In Cold Blood on Blu-Ray
Main Feature (2H 14M 29S)
This film is based on the Truman Capote novel of the same name. I have not read that novel so for any of you out there who may have read the novel but have yet to see this film, I am unable to provide a comparison. I also believe that the novel was based on real-life events, so this should certainly interest those who enjoy watching true stories.
The editing is fantastic and the film seamlessly cuts from one conversation or action to another. One phone conversation cuts to a very different phone conversation. One man leans over a basin and this cuts to a different man pulling his head back after splashing his face with water. I have rarely witnessed such smart editing and it’s a shame that most contemporary editors and directors appear to have lost – or ignore – the impact an intelligent edit can make.
The wonderful visual editing is accompanied by an unmissable shift in music. The cheerful, pleasant, and homely music of the middle-American happy family is replaced by something more urgent, dark, and sinister when the camera is focused on the main antagonists. The mood shift which is created by jumping back and forth between the two groups lets the audience know that events are building up to something big, and the script does not disappoint.
I noticed a couple of beliefs in this film which seem so out of place in today’s society. The first is that “God-fearing” Americans should somehow be able to avoid any criminal activity. The second is that children raised by single parents have a good chance of growing up to be killers. Another prominent theme is that in order to obtain what rich people have, poor people will do anything at all, up to and including the act of mass murder.
In Cold Blood is a pretty solid example of film noir and I am sure the Coen Brothers took a great deal of inspiration from this. Robert Blake and Scott Wilson are great as the criminal duo and Director Richard Brooks did a fine job, but I believe it is the Editor Peter Zinner who deserves the most praise.
Extras
Extra! Extra! Read all about it! – “Heartache, as no extras were found on Blu-Ray”
Summary
The film starts off wonderfully only to lose itself in the middle. It pulls itself back together in impressive fashion at the end. A great film with a gripping story – but the fact this is without a single extra is the most criminal aspect of this Blu-Ray release.
Rating ****
