I now respect the movie Capote even more, as it covers much of the same ground in such a completely different way. Brooks’ use of Conrad Hall’s elegent b&w and Quincy Jones’ snappy score make this much more of a movie, you know? Robert Blake’s performance really is a knockout here, giving me more insight into the Perry Smith character than reading the book did. What I love about the book and the film (both, I suppose) is that with all of the facts laid out in such detail, we still don’t know more than we did the morning the family was discovered dead: why? And that no character ever turns to the camera to say those exact words and shatter the mood is a minor miracle. This movie has a lot more meat to it than that other outlaw picture “Bonnie and Clyde,” which would come out two years later and revolutionize film culture.