inspectors71 To entertain or to inform? Aristotle's Six Parts of Drama would answer with, to make one think. Ask me, and you'll get, to wrap the audience up tightly with a good story, well told. My wife would be the entertainment voter. I think we're all right.Richard Brooks' film version of the Truman Capote book isn't by any stretch of the word, entertaining. That leaves us with wrapping up the viewer with a thought-provoking story. I remember seeing bits and pieces of In Cold Blood as a teen when it was shown on CBS. I couldn't get the idea through my head why two stupid criminals would slaughter a family for any reason that made sense. I knew I wasn't getting the point, even though I had made it past the concrete- operational period in my intellectual development. My life experiences hadn't told me about the random barbarism humans could inflict on each other. I was blessedly innocent, even though I understood why a bunch of soldiers had decimated a couple of villages in Vietnam in 1968 (venting their frustration on less-than-humans) and why four kids got gunned down at Kent State (weekend warriors who panicked). But butchering four innocents in a farm house, just for a couple bucks, simply didn't add up. To be honest, it still doesn't.Jump forward to seeing Brooks' The Professionals in a theatre during the winter of 1975 (with the premiere of his Bite the Bullet), and the scene, where Jack Palance's banditos systematically execute dozens of Mexican soldiers, left me wondering why, why do such a monstrous thing?I remember sitting there in that theatre and figuring it out, getting the answer to my question. Why My Lai? Why the Clutters? Why this or that massacre?Convenience. Lives are expendable for expedience' sake. And that is why Aristotle would understand In Cold Blood. I understand the story. My wife would too, but she would be so sickened by the subject and so perturbed by the idea of not being entertained by a medium that is supposed to entertain, that I envy her. She shields herself from Aristotle.When I saw ICB again, something like ten years ago, I was more knowledgeable about movie-making, more aware of the psychological screwiness of Dick and Perry, but I felt that same nausea I felt when I first saw the film.It still didn't make sense. Maybe it never will.

jmillerdp 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)

Fuzzy Wuzzy 1967's In Cold Blood is really quite a remarkable and riveting motion picture in many ways. Even today, nearly 50 years later, this is certainly one unique film-experience that still holds up very well.Impressively filmed in a semi-documentary style, In Cold Blood tells the true-life story of 2 young men who senselessly murder the Clutter family for a large sum of money that was supposed to be hidden in a safe in their Kansas farmhouse.Masterfully directed by Richard Brooks, this compelling picture was based on Truman Capote's book of the same name. The film's exceptional b&w camera-work was done by Conrad Hall.For anyone who's interested in seeing a fine example of first-rate movie-making from the 1960s, I recommend this picture very highly.

SnoopyStyle Perry Smith (Robert Blake) and Dick Hickock (Scott Wilson) are life long criminals. They plan to rob a safe in the Clutter family farm in Holcomb, Kansas. They find no money and massacres the family. They go on the run first intending to get into Mexico. The guys are caught. Police detective Alvin Dewey (John Forsythe) leads the investigation. The duo are interrogated until they confess and then convicted.It's fittingly a black and white movie. It is not colorful or sensationalized, and the tense atmosphere is elevated. These are cold hearted killers. Director Richard Brooks gets nominated for his faithful interpretation of Truman Capote's book. The two leads Robert Blake and Scott Wilson are great especially Blake as the damaged and deranged Perry. The killings are left to the last part of the movie and it's very haunting.