Italy, West Germany

• L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo
• Das Geheimnis der schwarzen Handschuhe
• The Gallery Murders

A STUNNING PORTRAIT IN TERROR...
"A stunning portrait in psycho-terror". Writer Sam Dalmas, on holiday in Italy, witnesses something that is to mark him for the rest of his life. Passing a chic art gallery he glances through the show window and sees a man, dressed entirely in black, trying to brutally stab a woman with a knife. Has he seen the work of an insane 'Jack the Ripper' type murderer who is holding Rome in a grip of terror? Sam isn't sure, but there Is one thing he is certain of. Something was very definitely wrong with this deathly tableau as he recalls it. But what? His obsession to learn he truth lead him, and his girlfriend Julia, into a terrifying exploration of half-crazed manic paranoia as they try to discover the meaning of their one enigmatic clue - The Bird with the Crystal Plumage. The first film directed by Dario Argento - who later directed DEEP RED, SUSPIRIA, INFERNO and TENEBRAE reached levels of such high shock that he was immediately called "The New Hitchcock" and claimed the coveted crown of "King of Italian Horror". Acclaimed as "the best edge-of-the-seat action thriller for a long, long time" and the critics and public agreed. "A novelty - eminently watchable film from a director of some promise" MONTHLY FILM BULLETIN. "Compelling" FANTASTIC "Mesmerising, exciting entertainment" CINEMA. "Very bloody murder mystery" PENELOPE GILLIAT - THE NEW YORKE.R "Eloquent, visually creative" PHOTO MAGAZINE