In Cold Blood

"Who would kill four people in cold blood?", a bewildered character asks in Richard Brooks' gritty black-and-white 1967 adaptation of Truman Capote's bestselling "nonfiction novel," which recreates the events leading up to and following the murder of the Clutter family in rural Holcomb, KS in 1959 by a pair of small-time thugs named Perry Smith (Robert Blake) and Dick Hickock (Scott Wilson). Nabbing Oscar nominations for Brooks (for writing and directing), for the late Conrad Hall's stark yet hauntingly beautiful cinematography, and for Quincy Jones' inspired, offbeat musical score, In Cold Blood still delivers the chills some 35 years after its debut. Of course, one can't help but watch the film today with a somewhat uncomfortable eye, given Blake's life-imitating-art murder charge; in any case, he and Wilson masterfully portray the two men who--psychologists felt--would be incapable of killing alone, but together created a third (sadly deadly) entity. The DVD debut sports a reasonably sharp and clean anamorphic widescreen transfer, but no extras. Highly recommended. (R. Pitman)[Blu-ray Review—Feb. 19, 2009—Sony, 2 discs, 248 min., R, $54.95—Making their first appearance on Blu-ray, 2005's Capote and 1967's In Cold Blood both boast good transfers and feature Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtracks. Blu-ray extras on Capote are identical to the previous DVD release, including two audio commentaries (one with star Philip Seymour Hoffman and director Bennett Miller; the other with Miller and cinematographer Adam Kimmel), a pair of behind-the-scenes featurettes (the 19-minute “Defining a Style” and 17-minute “Concept to Script”), the biographical featurette “Truman Capote: Answered Prayers” (7 min.), and trailers. No extras are included for In Cold Blood (just as with the DVD release). Bottom line: an excellent idea for a two-fer, this double-disc set looks good in Blu, and saves shelf space.][Blu-ray Review—Sept. 14, 2010—Sony, 134 min., R, $19.95—Making its second appearance on Blu-ray (after first bowing as a Capote/In Cold Blood double-feature), 1967's In Cold Blood sports a decent transfer with Dolby TrueHD 5.1 sound. Blu-ray extras include the BD-Live function. Bottom line: an excellent film, bargain-priced for Blu-ray.][Blu-ray Review—Dec. 1, 2015—Criterion, 134 min., not rated, $39.95—Making its latest appearance on Blu-ray, 1967's In Cold Blood features an excellent transfer and a DTS-HD 5.1 soundtrack. Extras include filmmakers Albert and David Maysles' 1966 documentary short “With Love from Truman” with author Truman Capote (29 min.), interviews with director Richard Brooks (19 min.), cinematographer John Bailey (27 min.), film critic and jazz historian Gary Giddins (21 min.), writer Douglass K. Daniel (17 min.) and film historian Bobbie O'Steen (15 min.), as well as archival NBC interviews with Capote and Barbara Walters from 1967 (10 min.) and with Capote on a visit to Holcomb, Kansas in 1966 (5 min.), along with an essay by critic Chris Fujiwara. Bottom line: a definitive edition of Brooks' true crime classic.]