Sam, an American who is in Rome writing a book for a publisher is a few days away from returning to his homeland when he witnesses an attempted murder at an art gallery. The victim survives the attack, but her attacker is still loose. Sam sees the struggle and attempts to help but gets trapped in a glass vestibule before being able to help. The police arrive and find him trapped and believe he is somehow involved. Sam's passport is confiscated and is forced to stay in Rome until the case is solved. Sam decides to perform his own investigation to help things along, but soon the killer decides he is getting to close and goes after him.
One of my favorite Argento films, this is the first of his animal trilogy, and Argento's debut film. There is a hilarious scene involving Sam and a painter and a bunch of cats. And the police lineup scene where the chief gets mad saying that one of the people in the lineup belongs with the transvestites not the perverts. The scene seems so out of place but at the same time fits somehow. You can see the early stages of his brilliance and his use of colors and how his shots are setup. In particular the opening scene with the attempted murder, the brightness of the art gallery and the point of view from Sam is very nice. I also have to mention that the soundtrack was done by one of the greats Ennio Marricone.
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