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    • BLU-RAY REVIEW

    Bird With The Crystal Plumage, The 4K Ultra HD

    Picture4.5
    Sound3
    WSR Score3.5
    Basic Information on new release titles is posted as soon as titles are announced. Once reviewed, additional data is added to the database.
    (Studio/Distributor):
    Arrow Video
    (Catalog Number):
    F002157
    (MPAA Rating):
    Not Rated
    (Rating Reason):
    (Retail Price):
    $59.95
    (Disc Type):
    Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-66)
    (Widescreen Edition):
    Yes
    (Full Screen Edition):
    No
    (Running Time In Minutes):
    96
    (Color Type):
    Color
    (Chaptered/Scene Access):
    Yes
    (Closed Captioned):
    Yes
    (Regional Coding):
    ABC
    (Theatrical Year):
    1970
    (Theatrical Release):
    Yes
    (Direct-To-Video Release):
    No
    (Disc Release Date):
    7/27/2021
    (THX® Digitally Mastered):
    No
    (Director):
    Dario Argento
    (Screenplay/Written By):
    (Story):
    (Music):
    (Director Of Photography):
    (Production Designer):
    (Visual Effects):
    (Costume Designer):
    (Editor):
    (Supervising Sound Editors):
    (Re-Recording Mixers):
    (Executive Producers):
    (Co-Producers):
    (Producers):
    (Academy Awards):
    (Principal Photography):
    (Theatrical Aspect Ratio):
    (Measured Disc Aspect Ratio):
    (Disc Soundtrack):
    DTS HD Lossless 1.0
    (Theatrical Sound):
    (Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
    (DTS Bit Rate):
    (Dolby Digital Bit Rate):
    (Additional Languages):
    (French Language):
    (Spanish Language):
    (Chinese Language):
    (Subtitles):
    (Cantonese Language):
    (Mandarin Language):
    (Japanese Language):
    (Italian Language):
    (German Language):
    (Portuguese Language):

    "The Bird With The Crystal Plumage" is an edge-of-your-seat—and edging on horror—film about an American writer (Musante) traveling in Rome, who witnesses an attempted murder and becomes annoyed by the lack of progress made by the police. In his frustration, he begins his own investigation into the crime, particularly as the Jack-The-Ripper-style attacks escalate to shocking numbers. (Gary Reber)

    Special features include commentary by Troy Howarth, author of So Deadly, So Perverse: 50 Years Of Italian Giallo Films; the featurettes "Black Gloves And Screaming Mimis" (HD 31:54), The Power Of Perception" (HD 20:57), ""Crystal Nightmare" (HD 31:24), "An Argent Icon" (HD 22:05) and "Eve's Talking" (SD 11:19); original Italian and international
    theatrical trailers; a 2017 Texas Frightmare trailer; an image gallery; an illustrated 57-page collector's booklet; a fold-out double-sided poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Obviously Creative and six double-sided, postcard-sized lobby card reproduction art cards.

    The 2.35:1 2160p HEVC/H.265 Ultra HD HDR10/Dolby Vision picture, reviewed on a Sony Bravia Z9D 4K Ultra HD HDR display, was photographed on film in anamorphic Chromoscope and sourced from a restored 4K master Digital Intermediate format. This new restoration is wonderful. Film grain is virtually nowhere to be seen. The release follows the Blue Underground Blu-ray release previously reviewed. The picture exhibits a vivid and warm color palette with nuanced hue shadings. Fleshtones appear perfectly natural. The cinematography is intriguing and effectively creates a suspenseful mood. The film is bright but HDR contrast excels with deep, solid blacks, revealing shadow delineation, and excellent white levels. Resolution is excellent, especially during closeups. This is a remarkable restoration and now serves as the definitive collector's edition. The film is sure to please fans of Dario Argento's cinematic art. (Gary Reber)

    The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 1.0 monaural soundtrack is sourced from the original optical monaural element. The sound is clear throughout. Fidelity has never been better but still sounds dated. The Italian soundtrack delivers dialogue that is generally well integrated spatially. The music is one of the monaural elements that sounds relatively good and heightens the suspense and mood. This is the original 1.0 soundtrack as presented theatrically and not the Blue Underground 7.1-channel DTS-HD Master Audio™ and Dolby® TrueHD version. Still fans will be pleased with this presentation. (Gary Reber)

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