Richard Brooks
A sangue freddo

• From 1950 to 1953 the Korean War is fought.

• On November 14th, 1959, the Holcomb tragedy occurs in Kansas, in which the Clutter family is massacred in their home.

• In 1962 Howard D. Teten creates the first criminal profile for the F.B.I.

• In January 1965, In Cold Blood, Truman Capote’s non-fiction novel describing the massacre, is published.

• On April 14th, 1965, the perpetrators of the massacre, Perry Smith and Dick Hickock, are executed.

• Finally, on December 15th, 1967, the first screening of the film in question—based on Capote’s novel and directed by Richard Brooks—takes place in theaters.

In Capote’s novel, before describing the massacre, the author calmly frames it within a precise and richly detailed description of the state of Kansas, the Holcomb community, and that of Garden City. He holds up to the reader a portrait of all the people surrounding the Clutter family’s life. It’s only in the second part that he introduces the protagonists of the story, unknown to the local community.

Brooks, in his film, does not have so much time to devote to this portrait. He reduces the framework to a few panoramic shots of the farm and some comments from the local residents. Instead, he alternates, right from the start, the narratives of Dick and Perry first with those of the Clutter family, and then those of the investigators and journalists. Only in the last part of the film does his focus narrow exclusively to the condition of those condemned to death and the reconstruction of the crime, coloring the noir tones of the film with dramatic hues.

To the organization of the robbery, the work adds and associates social criticism and psychological investigation.

Perry, a war veteran left lame by an accident, travels carrying a guitar and a suitcase full of books and notebooks. He lives in the present moment, confusing it with dreams of a successful future and the nightmares of abandonment, left deep in his skin by a violent childhood and adolescence. Having become an adult, and unheard, he tries to escape the impulses toward which his unconscious drives him.

In addition, he dreams of legendary treasures, while Dick desires loot to provide a house and a more comfortable life for himself and his family and is in conflict with a society that “only condemns the poor.”

The plot of the film is not linear. The first part recounts the November 14th experienced by the main characters. The characterization of the perpetrators and the victims proceeds through analogies and oppositions: the alternating editing links the actions of the Clutter family with those of Perry, as they perform daily gestures such as looking in the mirror or making a phone call.

The second part tells of the protagonists’ flight to Mexico, searching for the treasures Perry dreams of, and their subsequent return to the United States, driven by Dick’s will. This is interspersed with the story of the investigators’ inquiry, which leads to the capture of the two men.

The third part depicts their breakdown during interrogations and the flashback reconstruction of the massacre; the subsequent trial and the resulting death sentence.

The staging is remarkable. The black and white is wonderful: the images have great depth and lend a unique realism to the Kansas landscapes (N. B. the film was shot on the actual locations of the tragedy: the Clutter house is the Clutter house) and to the actors’ expressions. The actors, by Brooks' intention, are not famous: lesser-known faces ensure complete identification with the characters portrayed. The music underscores the contrast between the Clutter family’s idyllic domesticity and the tumultuous existence of Dick and Perry.

• On September 2nd, 2005, the first screening of Capote – In Cold Blood takes place in theaters, the film that tells the story of the research carried out by the author to write his novel.

I did not know the film. Perhaps Philip Seymour Hoffman’s marvelous ability to capture all the author’s quirks and nuances helped eclipse the vitality of Brooks’s wonderful work, who knows. In any case, if—like me—you were unaware of its existence, hunt down a copy; if you haven’t seen it yet, do so; if you haven’t seen it in a while, watch it again. I certainly will.

Of In Cold Blood by Capote, nothing should be wasted. And along with the novel, this film is the very best bottle.