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Amazon.co.uk Review
Richard Brooks's In Cold Blood is a faithful 1967 screen adaptation of Truman Capote's extraordinary non-fiction book about the course of two killers in this world--their lives, their senseless slaughter of an entire family, and their executions. Robert Blake and Scott Wilson are remarkable as the murderers, but what has kept this film special over the decades is Brooks's blunt, clearheaded, and non-sensational approach to the story. (The term "semi-documentary" has been applied to Brooks's style on this film, and it's an entirely fair description.) The experience of watching In Cold Blood is naturally unsettling, but the director--as with Capote--leaves final judgments about justice to the beholder. --Tom Keogh
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Dutch Release - Audio : English - Subtitles : Dutch ( optional )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
"In Cold Blood" ranks top of my honor list of crime/dramas. Adapted from international bestseller non-fiction novel by Truman Capote; it was a real sensation of late 1950s, a true crime classic based on 1959 Halcomb, Kansas murders.
Thanks to writer/producer/director Richard Brook's journalistic background, it has a good taste of docu-drama in and of itself. His directorial touch is amazing. Everything unfolds as it should, and the story clicks along without a wasted second. The film was shot mostly in actual locations (e.g. Clutter house where the murders were committed) and used the people (7 original members of 12 jurors & the real hangman who made their execution) involved to make the film as authentic as possible. Furthermore, the outstanding cast and exquisite, richly-detailed black & white cinematography of Conrad Hall contribute greatly to the gritty, documentary realism of the story.
Well, another thing that impressed me so much is the psychological portraits of killers. Both characters are well-drawn and well-acted. Perry Smith, brutal albeit naïve and weak-willed of the duo is victim of circumstances. His childhood traumas (broken home, tough father and promiscuous mother) and complexes about his physical handicap reflect his interior confusion perfectly. Flashbacks and his fantasies are put so proper places that not only enriches the viewing experience, but also deepens the film's philosophy. On the other hand, Dick Hickock portrays Smith's sly accomplice with terrifingly manipulative mind. Theirs are one of the most alive albeit morbid relationships in cinema history in that both feed on other's psychopathology and the film captures perfectly all the pathos of their situation. We come to realize that these two as both equal but opposite kinds of a killer. As the voice-over narrator says "neither of them would have done it alone. But together, they made a third personality. That's the one who did it".
To sum up, "In Cold Blood" deserves all praises as a superbly photographed film in a documentary style. Highly recommended...
Thanks to writer/producer/director Richard Brook's journalistic background, it has a good taste of docu-drama in and of itself. His directorial touch is amazing. Everything unfolds as it should, and the story clicks along without a wasted second. The film was shot mostly in actual locations (e.g. Clutter house where the murders were committed) and used the people (7 original members of 12 jurors & the real hangman who made their execution) involved to make the film as authentic as possible. Furthermore, the outstanding cast and exquisite, richly-detailed black & white cinematography of Conrad Hall contribute greatly to the gritty, documentary realism of the story.
Well, another thing that impressed me so much is the psychological portraits of killers. Both characters are well-drawn and well-acted. Perry Smith, brutal albeit naïve and weak-willed of the duo is victim of circumstances. His childhood traumas (broken home, tough father and promiscuous mother) and complexes about his physical handicap reflect his interior confusion perfectly. Flashbacks and his fantasies are put so proper places that not only enriches the viewing experience, but also deepens the film's philosophy. On the other hand, Dick Hickock portrays Smith's sly accomplice with terrifingly manipulative mind. Theirs are one of the most alive albeit morbid relationships in cinema history in that both feed on other's psychopathology and the film captures perfectly all the pathos of their situation. We come to realize that these two as both equal but opposite kinds of a killer. As the voice-over narrator says "neither of them would have done it alone. But together, they made a third personality. That's the one who did it".
To sum up, "In Cold Blood" deserves all praises as a superbly photographed film in a documentary style. Highly recommended...
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
A film based on real events and the concept taken largely from the book "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote. These two guys wiped out an entire family and, even now, we don't have all of the facts, we'll never know how those people suffered at the hands of Perry and Dick before they finally killed them. Capote created a work of art when he wrote "In Cold Blood"; bringing home to the public for the very first time a style of reporting that was simple and clean, he wrote the book as a journalistic report rather than a "story" and that's why this film works, that's the basic element that's been captured here. There's no glorification of the murder it's just brutally cold and fast and there's no wallowing through the lives of the culprits looking for pity, looking for justification. They plan it, they do it, they run away and very nearly get away, plain and simple. I loved this film. The whole atmosphere's cold, dark and brooding and you feel anxious right from the start, something bad's coming and you can't stop it. I would suggest, humbly, that you read the book before you watch the film, you don't have to, but it's a classic and goes further. Good quality, no problem with the picture or sound, definitely worth watching.
25 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This film is just plain mesmerising from start to finish. Robert Blake and Scott Wilson both give deeply believable performances as two amateur thieves who end up with a massacre on their hands.
Based on Capote's book about an actual event that stunned the small farming community where it occured, the film is shot in black and white and has a fly-on-the-wall feel about it. Engrossing and brutal, with just enough heart and just enough humour to make it real.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Lit Analysis
Top film. As a parent it has allowed me to understand Capote's theme and story whilst assisting daughter with A Level studies.
Published 17 months ago by Pete
in cold blood
brilliant from start to finish a movie that should be better known acting from blake and cast second to none
Published 21 months ago by j j
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