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List Price: $28.95
Buy New: $8.74
You Save: $20.21 (70%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $7.20
Avg. Customer Rating:  (based on 161 reviews)
Sales Rank: 263
Category: DVD
Director: Bennett Miller
Publisher: Sony Pictures
Studio: Sony Pictures
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
Label: Sony Pictures
Format: Ac-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), Cantonese Chinese (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Korean (Subtitled), Portuguese (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Dubbed)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD
Running Time: 114 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
UPC: 043396126480
EAN: 0043396126480
ASIN: B000E33VWW
Release Date: March 21, 2006
Theatrical Release Date: November 30, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Bolstered by an Oscar-caliber performance by Philip Seymour Hoffman in the title role, Capote ranked highly among the best films of 2005. Written by actor/screenwriter Dan Futterman and based on selected chapters from the biography by Gerald Clarke, this mercilessly perceptive drama shows how Truman Capote brought about his own self-destruction in the course of writing In Cold Blood, the "nonfiction novel" that was immediately acclaimed as a literary milestone. After learning of brutal killings in rural Holcomb, Kansas, in November 1959, Capote gained the confidence of captured killers Perry Smith (Clifton Collins, Jr.) and Dick Hickock (Mark Pellegrino) in an effort to tell their story, but he ultimately sacrificed his soul in the process of writing his greatest book. Hoffman transcends mere mimicry to create an utterly authentic, psychologically tormented portrait of an insincere artist who was not above lying and manipulation to get what he needed. Bennett Miller's intimate direction focuses on the consequences of Capote's literary ambition, tempered by an equally fine performance by Catherine Keener as Harper Lee, Capote's friend and the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, who served as Capote's quiet voice of conscience. Spanning the seven-year period between the Kansas murders and the publication of In Cold Blood in 1966, Capote reveals the many faces of a writer who grew too close to his subjects, losing his moral compass as they were fitted with a hangman's noose. --Jeff Shannon
Description
In November, 1959, the shocking murder of a smalltown Kansas family captures the imagination of Truman Capote (Philip Seymour Hoffman), famed author of Breakfast at Tiffany's. With his childhood friend Harper Lee (Catherine Keener), writer of the soon-to-be published To Kill a Mockingbird, Capote sets out to investigate, winning over the locals despite his flamboyant appearance and style. When he forms a bond with the killers and their execution date nears, the writing of "In Cold Blood," a book that will change the course of American literature, takes a drastic toll on Capote, changing him in ways he never imagined. Stellar performances from Hoffman and Keener, as well as Academy Award winner Chris Cooper (Adaptation) are why critics are calling Capote a "must-see movie."
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Customer Reviews: Read 156 more reviews...
 "More tears are shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones." July 10, 2006
`Capote' chronicles the efforts of author Truman Capote as he researches for his last completed book. That last book was the non-fiction novel `In Cold Blood' which delved into the murder of a Kansas family on November 14th 1959. On that fateful day two men broke into the Clutter home and murdered everyone home. This event rocked the country, but most of all it drove Truman Capote mad with obsession as he struggled to create the greatest piece of literature ever written. Truman succeeded in a sense, for `In Cold Blood' made him one of, if not the most famous author in America, but it's not the book itself but the journey to completion that this film presents to us, and it does so masterfully.
What makes this film as effective as it is is its attention to detail. First of all the entire film is shot in very subtle tones. Everything is quite, from the voices to the eerie score by Mychael Danna; everything is almost in an undertone. Nothing is overbearing but it all adds to the feel of growing obsession. The opening scene, where a young girl finds the dead body of her best friend, is a perfect example of what I mean. The scene is shot with such composure and lucidity that you're almost not sure what you've just seen. Not many films with this dark a subject attack a project like this with such candor and grace, but director Bennett Miller shows so much caution and delicacy with each approach that you swear he's mastered his talent. He approaches this film, not with the `in your face' antics that most if not all crime noirs use but he gives us a stripped down raw feel.
The score, that constant piano playing is light and background, never breaking the surface and steeling the spotlight but playing perfect companion to the lucid feeling of the film.
As Capote (Hoffman) hears first hears of the murders he's immediately intrigued. He has been waiting for an inspiration, something to sink his creative teeth into and so he decides that an article for the New Yorker on the effect this crime has had on the small Kansas community may be the answer. He travels along with fellow author and friend Nell Harper Lee (Keener) to Holcomb Kansas to interview the townsfolk, but what he finds is far more than he had anticipated. Capote, upon meeting the accused, immediately forms a bond with one of the men, Perry Smith (Clifton Collins Jr.) and begins to interview him excessively, furthering his fascination, and, in a sick weird way, his love interest. Capote goes as far as to get the two men a new lawyer, one that can properly defend them. This gesture is portrayed to mean one of two things, and the film helps you lean towards one, yet never letting go of the other. Either Truman wants them around to finish his book or he really has fallen for this killer. As Truman says himself, it can't be both.
Truman's obsession with this case and the men involved starts to put a strain on his relationships, most of all with his boyfriend Jack Dunphy (Bruce Greenwood), but also with Nell as he becomes somewhat self-obsessed and or absorbed. Truman is painted as a very self-centered man, and this is shown in a few different ways. One is the fact that whenever other people are around Truman is always shown as the one doing the talking, almost as if he's entertained by the sound of his own voice. In actuality, while Catherine Keener received a `Best Supporting Actress' nod for her performance (and it was astonishing) she really didn't do too much talking. Capote completely controlled a conversation. Another way his self-love is shown is in the way he pays others to compliment him, as if to boost his own self-confidence and make himself desirable to others. And the final way, or at least the largest display, is the way he could turn any occasion into his occasion, as is seen when he visits the movie premier for Nell's `To Kill a Mockingbird' and he can't `pretend' to be having a good time, not even for her sake. Her face, her eyes, her final words to him "what did you think of the movie" say everything.
The acting in this film, while yes it is what you may call impression acting, is superbly done, notably by Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman who embodied the role of Truman Capote and delivered on every level. His eyes do a lot of talking in this film, and to me, my favorite scene is another subtle yet powerful one, and one of the scenes I use to prove how powerful this film is in all its calm nature. The scene where Truman visits the morgue to see the slain is especially prominent, for as he lifts the mothers coffin and looks at her body we can see his soul. Hoffman, in this scene, with just his eyes portrays a level of understanding and mortification that far surpasses that of `over-acting' and `melodramatics' for if he had made any movements at all, made any sounds or started to cry he would have lost all affect in my opinion, but it was his blank stare and monotone stance that drove home every point we needed.
As a whole, this film is exceptionally executed, brilliantly acted, directed and scripted and is, not just a great movie but also an exceptional work of art. I'd highly recommend the viewing of this docudrama for it opens the eyes and the mind and helps us all see what one man worked so hard for us to understand. The last few frames are crushing as we watch everything this man wish for come true in shocking realizations that made him make the very statement I chose for my title... "More tears are shed for answered prayers than unanswered ones" and that is such a true statement!
Pure Tragedy July 8, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I've never read In Cold Blood--only a few short stories and excerpts from Answered Prayers. By the time I was old enough to be aware of who Truman Capote was, he was an object of scorn and ridicule by the popular press and had alienated most of his socialite friends because of Answered Prayers.
So for a long time, it was a mystery to me how this broken, alcoholic could once have been so celebrated.
There are many layers and nuances in this film but the classic tragedy is what has stayed with me the longest. Truman Capote makes the essential Faustian bargain: he receives the fame and praise he so desperately seeks by lying and manipulating but once he gets what he wants: a book that sets new conventions for True Crime stories, he can't live with himself.
This is so beautifully played out in the movie's climax when Capote visits the two men immediately prior to their executions. He tries to say something and can only manage choked sobs. It is Perry, the man about to be hung, that consoles Capote.
Another point raised during the film is that Truman Capote was not without people who genuinely loved and cared about him. In particular, his lover, Jack Dunphy and his childhood friend, Harper Lee. But it isn't enough and by running after what he wanted but didn't need, Capote essentially anniliates himself.
In our celebrity-obsessed culture, this film quietly and truthfully paints a picture of the price many pay for seeking the illusion.
 Film Won't Mean Much for Those Unfamiliar With In Cold Blood July 7, 2006
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
Having read and loved Truman Capote's masterpiece In Cold Blood, I was eager to see the "story" behind the creation of this book. In Capote, what I got was a performance and script so understated it was boring, dull, and slow. There is no action or even a climax to the film. Non-literary, non-intellectual, non-egghead types would be bored to death with the lack of tension and conflict in the film. The film is about four brutal killings, but the murders are never re-enacted. You see a shotgun blast from a window, hear a girl scream as she finds the bodies, see a killer going up the stairs with a rifle, and see a body lying on its side on the bed with blood on the wall, but this is not enough to bring the terrible events to life.
However, if you are familiar with Capote and are in awe of In Cold Blood, you will probably enjoy the film.
The roots of Capote's long, slow fall into irrelevance July 7, 2006
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
No review I write here is going to top that of C.B. Collins, Jr.'s spotlight review - that's about the best summary of a movie I've read on amazon.com. I especially like the articulation of the element of the film I had been trying to wrap words around: that director Bennett Miller expertly juxtaposes the descent of Capote with the ascent of best friend, the unassuming Harper Lee.
What's truly fascinating when watching 'Capote' is realizing that after 'In Cold Blood,' Capote *never* finished another piece of work. He suffered through 22 years of complete artistic constipation. By the time most people of my age got to know him, Capote was a freak show - a drunken, pill-popping sham who subsisted only through talk show appearances.
Director Miller, screenwriter Dan Futterman and biographer Gerald Clarke make clear that 'In Cold Blood' scarred Capote. He literally sold his soul to mold and finish the book he wanted. He never recovered. Miller depicts the essence of the roots of Capote's long, slow fall into irrelevance.
And for all the talk about Hoffman's performance (he deserved that Oscar), the real breakout story here is Clifton Collins, Jr. as Perry Smith. His is a truly mesmerizing performance.
 booorrrrinnnggggggggggg July 5, 2006
1 out of 7 found this review helpful
Phil in Flawless was off the hook funny, and I knew this movie was going to have a "gay tude" about it, but man, it was SLOW. yea yea phil got "into" the part, but so what. only reason he got an award for this is hollyweird is 90% liberal
I found this to be the most annoying and tedious movie that I have had the misfortune of watching in the last TEN years. Never an exciting moment, the main character's strange pitch of voice drove me crazy within 10 seconds of first hearing it. If you like extremely shallow and dull 'documentaries' then by all means buy this film right away! If you appreciate excitement and characters you do not want to do away with, go elsewhere, ANY where else...
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Copyright Runningonkarma.com 2006
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