Rish Outfield's reviews
Tyranist and I rented two Dario Argento movies one day (this and Creepers), and I am now proud to call myself a Dario Fan. This was great! Made at the end of the sixties, this held up amazingly well, and probably would've been mind-blowing when it was released. It was thoughtful, evenly-paced, filled with rich characterization, clever scares, and got us wondering, "Who is the killer? Is it him? Could it be her? Maybe it's THAT guy!" It was a lot of fun, and filled with a recognizable style that raised this high above the average horror we've been seeing. Well ahead of its time, this Italian murder mystery was disturbing, fascinating, and above-all, intelligent, pasting a smile on my face that only grew larger as absurdly comic things kept happening. This had legitimate scares and moments that were laugh-out-loud funny.
I'd Recommend It To: All horror fans not afraid to try something new (can a thirty year-old film considered new?).

The tyranist's thoughts
I haven't seen a lot of Argento films, but if the few I have seen are anything resembling a solid sample, Argento is a brilliant filmmaker who could be compared somewhat favorably to Alfred Hitchcock. Argento started working long after Hitchcock and so his films have grown up in a time when he had freedoms that Hitchcock did not. For that reason Argento is Horror director where most people like to describe Hitchcock as a suspense or thriller director. Now I'm not saying that Argento is equal to Hitchcock. I'm just saying that there are a lot of similarities between their work and that Argento can create suspense that would pass Hitchcock's muster.
With this in mind you should see The Bird with the Crystal Plumage. It is the most Hitchcock like, non-Hitchcock film I have ever seen. It was Argento's directorial debut after a few outings as a screenwriter, but his newness hardly shows at all. Done in 1969, this was also filmed while Hitchcock was still working. I won't say that it was limited by the same things that Hitchcock was limited by since Argento was filming and working in Europe, but the time period lends itself to the comparison. At the very beginning of the Jack the Ripper style story, we, as viewers, are given a puzzle to work through with the film's main character. Pay attention. In retrospect there are certain clues that may lead you down the right path. I have to confess that I had thought about the killer as the killer and then dismissed the killer as not being the one who could have done it. Along the way, we are treated with some interesting little side journeys and thoughts, but keep thinking about the main puzzle.
My experience with this film may not reflect everyone's (after all, I'm the one who loved Wild Things because of the supremely intricate plot and not because of the three-way), but those of you who like a thinking challenge will love this movie.