Pretty Packaging: Arrow's New THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE

The good folks over at Arrow UK have always been dedicated to release great Italian genre films. I have a healthy collection of their "white slipcase" releases, which featured a translucent window. Combined with reversible artwork on the Amaray, inside, this meant that for each film, you could choose one of four different covers to be the front of your slipcase.

Recently, Arrow has been re-releasing some of these titles in even more posh-looking hard cardboard slipcases, or even boxes, like they did two months ago with Dario Argento's Phenomena.

This month, they have given the same treatment to Dario Argento's first film: the "giallo"-thriller The Bird With The Crystal Plumage. And as it's a pretty thing indeed, here is a gallery of shots of it. Click on the edge of the pictures to scroll through them, or at the centre of each to see a bigger version.

Here it is: a sturdy hard-cardboard slipcase.

Inside the slipcase is an Amaray, a poster and a booklet.

All contents taken out.

All contents opened. The Amaray also contains a stack of six cards with lobby-card artwork.

The artwork on the Amaray is reversible for an original Italian one.

Very nice: the poster is also reversible. Cool!

The booklet is 38 pages, and made of paper almost thick enough to be called cardboard.

Inside are a selection of essays about the film and its impact on Italian genre cinema.

The (back)end.