Arrow Video, with domestic sales and distribution support provided by MVD Entertainment Group, has selected June 29 for the 4K Ultra HD debut of director Dario Argento’s 1970 landmark giallo horror/thriller, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage.
This new 4K film restoration, from the film’s original 35mm negative, includes both the original Italian language track and the English-language theatrical release track.
This was Argento’s debut effort, a mix of Italian giallo and horror … and worked to perfection, triggering two follow-up films in what fans and film critics call Argento’s “Animal Trilogy” — The Cat O’ Nine Tales (1971) and Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1972).
The trick to Dario Argento’s stunning early success was a combination of solid production values, coherent storylines (a mix of mystery and murder) and the use of familiar American and English actors with Italian actors. In the case of The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, the “imports” were Tony Musante (The Detective, The Incident, etc.) and English actress Suzy Kendall (To Sir, with Love, Dark Than Amber … and later starring in writer/director Sergio Marino’s Torso).
As to bonus goodies for this 4K edition from Arrow Video on June 29, there is commentary from writer Troy Howarth (“So Deadly, So Perverse: 50 Years of Italian Giallo Films”), a pair of production featurettes — “Black Gloves and Screaming Mimis” and “The Power of Perception” — plus three video sessions variously titled “Crystal Nightmare” (with filmmaker Dario Argento), “An Argentro Icon” (with actor Gildo Di Marco — as Garullo, who also appeared in Four Flies on Grey Velvet) and “Eva’s Talking” (with German actress Eva Renzi — as Monica).
No comments:
Post a Comment