £15.99
Starring: Franco Nero, Tony Musante, Jack Palance, Giovanna Ralli, Franco Giacobini, Eduardo Fajardo, Franco Ressel, Raf Baldassarre, Tito Garcia.
- 2/20/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
1996: Gh's Brenda called Miguel for help stopping Sonny's wedding.
2004: Days of our Lives' Tony "died" following a tiger attack.
2007: All My Children's Dixie "died" after eating poisoned pancakes.
2014: Billy and Adam were involved in a fiery crash on The Young
and the Restless."Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past; for human events ever resemble those of preceding times. This arises from the fact that they are produced by men who ever have been, and ever shall be, animated by the same passions, and thus they necessarily have the same results."
― Machiavelli
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1958: On The Edge of Night,...
2004: Days of our Lives' Tony "died" following a tiger attack.
2007: All My Children's Dixie "died" after eating poisoned pancakes.
2014: Billy and Adam were involved in a fiery crash on The Young
and the Restless."Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past; for human events ever resemble those of preceding times. This arises from the fact that they are produced by men who ever have been, and ever shall be, animated by the same passions, and thus they necessarily have the same results."
― Machiavelli
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1958: On The Edge of Night,...
- 1/30/2018
- by Roger Newcomb
- We Love Soaps
Even after all of your presents are unwrapped and your tree is packed away (or put on the curb), Arrow Video will continue to give the gift of new horror Blu-ray releases for fans looking to expand their collections. The company just announced their impressive February 2018 slate of Blu-rays, including a limited edition version of Frank Henenlotter's Basket Case, The Gruesome Twosome, and much more!
From Arrow Video: "Time for our new announcements! First up two titles coming from Arrow Records and Books this December…
New Arrow Book: The Hitcher (Book)
Pre-order now: http://bit.ly/2BqKmWx
Release date: 29th December
Robert Harmon’s 1986 film The Hitcher is a complex beast: reviled at the time of its release, it has been adored in the long term as one of the most intoxicating, unrelenting highway cult films ever made. Starring Rutger Hauer in the title role whose alluring villainy...
From Arrow Video: "Time for our new announcements! First up two titles coming from Arrow Records and Books this December…
New Arrow Book: The Hitcher (Book)
Pre-order now: http://bit.ly/2BqKmWx
Release date: 29th December
Robert Harmon’s 1986 film The Hitcher is a complex beast: reviled at the time of its release, it has been adored in the long term as one of the most intoxicating, unrelenting highway cult films ever made. Starring Rutger Hauer in the title role whose alluring villainy...
- 11/27/2017
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Stars: Tony Musante, Suzy Kendall, Enrico Maria Salerno, Eva Renzi, Umberto Raho, Renato Romano, Giuseppe Castellano, Mario Adorf, Pino Patti, Gildo Di Marco | Written and Directed by Dario Argento
When you hear the name Dario Argento you know what to expect. In many ways, he is the gateway director to Italian horror, and with The Bird with the Crystal Plumage we see his debut into directing. While not his best work, it set many precedents for the Argento style…
Sam Dalmas (Tony Musante), an American writer finds himself witnessing a murder while on a trip to Italy. Unable to help the victim of the attack, luckily, the victim manages to survive. In the following days though Sam finds himself stalked by the killer, who he in parallel becomes obsessed with.
While I do like The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, I do find that Deep Red is his superior film which follows a similar narrative. What we have with Plumage though is an Argento film which has differences from certain traits the director has. One thing that doesn’t change of course is the fact that this is a Giallo. The mystery killer in the dark coat, the black gloves and the obsession with killing with knives is all in place. While the ending may not be what is expected, Argento is a director and writer who often gives a successful twist. In The Bird with the Crystal Plumage he gives one of his most memorable, and that is created through the museum scene.
In putting Sam in a boxed off glass room of the art gallery entrance, unable to get out to get help and unable to get into the museum itself he is left helpless, forced into being a voyeur to the murder. It is in this situation that the clues are put into place for what is a memorable ending. It is also interesting that the revelation is much similar to Deep Red in that it is interpretation and the memory of the crime scene that leads to the reveal of the killer.
A big difference to Argento’s later work is that the music for The Bird with the Crystal Plumage is done by Ennio Morricone. While I am a fan of Goblin who you usually think of when it comes to Argento, Morricone’s music is still very good, and fans of Quentin Tarantino will recognise the main theme. In fact, they’ll also see that Tarantino was paying homage to the opening of this movie in Death Proof.
Looking past the film itself and looking at the special features included with the Arrow Video release, there is an impressive list of interviews, as well as looks at the Giallo in relation to Argento’s work. The interviews with Argento himself are the highlight, but the interview with actor Gildo Di Marco (Garullo the pimp) is a very nice addition. He may have only had a bit-part in the film, but his performance was memorable enough to stick in people’s minds.
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage is a solid release, especially for lovers of Dario Argento’s work. Not only his directorial debut, it set the scene for many of his future hits and featured one of the most memorable scenes with the art gallery scene. Deep Red may be better, but this is a necessary inclusion into any horror fans collections.
***** 5/5
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage is available on Limited Edition Arrow Video Blu-Ray and DVD in the UK now.
Review originally posted on PissedOffGeek...
When you hear the name Dario Argento you know what to expect. In many ways, he is the gateway director to Italian horror, and with The Bird with the Crystal Plumage we see his debut into directing. While not his best work, it set many precedents for the Argento style…
Sam Dalmas (Tony Musante), an American writer finds himself witnessing a murder while on a trip to Italy. Unable to help the victim of the attack, luckily, the victim manages to survive. In the following days though Sam finds himself stalked by the killer, who he in parallel becomes obsessed with.
While I do like The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, I do find that Deep Red is his superior film which follows a similar narrative. What we have with Plumage though is an Argento film which has differences from certain traits the director has. One thing that doesn’t change of course is the fact that this is a Giallo. The mystery killer in the dark coat, the black gloves and the obsession with killing with knives is all in place. While the ending may not be what is expected, Argento is a director and writer who often gives a successful twist. In The Bird with the Crystal Plumage he gives one of his most memorable, and that is created through the museum scene.
In putting Sam in a boxed off glass room of the art gallery entrance, unable to get out to get help and unable to get into the museum itself he is left helpless, forced into being a voyeur to the murder. It is in this situation that the clues are put into place for what is a memorable ending. It is also interesting that the revelation is much similar to Deep Red in that it is interpretation and the memory of the crime scene that leads to the reveal of the killer.
A big difference to Argento’s later work is that the music for The Bird with the Crystal Plumage is done by Ennio Morricone. While I am a fan of Goblin who you usually think of when it comes to Argento, Morricone’s music is still very good, and fans of Quentin Tarantino will recognise the main theme. In fact, they’ll also see that Tarantino was paying homage to the opening of this movie in Death Proof.
Looking past the film itself and looking at the special features included with the Arrow Video release, there is an impressive list of interviews, as well as looks at the Giallo in relation to Argento’s work. The interviews with Argento himself are the highlight, but the interview with actor Gildo Di Marco (Garullo the pimp) is a very nice addition. He may have only had a bit-part in the film, but his performance was memorable enough to stick in people’s minds.
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage is a solid release, especially for lovers of Dario Argento’s work. Not only his directorial debut, it set the scene for many of his future hits and featured one of the most memorable scenes with the art gallery scene. Deep Red may be better, but this is a necessary inclusion into any horror fans collections.
***** 5/5
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage is available on Limited Edition Arrow Video Blu-Ray and DVD in the UK now.
Review originally posted on PissedOffGeek...
- 6/23/2017
- by Paul Metcalf
- Nerdly
As the summer continues to roll on, that means we have another great week of horror and sci-fi home entertainment releases to look forward to. The folks at Scream Factory are keeping themselves plenty busy this Tuesday, as they’re resurrecting both The Lawnmower Man and Island of Terror on Blu-ray, as well as their high-def The Paul Naschy Collection, and Arrow Video has put together an incredible two-disc limited Blu-ray set of Dario Argento’s directorial debut, The Bird With The Crystal Plumage, that any fan of the Master of Horror will want to add to their collections. And, if you missed it in theaters, the horror/sci-fi thriller Life will be available on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD formats, too.
Other notable releases for June 20th include the Hack-o-Lantern limited edition Blu-ray, Patchwork, Under the Dome: The Complete Series, Ten Little Indians,...
Other notable releases for June 20th include the Hack-o-Lantern limited edition Blu-ray, Patchwork, Under the Dome: The Complete Series, Ten Little Indians,...
- 6/20/2017
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
This time they may have gotten it right! If a knife or a straight razor won’t do, how about killing a victim with 500-pound metal artwork studded with spikes? Dario Argento distilled a new kind of slick, visually fetishistic horror who-dunnit thriller subgenre with this shocker, aided by the dreamy cinematography of Vittorio Storaro.
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage
Blu-ray + DVD
Arrow Video USA
1971 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 96 min. / Street Date June 20, 2017 / L’uccello dalle piume di cristallo / Available from Arrow Video/ 49.95
/ 49.95
Starring: Tony Musante, Suzy Kendall, Enrico Maria Salerno, Eva Renzi, Umberto Raho, Raf Valenti, Giuseppe Castellano, Mario Adorf, Pino Patti, Gildo Di Marco, Rosita Torosh, Omar Bonaro, Fulvio Mingozzi, Werner Peters, Karen Valenti, Carla Mancini, Reggie Nalder.
Cinematography: Vittorio Storaro
Film Editor: Franco Fraticelli
Original Music: Ennio Morricone
Written by Dario Argento from a novel by Fredric Brown
Produced by Salvatore Argento, Artur Brauner
Directed by Dario Argento...
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage
Blu-ray + DVD
Arrow Video USA
1971 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 96 min. / Street Date June 20, 2017 / L’uccello dalle piume di cristallo / Available from Arrow Video/ 49.95
/ 49.95
Starring: Tony Musante, Suzy Kendall, Enrico Maria Salerno, Eva Renzi, Umberto Raho, Raf Valenti, Giuseppe Castellano, Mario Adorf, Pino Patti, Gildo Di Marco, Rosita Torosh, Omar Bonaro, Fulvio Mingozzi, Werner Peters, Karen Valenti, Carla Mancini, Reggie Nalder.
Cinematography: Vittorio Storaro
Film Editor: Franco Fraticelli
Original Music: Ennio Morricone
Written by Dario Argento from a novel by Fredric Brown
Produced by Salvatore Argento, Artur Brauner
Directed by Dario Argento...
- 6/19/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
“I can hear it now: ‘Go to Italy. It’s a peaceful country, nothing much ever happens there’.”
Dario Argento’s The Bird With The Crystal Plumage 2-disc limited edition will be available on Blu-ray + DVD June 20th From Arrow Video
In 1970, young first-time director Dario Argento (Deep Red, Suspiria) made his indelible mark on Italian cinema with The Bird With The Crystal Plumage, a film which redefined the ‘giallo’ genre of murder-mystery thrillers and catapulted him to international stardom.
Sam Dalmas (Tony Musante, We Own the Night), an American writer living in Rome, inadvertently witnesses a brutal attack on a woman (Eva Renzi, Funeral in Berlin) in a modern art gallery. Powerless to help, he grows increasingly obsessed with the incident. Convinced that something he saw that night holds the key to identifying the maniac terrorizing Rome, he launches his own investigation parallel to that of the police, heedless...
Dario Argento’s The Bird With The Crystal Plumage 2-disc limited edition will be available on Blu-ray + DVD June 20th From Arrow Video
In 1970, young first-time director Dario Argento (Deep Red, Suspiria) made his indelible mark on Italian cinema with The Bird With The Crystal Plumage, a film which redefined the ‘giallo’ genre of murder-mystery thrillers and catapulted him to international stardom.
Sam Dalmas (Tony Musante, We Own the Night), an American writer living in Rome, inadvertently witnesses a brutal attack on a woman (Eva Renzi, Funeral in Berlin) in a modern art gallery. Powerless to help, he grows increasingly obsessed with the incident. Convinced that something he saw that night holds the key to identifying the maniac terrorizing Rome, he launches his own investigation parallel to that of the police, heedless...
- 6/12/2017
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Arrow Video is already looking to make this a summer to remember for fans of Italian horror, as they recently revealed that their June Blu-ray / DVD releases will include Ovidio Assonitis' Madhouse (1981) and Dario Argento's first feature film, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage.
From Arrow Video: "New UK/Us Title: Madhouse (Dual Format Blu-ray & DVD)
Fuses slasher elements with the over-the-top excess of ‘80s Italian terror.
Pre-order your copy in the UK: http://bit.ly/2nN0nOK
North American pre-orders links should be live soon!
Release Dates: 12/13 June 2017
Many People Visit … No One Ever Leaves.
Helmed by legendary producer/director Ovidio Assonitis, the man behind such cult favourites as The Visitor and Piranha II: The Spawning, Madhouse is a crimson-soaked tale of sibling rivalry taken to a terrifying and bloody extreme.
Julia has spent her entire adult life trying to forget the torment she suffered at...
From Arrow Video: "New UK/Us Title: Madhouse (Dual Format Blu-ray & DVD)
Fuses slasher elements with the over-the-top excess of ‘80s Italian terror.
Pre-order your copy in the UK: http://bit.ly/2nN0nOK
North American pre-orders links should be live soon!
Release Dates: 12/13 June 2017
Many People Visit … No One Ever Leaves.
Helmed by legendary producer/director Ovidio Assonitis, the man behind such cult favourites as The Visitor and Piranha II: The Spawning, Madhouse is a crimson-soaked tale of sibling rivalry taken to a terrifying and bloody extreme.
Julia has spent her entire adult life trying to forget the torment she suffered at...
- 3/24/2017
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Director Gordon Douglas is one of many prolific filmmakers who seemed to fall short of auteur recognition despite considerable iconic items lodged within a vast filmography. Starting out in Hollywood as a child actor, he was directing shorts throughout the 1930s and began developing a resume of B-grade features, the most notable from this period being the 1954 sci-fi classic Them!, one of several genre items capitalizing on nuclear warfare fears. The 1960s found Douglas evolving freely with the times, churning out some racy Carroll Baker numbers (including in a biopic of Jean Harlow), the James Bond knock-off In Like Flint (1967), and a trio of Frank Sinatra vehicles. In between directing Sinatra in a pair of movies where the crooner plays Miami Pi Tony Rome, Douglas concocted something much more provocative, a seedy, lurid neo-noir titled The Detective (1968). One of several oft-referenced titles detailed in Vito Russo’s The Celluloid Closet,...
- 1/19/2016
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Frank Sinatra shines in a story of police corruption that tries to say it like it is -- or like it was in 1968, just before the ratings system came in. The well-intentioned, suspenseful story is burdened by odd censor choices, Sinatra's conservative self-image, and rudely retrograde attitudes toward gays. In a sparkling new transfer with Jerry Goldsmith's jazzy score isolated on its own track. The Detective Blu-ray Twilight Time Limited Edition 1968 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 114 min. / Ship Date December 8, 2015 / available through Twilight Time Movies / 29.95 Starring Frank Sinatra, Lee Remick, Ralph Meeker, Jacqueline Bisset, William Windom, Al Freeman Jr., Tony Musante, Lloyd Bochner, Robert Duvall, Horace McMahon Cinematography Joseph F. Biroc Art Direction William J. Creber, Jack Martin Smith Film Editor Robert L. Simpson Original Music Jerry Goldsmith Written by Abby Mann from a novel by Roderick Thorpe Produced by Aaron Rosenberg Directed by Gordon Douglas
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson...
- 12/30/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Ann-Margret movies: From sex kitten to two-time Oscar nominee. Ann-Margret: 'Carnal Knowledge' and 'Tommy' proved that 'sex symbol' was a remarkable actress Ann-Margret, the '60s star who went from sex kitten to respected actress and two-time Oscar nominee, is Turner Classic Movies' star today, Aug. 13, '15. As part of its “Summer Under the Stars” series, TCM is showing this evening the movies that earned Ann-Margret her Academy Award nods: Mike Nichols' Carnal Knowledge (1971) and Ken Russell's Tommy (1975). Written by Jules Feiffer, and starring Jack Nicholson and Art Garfunkel, the downbeat – some have found it misogynistic; others have praised it for presenting American men as chauvinistic pigs – Carnal Knowledge is one of the precursors of “adult Hollywood moviemaking,” a rare species that, propelled by the success of disparate arthouse fare such as Vilgot Sjöman's I Am Curious (Yellow) and Costa-Gavras' Z, briefly flourished from...
- 8/14/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
By Lee Pfeiffer
One of the most rewarding byproducts of reviewing movies for a living is that you will often encounter some prominent gem that somehow managed to escape your attention previously. In certain cases, it's arguable that a film might well be more appreciated many years later than it was during its initial release. Such a case pertains to the 1965 crime drama Once a Thief. Directed by the under-rated Ralph Nelson, the film successfully invokes the mood and atmosphere of the classic black-and-white film noir crime thrillers of the 1940s and 1950s. Although this movie was widely credited as being Alain Delon's first starring role in an English language production, he was among the all-star cast seen the previous year in the big budget Hollywood production of The Yellow Rolls Royce. It is accurate to say, however, that Once a Thief afforded him his first opportunity to be...
One of the most rewarding byproducts of reviewing movies for a living is that you will often encounter some prominent gem that somehow managed to escape your attention previously. In certain cases, it's arguable that a film might well be more appreciated many years later than it was during its initial release. Such a case pertains to the 1965 crime drama Once a Thief. Directed by the under-rated Ralph Nelson, the film successfully invokes the mood and atmosphere of the classic black-and-white film noir crime thrillers of the 1940s and 1950s. Although this movie was widely credited as being Alain Delon's first starring role in an English language production, he was among the all-star cast seen the previous year in the big budget Hollywood production of The Yellow Rolls Royce. It is accurate to say, however, that Once a Thief afforded him his first opportunity to be...
- 5/31/2015
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
By Alex Simon
By the mid-1960s, the notorious Hayes Code, the censorship standards begun in the 1930s, had begun to fall away. Films like Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Bonnie & Clyde, The Graduate and In the Heat of the Night started pushing the envelope in terms of “adult” content portrayed on-screen. With the advent of the MPAA rating system in November, 1968 a new era of freedom was ushered in. Filmmakers could frankly portray sex, violence, profanity and formerly taboo subject matters. While the aforementioned films are all iconic in stature, one of the key films that pushed the rating system into being is now largely forgotten.
Roderick Thorp’s 1966 novel The Detective became an instant best-seller, a mammoth (600 pages), unflinching look at Joe Leland, a weary veteran cop who finds his legal and personal mettle tested while investigating the brutal murder of a wealthy, gay department store heir.
By the mid-1960s, the notorious Hayes Code, the censorship standards begun in the 1930s, had begun to fall away. Films like Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Bonnie & Clyde, The Graduate and In the Heat of the Night started pushing the envelope in terms of “adult” content portrayed on-screen. With the advent of the MPAA rating system in November, 1968 a new era of freedom was ushered in. Filmmakers could frankly portray sex, violence, profanity and formerly taboo subject matters. While the aforementioned films are all iconic in stature, one of the key films that pushed the rating system into being is now largely forgotten.
Roderick Thorp’s 1966 novel The Detective became an instant best-seller, a mammoth (600 pages), unflinching look at Joe Leland, a weary veteran cop who finds his legal and personal mettle tested while investigating the brutal murder of a wealthy, gay department store heir.
- 4/20/2015
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Our own Derek Botelho has dedicated countless hours over multiple years to his examination of the work of Dario Argento and we’re happy to see that The Argento Syndrome is now available to read around the world. For those who live in the Los Angeles area, we wanted to tell you about a signing event for the book that includes Derek and a number of special guests:
The Argento Syndrome – In Stores Now! Star-Filled Signing Event Announced!
A retrospective of Italian auteur Dario Argento, The Argento Syndrome is an examination of a career marked by such genre classics as The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Suspiria, Deep Red, Tenebrae and Opera. The Argento Syndrome is part academic study, with essays on every film, and part personal memoir, detailing the author’s time in Italy on a trip to visit the set of Non Ho Sonno. Also included are several...
The Argento Syndrome – In Stores Now! Star-Filled Signing Event Announced!
A retrospective of Italian auteur Dario Argento, The Argento Syndrome is an examination of a career marked by such genre classics as The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Suspiria, Deep Red, Tenebrae and Opera. The Argento Syndrome is part academic study, with essays on every film, and part personal memoir, detailing the author’s time in Italy on a trip to visit the set of Non Ho Sonno. Also included are several...
- 5/17/2014
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
The year now ending marks another 12-month period of losing talents who have given television viewers entertainment or information ... and some of those passings, even more sadly, came as major and untimely shocks. Zap2it remembers:
Paul Walker: The actor best-known for the "Fast & Furious" movies had career roots in such TV shows as "Who's the Boss?" "Highway to Heaven" and "Touched by an Angel."
James Gandolfini: He projected so much older as mobster Tony Soprano, many were surprised to learn the three-time Emmy winner only was in his 30s and 40s when he played the part.
Cory Monteith: As Finn Hudson on "Glee," the Canadian-born performer touched fans of all ages both in life and afterward.
Jean Stapleton: Forever TV's top "dingbat," the "All in the Family" actress earned three Emmys as lovably daffy Edith Bunker.
Jonathan Winters: The improvisation genius who inspired his...
Paul Walker: The actor best-known for the "Fast & Furious" movies had career roots in such TV shows as "Who's the Boss?" "Highway to Heaven" and "Touched by an Angel."
James Gandolfini: He projected so much older as mobster Tony Soprano, many were surprised to learn the three-time Emmy winner only was in his 30s and 40s when he played the part.
Cory Monteith: As Finn Hudson on "Glee," the Canadian-born performer touched fans of all ages both in life and afterward.
Jean Stapleton: Forever TV's top "dingbat," the "All in the Family" actress earned three Emmys as lovably daffy Edith Bunker.
Jonathan Winters: The improvisation genius who inspired his...
- 12/31/2013
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Zap2It - From Inside the Box
He starred in Dario Argento’s first Giallo (The Bird With The Crystal Plumage), played a homicidal homosexual opposite Sinatra in The Detective, was ‘Uncle Pete’ in The Pope Of Greenwich Village, and even starred in a couple of fine Spaghetti Westerns. I liked actor Tony Musante who always turned in interesting performances, especially during the roguish bad-boy early phase of his career. He was especially memorable in The Incident (1967) as a young tough who terrorizes late-night passengers on a New York City train. Musante died last Tuesday in Manhattan of a hemorrhage while recovering from surgery. He was 77.
From The New York Times:
Tony Musante, a rugged-looking American actor who was seen on television, in films and on stage in the United States and Europe for over 50 years but who was probably best known for a TV series he left after one season, died on Tuesday in Manhattan…….
Read the rest Here
http://www.
From The New York Times:
Tony Musante, a rugged-looking American actor who was seen on television, in films and on stage in the United States and Europe for over 50 years but who was probably best known for a TV series he left after one season, died on Tuesday in Manhattan…….
Read the rest Here
http://www.
- 12/2/2013
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Actress, singer and comedienne, Jane Kean, died on Tuesday, one of her representatives from Sbv Talent told TheWrap. Se died at the Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank where she was taken to the hospital after a fall led to a hemorrhagic stroke. The actress is best remembered for starring with Jackie Gleason in his 1970s revival of “The Honeymooners” and later TV movies. She played Trixie Norton, wife to Art Carney’s Ed Norton. Also read: Tony Musante, ‘Oz’ Star, Dead at 77 An accomplished singer, Kean first met Gleason while performing Vaudeville in the 1940s. Her television credits also include several guest-starring roles.
- 11/30/2013
- by Jethro Nededog
- The Wrap
Film, TV, and theater actor Tony Musante died on Tuesday (Nov. 26), The Los Angeles Times reports. He was 77.
Best known for playing Nino Chibette on "Oz," Musante passed away in New York City from complications following heart surgery.
Though he was best known for his work on "Oz," Musante also starred in "Toma" as the titular detective, acted opposite Martin Sheen in "The Incident," and starred opposite Meryl Streep in a 1976 theatrical production of "27 Wagons Full of Cotton."
Musante was also an Emmy nominated actor for his guest-starring role in a 1975 episode of "Medical Story."
Musante is survived by his wife Jane Sparkes Musante. They got married in 1962.
Best known for playing Nino Chibette on "Oz," Musante passed away in New York City from complications following heart surgery.
Though he was best known for his work on "Oz," Musante also starred in "Toma" as the titular detective, acted opposite Martin Sheen in "The Incident," and starred opposite Meryl Streep in a 1976 theatrical production of "27 Wagons Full of Cotton."
Musante was also an Emmy nominated actor for his guest-starring role in a 1975 episode of "Medical Story."
Musante is survived by his wife Jane Sparkes Musante. They got married in 1962.
- 11/29/2013
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
Television, film and theater actor Tony Musante passed away in New York City on Tuesday at age 77. Musante, who recently played mafia boss Nino Schibetta on HBO's Oz, died from complications following surgery, according to the Los Angeles Times.The actor starred as the title character in the cop drama Toma, which ran for one season from 1973-74 and was based on the life of Newark, N.J., detective David Toma. He also played alongside Martin Sheen in the 1967 film The Incident, in which the two terrorized New York City subway riders. He was nominated for an Emmy for his...
- 11/28/2013
- by Sheila Cosgrove Baylis
- PEOPLE.com
Tony Musante, the popular character actor who was a fixture in Italian films and TV series, has died in a New York hospital at age 77. Musante, who brought intensity to all of his roles, was driven more by artistic satisfaction than a desire to make the big money. He made a splash with U.S. audiences in 1967 playing a thug who terrorizes passengers on a New York City subway train in the film The Incident. He won acclaim for his role as a gay man who is wrongly convicted and executed for murder in the 1968 Frank Sinatra film The Detective. He also had a co-starring role with George C. Scott in the 1971 crime film The Last Run and starred in director Dario Argento's 1970 cult classic The Bird With the Crystal Plumage. In 1973 he reluctantly starred in the TV series Toma about a maverick cop. Despite the show's ratings success,...
- 11/28/2013
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Actor Tony Musante has died, aged 77.
The New York Times reports that he died on Tuesday (November 26) following complications from oral surgery.
Musante was best known for his role in ABC detective drama Toma, in which he played a starring role in 1973.
The actor appeared in several stage, TV and film roles including 1971 movie The Last Run alongside George C Scott and on the Broadway production 27 Wagons Full of Cotton with Meryl Streep in 1976.
In recent years, the Connecticut native played mafia boss Nino Schibetta on the HBO series Oz.
Mustante is survived by his wife Jane, two sisters, Cecelia Sisti and Katherine Walker, and brother Thomas.
The New York Times reports that he died on Tuesday (November 26) following complications from oral surgery.
Musante was best known for his role in ABC detective drama Toma, in which he played a starring role in 1973.
The actor appeared in several stage, TV and film roles including 1971 movie The Last Run alongside George C Scott and on the Broadway production 27 Wagons Full of Cotton with Meryl Streep in 1976.
In recent years, the Connecticut native played mafia boss Nino Schibetta on the HBO series Oz.
Mustante is survived by his wife Jane, two sisters, Cecelia Sisti and Katherine Walker, and brother Thomas.
- 11/28/2013
- Digital Spy
Tony Musante, who recently starred as a mafia boss on the HBO series “Oz” but was best-known for playing a real-life Newark, N.J. detective in the “Baretta” precursor series “Toma,” died Tuesday due to complications resulting from surgery, the Los Angeles Times reports. He was 77. Born in Bridgeport, Conn., in 1936, Musante caught the attention of television audiences with the ABC cop series “Toma,” which was baased on the the biography of Newark detective David Toma. The series, which ran for one season from 1973 to 1974, was later retooled as “Baretta,” starring Robert Blake, which ran on ABC from...
- 11/28/2013
- by Tim Kenneally
- The Wrap
Tony Musante, who took down drug dealers in his portrayal of a real-life New Jersey detective in the 1970s ABC series Toma, died Tuesday at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York following surgery. He was 77. Often playing a tough guy on either side of the law, Musante also sparkled as one of two menacing hoodlums (Martin Sheen was the other) who terrorize innocent people on a New York subway car in the 1967 thriller The Incident. Musante had originated the role in a made-for-nbc drama four years earlier. Photos: Hollywood's Notable Deaths of 2013 A
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- 11/28/2013
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Although Blue Underground previously released Dario Argento’s The Bird with the Crystal Plumage on Blu-ray, it is now out-of-print and difficult to find for a reasonable price. Fans will be happy to hear that Vci Home Entertainment is releasing a new Blu-ray edition of the movie and we have all the details.
“An American writer (Tony Musante – Toma, TV series) traveling in Rome is the only witness to an attempted murder by a sinister man in a raincoat and black leather gloves, though he is powerless to do anything to stop him. With a feeling that something is not quite right about the scene he has witnessed and the police’s inability to make any progress, he launches his own personal investigation…and nearly loses his life in the process. While this modern day Jack-the-Ripper type is slithering through the dark byways of Rome slicing up pretty girls, director...
“An American writer (Tony Musante – Toma, TV series) traveling in Rome is the only witness to an attempted murder by a sinister man in a raincoat and black leather gloves, though he is powerless to do anything to stop him. With a feeling that something is not quite right about the scene he has witnessed and the police’s inability to make any progress, he launches his own personal investigation…and nearly loses his life in the process. While this modern day Jack-the-Ripper type is slithering through the dark byways of Rome slicing up pretty girls, director...
- 6/6/2013
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
December is Tarantino Month here at Sos, and in the week leading up our January month-long theme of westerns, I thought it would be best to whip up an article spotlighting some films that influenced Tarantino’s long awaited take on the western, Django Unchained. For my money, all of the films listed below are essential viewing for fans of Django Unchained. I’ll be diving deeper into these films come January, but in the meantime, this should hopefully whet your appetite. Enjoy!
Note: This is the second of a three part article.
****
The Mercenary (Il Mercenario) (A Professional Gun)
Directed by Sergio Corbucci
Written by Giorgio Arlorio and Adriano Bolzoni
1968, Italy / Spain
Second only to Leone, Sergio Corbucci is the best when it comes to making spaghetti westerns. The man would never take a break, directing Django, The Great Silence, Navajo Joe and The Mercenary within a span of two years.
Note: This is the second of a three part article.
****
The Mercenary (Il Mercenario) (A Professional Gun)
Directed by Sergio Corbucci
Written by Giorgio Arlorio and Adriano Bolzoni
1968, Italy / Spain
Second only to Leone, Sergio Corbucci is the best when it comes to making spaghetti westerns. The man would never take a break, directing Django, The Great Silence, Navajo Joe and The Mercenary within a span of two years.
- 12/27/2012
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
We love crime movies. We may go on and on about Scorsese’s ability to incorporate Italian neo-realism techniques into Mean Streets (1973), the place of John Huston’s The Asphalt Jungle (1950) in the canon of postwar noir, The Godfather (1972) as a socio-cultural commentary on the distortion of the ideals of the American dream blah blah blah, yadda yadda yadda…but that ain’t it.
We love crime movies because we love watching a guy who doesn’t have to behave, who doesn’t have to – nor care to – put a choker on his id and can let his darkest, most visceral impulses run wild. Some smart-mouth gopher tells hood Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci), “Go fuck yourself,” in Scorsese’s Goodfellas (1990), and does Tommy roll with it? Does he spit back, “Fuck me? Nah, fuck you!” Does he go home and tell his mother?
Nope.
He pulls a .45 cannon out from...
We love crime movies because we love watching a guy who doesn’t have to behave, who doesn’t have to – nor care to – put a choker on his id and can let his darkest, most visceral impulses run wild. Some smart-mouth gopher tells hood Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci), “Go fuck yourself,” in Scorsese’s Goodfellas (1990), and does Tommy roll with it? Does he spit back, “Fuck me? Nah, fuck you!” Does he go home and tell his mother?
Nope.
He pulls a .45 cannon out from...
- 10/30/2012
- by Bill Mesce
- SoundOnSight
We at Mubi think that celebrating the films of 2011 should be a celebration of film viewing in 2011. Since all film and video is "old" one way or another, we present Out of a Past, a small (re-) collection of some of our favorite retrospective viewings from 2011.
These six movies are not necessarily the best old movies I saw for the first time this year, but the movies that most challenged my existing ideas of film and film history.
***
Tokyo Twilight (Yasujiro Ozu, Japan, 1957)
April 21, Film Forum, New York, NY
Tokyo Twilight may be Ozu’s darkest film. Like a lot of his movies, it develops slowly as an accretion of small moments. It built so slowly, in fact, that I was surprised about 3/4 of the way through the film to realize how horribly ugly it had become. The received notion that Ozu makes quiet miniatures about everyday family life has...
These six movies are not necessarily the best old movies I saw for the first time this year, but the movies that most challenged my existing ideas of film and film history.
***
Tokyo Twilight (Yasujiro Ozu, Japan, 1957)
April 21, Film Forum, New York, NY
Tokyo Twilight may be Ozu’s darkest film. Like a lot of his movies, it develops slowly as an accretion of small moments. It built so slowly, in fact, that I was surprised about 3/4 of the way through the film to realize how horribly ugly it had become. The received notion that Ozu makes quiet miniatures about everyday family life has...
- 1/18/2012
- MUBI
As a young and influential teenager I was eager to find new (to me) and exciting films to watch, and as it so happened I stumbled across Suspiria. It might have been my father who prompted me to find it, but I do remember we sat down together to watch it. Dad spoke of an expert Italian director Dario Argento, who made interesting films called a ‘giallo’.
This was my first experience with Argento and a good introduction to the Italian ‘giallo’. It wasn’t until recently that The Bird With The Crystal Plumage came onto my radar; with Argento all I kept hearing about were the likes of Deep Red and Tenebre. I thought his first solo directorial debut would be a great addition to the 31 days line up, lets explore.
The Bird With The Crystal Plumage takes place in Italy, where a writer Sam (Tony Musante) witnesses an...
This was my first experience with Argento and a good introduction to the Italian ‘giallo’. It wasn’t until recently that The Bird With The Crystal Plumage came onto my radar; with Argento all I kept hearing about were the likes of Deep Red and Tenebre. I thought his first solo directorial debut would be a great addition to the 31 days line up, lets explore.
The Bird With The Crystal Plumage takes place in Italy, where a writer Sam (Tony Musante) witnesses an...
- 10/13/2011
- by Marcey Papandrea
- MoreHorror
There are some films so influential to later trends and movements that they can easily suffer by comparison to their imitators: The Silence Of The Lambs, Saving Private Ryan (source of many subsequent years' worth of 'jerky' shutter angle use by cinematographers), Night Of The Living Dead...and Dario Argento's seminal 'Giallo' thriller The Bird With The Crystal Plumage (L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo). So it's a credit to this movie and to Argento that the film still stands up in the context of 1970s Italian cinema which owes so much to it.
Tony Musante is the American writer who has sought inspiration in a long Italian sojourn which has borne little fruit except his fidanzamento with model Suzy Kendall. Just as our hero is preparing to return to America broke, he witnesses a savage knife attack on art gallery assistant Eva Renzi by the kind of shadowy,...
Tony Musante is the American writer who has sought inspiration in a long Italian sojourn which has borne little fruit except his fidanzamento with model Suzy Kendall. Just as our hero is preparing to return to America broke, he witnesses a savage knife attack on art gallery assistant Eva Renzi by the kind of shadowy,...
- 6/11/2011
- Shadowlocked
Debut feature films from directors of note are often incredibly interesting and Dario Argento’s debut, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, is no exception. What is perhaps most surprising on re-watching and re-considering Argento’s debut is just how incredibly accomplished a first film it is and that even in the wake of a very large number of films influenced by it, how fresh and original it still feels.
Opening with an incredibly memorable scene in which the lead Sam Dalmas (Tony Musante) witnesses a struggle for a knife between Monica (Eva Renzi) and a mysterious black gloved man. Sam sees the struggle begin through a window but when he tries to intervene he becomes trapped between two glass doors, forced to witness the stabbing of Monica but unable to stop it. The deliciously wicked construction of this scene helps to suck you in straight away and the subsequent investigation,...
Opening with an incredibly memorable scene in which the lead Sam Dalmas (Tony Musante) witnesses a struggle for a knife between Monica (Eva Renzi) and a mysterious black gloved man. Sam sees the struggle begin through a window but when he tries to intervene he becomes trapped between two glass doors, forced to witness the stabbing of Monica but unable to stop it. The deliciously wicked construction of this scene helps to suck you in straight away and the subsequent investigation,...
- 5/23/2011
- by Craig Skinner
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
When the guys asked me if I'd like to work on a Dario Argento piece I jumped at it. I was only 20 years old when I was able to get a hold of a Dario Argento flick. It was purchased out of state by my girlfriend for me on my birthday; needless to say it was the best birthday ever. The movie in question was none other than Profondo Rosso (a.k.a. Deep Red). That is the movie that changed my life...
Italian director Argento has a way with art and colorful imagery that tingles the senses in so many ways that even a person who is Not a fan of the genre could appreciate his films. I remember directly after watching Profondo Rosso going out and buying as many Argento flicks that I could find in the area. With some steaks on the grill and some good beer...
Italian director Argento has a way with art and colorful imagery that tingles the senses in so many ways that even a person who is Not a fan of the genre could appreciate his films. I remember directly after watching Profondo Rosso going out and buying as many Argento flicks that I could find in the area. With some steaks on the grill and some good beer...
- 1/6/2011
- by Keepers of the Bid
- Horrorbid
He’s been called everything from the Maestro of the Macabre and the Master of Italian Horror to the “Garlic Flavored Hitchcock”, but true horror fans know him as simply Argento. Last weekend at Fangoria’s Weekend of Horrors, Manhattan’s Jacob K. Javitz Convention Center was abuzz over the mere notion of his pending presence, even overshadowing the likes of horror visionaries Tobe Hooper and Guillermo Del Toro.
Dario Argento took the stage at 1:30pm on Sunday June 7th, accompanied by a translator and the woman who literally wrote the book on the Italian filmmaker, author of Broken Mirrors/Broken Minds: The Dark Dreams Of Dario Argento and Film Critic Maitlan McDonagh. McDonagh led the director through a slightly disappointing interview/Q&A that merely managed scratch the surface of the artist’s genius. The lack of depth and substance seemed to be mostly due to McDonagh’s...
Dario Argento took the stage at 1:30pm on Sunday June 7th, accompanied by a translator and the woman who literally wrote the book on the Italian filmmaker, author of Broken Mirrors/Broken Minds: The Dark Dreams Of Dario Argento and Film Critic Maitlan McDonagh. McDonagh led the director through a slightly disappointing interview/Q&A that merely managed scratch the surface of the artist’s genius. The lack of depth and substance seemed to be mostly due to McDonagh’s...
- 6/13/2009
- by no-reply@fangoria.com (The Horror Professor)
- Fangoria
If you ever visit Los Angeles and feel like taking a tour of all the old theaters you will be absolutely amazed. If you are as into old theaters as I am, you will be all the more stunned at the beauty of some of these landmarks. Fangoria has teamed up with the Fine Arts Theatre at 8556 Wilshire Blvd. theatre in Beverly Hills; a the theater dating back to 1939 – a major year for film. Fango Fiends, this is the home of Midnite Madness, where we show a horror movie preceded by a short film. I have already written that I champion the short film so we’ll move past that.
This week our movie is The Intervention directed by Shannon Hile, who will be attending along with co-writer/star Richard Eden. After raging zombies last week, this week’s movie is a psychological thriller. The Intervention is the story of Matt who,...
This week our movie is The Intervention directed by Shannon Hile, who will be attending along with co-writer/star Richard Eden. After raging zombies last week, this week’s movie is a psychological thriller. The Intervention is the story of Matt who,...
- 5/18/2009
- by no-reply@fangoria.com (Marla Newborn)
- Fangoria
DVD Playhouse—March 2009
By
Allen Gardner
Let The Right One In (Magnolia) An awkward 12 year-old boy, ignored by his mother and the target of bullies, finds himself drawn to his new neighbor: a girl his own age who only appears at night, and seems herself to be as lonely an outcast as he. Haunting film from Sweden is best described as The 400 Blows meets Nosferatu, and contains some of the most haunting imagery of any film in recent memory. Truly a unique and memorable work. Bonuses: Deleted scenes; Featurette; Photo and poster gallery. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround.
Paramount Centennial Collection Paramount offers two more classic titles, restored, remastered and loaded with extras. Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch A Thief stars Cary Grant as a retired jewel thief trying to enjoy his sunset years on the French Riviera with a minimum of drama, until he catches the eye of a high-maintenance heiress (Grace Kelly,...
By
Allen Gardner
Let The Right One In (Magnolia) An awkward 12 year-old boy, ignored by his mother and the target of bullies, finds himself drawn to his new neighbor: a girl his own age who only appears at night, and seems herself to be as lonely an outcast as he. Haunting film from Sweden is best described as The 400 Blows meets Nosferatu, and contains some of the most haunting imagery of any film in recent memory. Truly a unique and memorable work. Bonuses: Deleted scenes; Featurette; Photo and poster gallery. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround.
Paramount Centennial Collection Paramount offers two more classic titles, restored, remastered and loaded with extras. Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch A Thief stars Cary Grant as a retired jewel thief trying to enjoy his sunset years on the French Riviera with a minimum of drama, until he catches the eye of a high-maintenance heiress (Grace Kelly,...
- 3/11/2009
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
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