The 4K UHD of Argent's The Bird With the Crystal Plumage is reviewed (and compared) HERE

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Arrow (2017) - Region FREE - Blu-ray: This is cited as a "Brand new 4K restoration of the film from the camera negative in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio, produced by Arrow Video exclusively for this release". The most notable visual features of this new 4K restored Blu-ray as opposed to the previous releases are two fold - the colors are both warmer (very notable with flesh tones) and they are richer - looking lush and deep. It can look a shade blue but also loses the greenish-grey hue of the Blue Underground. Looking closely, the original 2.35:1 framing is appreciated (Arrow's first kick at the can was Storaro's 2.0:1) and we can see it shows more information in the frame - on all four sides as compared to the other releases. This is on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate. Some individuals will endlessly debate about the authenticity of a Blu-ray image but I can only tell you this looks stunningly beautiful. Colors are so rich and Giallo-esque - looking opulent, evoking baroque or rococo - intense, stylistic but never embellished. A brilliant 1080P video presentation - so suitable to the film that we feel surely the 4K restoration has the most accuracy of all digital releases. 

Audio is transferred via a faithful DTS-HD Master tracks at 1000 kbps (24-bit) in the Italian and English languages. Effects are often overshadowed by the film's music and score by the iconic Ennio Morricone (Luna, A Bullet for the General, Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!, Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion, U Turn, Stay As You Are etc. etc.) establishing and supporting the film's appealing style. It's authentically flat, buoyant and clean. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles and my Oppo has identified it as being a region FREE.

Arrow include many new extras - we get a new audio commentary by Troy Howarth, author of So Deadly, So Perverse: 50 Years of Italian Giallo Films. He is always excellent exporting details of the performers and especially Argento - who is pulls no punches about his difficulties as a filmmaker and getting along with actors. It's very rewarding to listen to. The Power of Perception, is a new, 21-minutes, visual essay on the cinema of Dario Argento by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, author of Devil s Advocates: Suspiria and Rape-Revenge Films: A Critical Study and it, too, is wonderful for fans of Giallo and this film in particular. Black Gloves and Screaming Mimis - is a new 1/2 hour analysis of the film by critic Kat Ellinger. Crystal Nightmare is a new interview with writer/director Dario Argento. An Argento icon -is a new 22-minute interview with actor Gildo Di Marco (Garullo the pimp) and he discusses working with Argento and his own career. Eva's Talking: is a dozen-minute interview with Eva Renzi as also found on the Blue Underground. There are an Italian trailer, an International Trailer and a new 2017 Texas Frightmare Trailer for the restoration. The package has a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Candice Tripp and contains a double-sided fold-out poster, 6 Lobby Card reproductions and a limited edition 60-page booklet illustrated by Matthew Griffin, featuring an appreciation of the film by Michael Mackenzie, and new writing by Howard Hughes and Jack Seabrook. A second disc DVD is included.

This is, obviously the Blu-ray to own - what an incredible package, for Giallo fans or those in the making! - our highest recommendation!

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ADDITION: Blue Underground - Region FREE - Blu-ray: One should be willing to accept grain over detail in this 1970 classic. I thought the Blu-ray image looked grand and obviously superior to the DVD (reviewed HERE by Pat Pilon). Both detail and the visibility of heavy grain are the most remarkable improvements over the SD digital rendering. I had the feeling there was some brightness boosting as colors seemed almost overly vibrant but I could find evidence of digital manipulation. While noise exists I won't say it was an issue with no clunky artifacts to distract from the curious Argento visuals. Fans should just beware that it appears all that could be done with this image quality has been achieved here. Even the restored source can't accurately make it look sharper than it originally was. For those keen on grain - it is here in abundance. Blue Underground have done well with over 30 Gig of space for the feature on this dual-layered Blu-ray disc with a healthy bitrate. Outdoor scenes are bright and contrast subtleties seem captured effectively by the MPEG-4 encode. This Blu-ray has a thick textured appearance probably very adeptly resembling the theatrical appearance. Once again - nothing leads me to believe that this transfer is anything but a solid effort at reproducing an important genre film for home presentations. It is far from HD-demo material but the colors, improved detail and high level of grain make for a very satisfying viewing.

Like the DVD there is a funky English DUB offered. On this Blu-ray we get boosted mixes in DTS and TrueHD but I preferred the Italian Dolby Digital EX with yellow subtitles (NOTE: the subs don't accurately follow the DUBs). This film won't be remembered for the pristine effect sounds but probably more so for Ennio Morricone's delicate and lurking original score. I didn't note a lot of deft separation but a little can go a long way with a film like this. Italian post-Dubs are always noted for being a bit scattered and this is another case in point. Still - all part of the Giallo charm and although only English as a subtitle option, like the DVD, this release is Region FREE. NOTE: There is no 'flat' track for purists..

Duplicated from the 2-disc Blue Underground DVD set from 2005 and we will hearken to Pat's description (from HERE). "The extras are all quite interesting. The commentary is informative, if a bit repetitive and scattered. The two gentlemen give out a lot of ideas and add to the movie. The four interviews are great and add a great deal of information and context to the movie." NOTE: the first three interviews are in Italian with English subs optional and for followers of Argento, Storaro or Morricone - they amount to decent information - if fairly short pieces. Beyond that there are trailers and TV Spots.

A seminal Giallo from one of the masters. The Blu-ray exceeded my expectations and produced a rewarding and enjoyable presentation of this classic. I think this has good value for just over $20, but fans will need a higher-end system to take full advantage of the stronger differences to the DVD - but I can vouch that they definitely exist and grain lovers will be in nirvana.

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ADDITION: Arrow (2011) - Region FREE - Blu-ray: We had been informed in email prior to seeing the release that "...there is more cropping on the left than the right, Storaro has recolored the film, the viewfinder crop marks are missing from the still photo POV scenes and those stills have been recolored in black and white (they have always been in color)." Yes - it appears Storaro has set the film to his preferred 2.0:1 aspect ratio and a lot of information is missing from the left edge. Colors are also different in many scenes - skin tones cool off. The Arrow has almost 2/3rds the bitrate of the Blue Underground transfer. Either way you cut it - we are losing information from the frame. Detail, grain and depth go to the Blue Underground. It was interesting seeing The Bird With the Crystal Plumage in this aspect ratio and I can certainly say it changes the film's impact.

In short I think the Blue Underground wins on the DUB front with decent mixes but the Arrow offers a lossless Italian track - in stereo (Morricone's score is still notable). This may be the most accurate for purists but for those seeking depth and range the U.S. disc's DUB has some surprising power and stealth. Both have the optional English subtitles and both are region FREE.

Same good Newman/Jones commentary and we get three 1080P documentaries totalling 1 hour; A Crystal Classic: Luigi Cozzi Remembers Dario's Bloody Bird (15:02), Sergio Martino: The Genesis of the Giallo (29:04), The Italian Hitchcock: Dario Argento Remembers The Bird With the Crystal Plumage (15:15). I liked the last one best but all have some good info. Also included is a 4 Sleeve art options with original and newly commissioned artwork, a two-sided fold-out poster and an exclusive collector's booklet featuring brand new writing on the film by Alan Jones, author of Profondo Argento.

Well, I think the Arrow is an interesting package and hard core Argento fans may wish to indulge simply for the new Storaro A/R judging the film experience for themselves. It does make for a big difference in my opinion. Nice to have the original audio uncompressed and the extras (although repeated commentary) are worthy. So, the release has a lot going for it and those adamant can debate the flagrant and subtle differences visually ad nauseum.

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ON THE Italian DVD: 01 Distribution's reissue of BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE is a disappointment. The non-anamorphic, single-layer transfer begins at 2.35:1 for the titles and then is cropped to 1.85:1 for the rest of the feature. The cropping is ruinous to Vittorio Storaro's compositions (see capture 4 for the missing cropped framelines of the still camera POV).

Italian mono audio is okay. Reviews of the Medusa DVD suggested that it had the best picture before the 2-perf sourced HD master used for the Blue Underground releases. The Medusa disc featured mono and 5.1 Italian tracks, a mono English track, and subtitles in English and Italian. Italian viewers would be better served by either the old Medusa disc or the Blue Underground Blu-ray or SD-DVD which also featured the Italian track in 5.1 EX, surround, and mono (in addition to DTS-ES English, 5.1 EX, surround, and mono).

There are no extras on the Distribution 01 disc.

Obviously, AVOID the 01 Distribution - Region 2 - PAL release!  

Gary W. Tooze