I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

When the unexplained brutal murders of a family of four came to the attention of Truman Capote in 1959, he immediately decided that he would write a book on the subject and the result was "In Cold Blood" which became an international bestseller and won him a considerable amount of acclaim from the literary critics of the time, who referred to it as a "non-fiction novel" and a masterpiece. The murders were committed in the small community of Holcomb, Kansas at 2.00 am on 15 November 1959 and after years of detailed research; Capote's book was published in 1966. Almost inevitably, a movie adaptation followed in 1967 with Richard Brooks directing, producing and writing the screenplay.When a couple of prisoners, who'd been released on parole, meet up in Kansas City, Dick Hickock (Scott Wilson) tells Perry Smith (Robert Blake) about a robbery that they could carry out which would be a "cinch". Using some information that he'd gained from a prison inmate who'd been employed some years earlier by a farmer called Herb Clutter (John McLiam), he tells Perry that they could easily steal the contents of the man's safe which should contain about $10,000 in cash. Scott had intentionally picked Perry to be his accomplice because his short fuse and propensity for violence would be perfect in a situation where they needed to ensure that they'd leave no witnesses behind after committing their crime.After making the long road journey to Holcomb, the two men enter the Clutter family's home and on discovering that there's no safe or large sum of money present, ruthlessly slaughter the innocent family and leave with only $43, a portable radio and a pair of binoculars, before fleeing to Mexico where Perry wants to go hunting for Cortes' buried treasure. When this endeavour proves to be a waste of time, Dick decides that they should head back to the States and make their way to Las Vegas. This proves to be a serious mistake because, by this time, Dick's prison buddy had turned informant and then later, Kansas Bureau of Investigation's lead investigator Alvin Dewey (John Forsythe) easily traces their progress by following the trail of bad cheques that they leave in their wake.The two fugitives are then soon arrested, interrogated and tried for the four murders that they'd committed.Wherever possible, Richard Brooks filmed the action in the actual locations where the original events had taken place and featured some of the Clutter family's neighbours, jury members from the murder trial and the hangman who'd executed Smith and Hickock, in some of the movie's minor roles. This type of realism and the documentary-style presentation serve the material really well and ensure that the right tone is maintained perfectly throughout the whole movie. It's also commendable that Brooks avoids any form of sensationalism, any glamorisation of the two murderers or any attempts to rationalise their senseless actions. Conrad Hall's cinematography also complements Brooks' work magnificently and strongly emphasises the chilling, bleak and highly disturbing nature of the story as it unfolds.Predictably, the movie's most notable performances come from Robert Blake and Scott Wilson who both make a huge impression. Blake looks troubled as the asprin-addicted son of a violent father and an adulterous mother and lives with constant pain as a consequence of a motorcycle accident. Wilson is also excellent as the swaggering, manipulative Hickock who exploits Perry Smith's gullibility for his own ends and displays some talent as a con-man."In Cold Blood" is an immensely powerful and gripping tale that is particularly thought-provoking and unsettling because of the fact that it's based on a real-life case.

Whenever this comes on, I find myself watching it. A fascinating, riveting account of the grisly murders of a farm family for money that never existed.The book was by Truman Capote. The writer/director here is Richard Brooks. He is masterful in his crafting of this story.The highlight is Conrad Hall's superlative cinematography! This is the all-time greatest widescreen black and white work ever.Robert Blake's performance has always been considered masterful. It's so tragic how he himself has fallen so hard.Recommended to anyone who loves true crime dramas, or classic cinema.********** (10 Out of 10 Stars)

'In Cold Blood' is a film written and directed by Richard Brooks whose story is based on the non-fiction novel of the same name written by Truman Capote. The story involves two ex-convicts Perry Smith and Richard 'Dick' Hickock played by Robert Blake and Scott Wilson respectively. They hatch up a plan to rob the Clutters, a wealthy family in Kansas. But during the robbery they find that there is no safe filled with cash and in the heat of the moment they end up gruesomely murdering the entire family. The film follows them on the run as the police try their best to get to the bottom of the crime. Now I don't have much idea about the actual crime and the actual people involved with it. So this review will be solely based on my impression of these people from the film which in turn is based on Truman Capote's impression of the events.I loved how the film starts. The director intermixes the scenes involving Perry and Dick along with the scenes showing the Clutters in their home. This works and acts like a foreshadow for the inevitable brutality that is going to follow. I couldn't help but feel a bit heartbroken to see the scenes involving the Clutters already knowing at the back of my mind, their eventual fate. The director hints at the existing financial inequality in society. He underlines the fact that as long as the imbalance in society exists, crimes like this will go on forever and ever and no one can do anything about it. Families and people will continue to remain vulnerable to evil forces borne out of dissatisfaction. Another very important and interesting aspect of the film is the unpredictability of human nature. Richard Brooks does give you hints and indications as to what triggered the two convicts (Perry in particular) to do what they did by giving you some details of their past lives and their childhood, but in the end Brooks wants you to know that some crimes just take place out of nowhere without much explanation to support it. Human beings with unstable minds and unstable psyches can be capable of the ultimate form of evil. Interestingly, this aspect of the unpredictability of crime is also covered in Bennett Miller's 'Foxcatcher'. It's interesting because Bennett Miller is also the director of 'Capote', the film which follows Truman Capote in his quest to acquire more and more information on this murder of the Clutters while he was working on his book 'In Cold Blood' which serves as the source material for the script of this film.I thought the middle act of the film was a bit uninteresting. It had nothing to do with the pace, it just involved scenes that didn't match the quality of the rest of the film. The procedural element of the film is the only thing of the narrative that I wasn't a big fan of and this is what fills up the middle act. The acting is solid from everyone involved, with bits of over acting in some scenes which is expected as we were still in the 60s and over the top acting had still not completely left Hollywood. The direction and screenplay is brilliant. The recreation of the crime scenes was absolutely brilliant. There are some jump-cuts from one scene to another and the transition was seamless. The last 30 minutes of the film is directed meticulously. The music by Quincy Jones basically revolves around elements of jazz and blues. The music in the film is beautiful to listen to on its own, but at times I found it to be a bit jarring and inappropriate in certain scenes and at times a bit too loud. 'In Cold Blood' isn't a perfect film, but it is certainly a good account of a gruesome crime. It is well directed, it has elements of both procedural films as well as road films. It just shows that no matter who you are or what you do, you are always vulnerable. The American Dream is ideal, but it is not beyond the grasps of evil forces.

I wish perry and dick got better judges because in that court room they did not stand a chance and could had got life in prison If they had a fair judge. and if Perry's sister would have helped him maybe they would have gotten the true Perry smith. Which he was nice enough to lie on stand and take all the charges for dick for dicks mother. which for Perry that was nice what he did for dicks mother and father. I like the movie the 1967 one and infamous because it shows just how bad Perry's life was and why he thought dick was a good friend because all he knew in life was violence. also what the people did in the orphanage to him but I don't remember where they put the rest of the kids at as to Perry got the worst place to live.