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Capote [DVD] [2005]
enlarge	Director: Bennett Miller Actors: Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Allie Mickelson, Marshall Bell, Araby Lockhart, Robert Huculak Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent. UK Category: DVD List Price: ~~£19.99~~ Buy New: £1.59 as of 25/11/2009 01:43 GMT details You Save: £18.40 (92%) New (25) Used (14) from £0.90 Seller: raremusicanddvds Rating: 33 reviews Sales Rank: 31608 Format: Anamorphic, PAL Languages: English (Subtitles For The Hearing Impaired), Hindi (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), English (Original Language) Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over Region: 2 Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Number Of Discs: 1 Running Time: 114 Minutes Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.4 x 0.6 EAN: 5035822181533 ASIN: B000EF5SYO Theatrical Release Date: 2005 Release Date: July 3, 2006 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days


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Editorial Reviews: Amazon.co.uk Review Bolstered by an Oscar-caliber performance by Philip Seymour Hoffman in the title role, ICapote/I 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 IIn Cold Blood/I, 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 ITo Kill a Mockingbird/I, who served as Capote's quiet voice of conscience. Spanning the seven-year period between the Kansas murders and the publication of IIn Cold Blood/I in 1966, ICapote/I 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. --IJeff Shannon/I

Customer Reviews: Showing reviews 1-5 of 33 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next » Capote: "Perry and I grew up in the same house, and one day he went out the back door and I went out the front." June 3, 2006 Mary Whipple (New England) 13 out of 16 found this review helpful This brutally honest portrait of author Truman Capote, with its stunning photography (by Adam Kimmel) and Academy Award-winning acting, has been one of the most "decorated" films of 1995. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Oscar-winner as Best Actor, becomes Capote in this film--small, effete, and vulnerable, but also selfish, petulant, weak, and sometimes cruel. Catherine Keener, as Harper Lee, Capote's childhood friend, offers a stunning contrast to Hoffman's Capote. Tall, honest, and committed to keeping Capote focused, she grounds the film, while serving as Capote's research assistant during his investigation of the cold-blooded killings of four members of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas, in 1959. br / br /At the opening of the film, the clean, flat plains and unadorned farmhouse belonging to the victims form a visual contrast with Capote's frantic life in New York. A naive teenager's discovery of the murders, the savagery of the murders, and effects of the murders on the townspeople continue the contrasts between the harsh realities of local life and the esoteric lifestyle of Capote. When Perry Smith (sensitively played by Clifton Collins, Jr.) and Richard Eugene Hickock (Mark Pellegrino) are arrested, and Capote makes contact with Smith, the viewer suddenly sees Capote and Smith as similar--both lonely, sad, a bit shy, and sometimes frightened. As Perry Smith begins to confide in Capote, the similarities of their backgrounds and dysfunctional families become even more obvious. br / br /Exceptionally opportunistic, Capote is also deeply affected by Smith, feeding him when his hunger strike leaves him close to death, but also borrowing Smith's personal journals for his research because "I don't want the world to see you as a monster." Sometimes abandoning Smith and Hickock for months at a time, Capote comes and goes in their lives, leaving Smith desperate at times, and causing Jack Dunphy, Capote's lover, to accuse Capote of using Smith. As the six years pass between the crime and the publication of In Cold Blood, Capote himself deteriorates from alcohol and drugs as inexorably as Smith and Hickock have done while awaiting execution. br / br /The interactions between Hoffman, as Capote, and Collins, as Smith, lead to poignant scenes of great emotion--Capote dissembling when Smith wants to know the name of the book he is writing, Capote refusing to pay a visit to Smith until just before his execution, and Capote crying "I did everything I could," when clearly he did not. Intensely acted, sensitively directly, stunningly photographed, and hauntingly human, this memorable film takes a close, personal look at Capote and the man he fears may be his alter ego. Mary Whipple br / Best film of 2005... March 20, 2006 M. J Leonard (Silver Lake, Los Angeles, CA United States) 24 out of 31 found this review helpful Phillip Seymore Hoffman is nothing short of astonishing; he never overly imitates the well known, and often mocked, speech patterns or mannerisms of the writer Truman Capote, but rather nails his essences without turning to parody. The film itself is absolutely mesmerizing, a beautiful, subtle, and beguiling tale, of love and art and journalism; it#x27;s terrific movie that thoroughly deserves all the accolades. pThe film begins in the late #x27;50s when Capote, fresh off the success of Breakfast at Tiffany#x27;s. He#x27;s now become part of the intellectual and artistic elite, a doyen of the salons and private parties of the Upper East Side and secure in his world and reputation as the New Yorker#x27;s best and brightest author. pOne afternoon he reads a short newspaper article in The New York Times about the slaying of a rural Kansas family, the Clutters. Something about the gravity of the murders captivates him, and Capote decides the topic is perfect for The New Yorker magazine, an article in which he will show the effect of such a brutal murder on the inhabitants of a small town. pWithin days he heads to the community of Holcomb, Kansas in the company of his boyhood chum, Harper Lee, (a fabulous Catherine Keener), soon to write her one and only novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Lee serves as his enabler, helping Capote ingratiate himself into the close-knit, and somewhat intolerant, community, as he attempts to make contact with the town#x27;s law enforcement professionals and, ultimately, the perpetrators of the deed. pAs the narrow minded law enforcement officials, led by Alvin Dewey (Chris Cooper) reluctantly give Capote information about the crime, the young reporter befriends one of the imprisoned convicts, Perry Smith (Clifton Collins Jr.) in order to extract as much of his personal perspective about the killings as possible. pBut it#x27;s a relationship forged in dishonesty - it#x27;s the story and not the lives of the murderers that really compel the author - and whilst there#x27;s obviously an attraction there - they#x27;re both eccentric outsiders from the wrong side of the tracks - Capote is shown as ultimately more concerned about getting the story, as he does his best to postpone Perry#x27;s execution until he can get all the information that he needs. He must find out exactly what happened on that night in 1959, and he does such a good job of manipulating Perry#x27;s trust so that Perry believes he has a friend who will fight for his life. pDirector Bennett Miller, writer Dan Futterman, and most of all actor, Philip Seymour Hoffman capture this process with exquisite accuracy and with the smallest of flourishes. The genius of the film, besides Hoffman#x27;s stunning performance, is that it knows exactly how much is enough. It never overplays, lingers or punches up. pThe dialogue is intelligent; each scene is carefully laid out, with a gorgeously minimalist piano score that heightens the emotional tension between the characters. Meanwhile, the gray ominous sky and the flat, severe landscape of Kansas, the horizon a hundred miles out, lends its own atmosphere to the proceedings. pDid Capote eventually fall in love with Perry? Perhaps, but you leave the film with a definite sense that Capote#x27;s feelings towards the condemned man were enigmatic at best, he was a man torn between finding the story and his very real concern for the fate of another human being. Capote is presented here, flaws and all, as someone rather despicable, but he was also quite sensitive. The anguish he suffers at the results of his decisions emerges as our only glimpse of his potential redemption. pCapote is a stunning film, and a superb drama, as it mines one of man#x27;s darkest moral dilemmas - that of gaining and using another#x27;s trust for mostly selfish motivations. Much of the complication comes not only from the acknowledgement of guilt by the perpetrator, but also by the genuine feelings of concern and empathy that Capote develops for Perry, and he discovers that can#x27;t easily reconcile these feelings with his cold and calculated objective. pThe supporting players are exceptional, particularly Keener as Harper Lee and also Bruce Greenwood as author, Jack Dunphy, who was also Capote#x27;s partner and lover. But, without diminishing the contributions of all Capote#x27;s participants, this is really Hoffman#x27;s film. He#x27;s an absolute delight. Truman Capote was a complicated, competitive and totally driven man, a literary genius who had many demons, and Hoffman conveys all sides of him to perfection, letting you see the man behind the glasses, the effeminate voice, and the pouting often arrogant humor. Mike Leonard October 05. Breathtaking August 3, 2006 William S. Cockrell (Lincs, UK) 12 out of 15 found this review helpful To really appreciate this film you really need to have read the book 'in cold blood' first. Without the experience of reading the final product of capote's exertions you cannot fully appreciate his manipulation of the central characters or his incredible gift for writing. What the film does is provide perspective for the book and demonstrate the emotional toll of writing it. br / The casting is absolutely brilliant and it's beautifully shot. Without the context of the book it could be seen as quite slow or boring, when infact it is a thoroghly enlightening experience. br / One of the best films i'v seen this year! Captivating you inside Capote's mind October 8, 2006 yvie (United Kingdom) 12 out of 15 found this review helpful I bought this film because of the rumoured fabulous acting by Philip Seymour Hoffman and I was not disappointed. In this seemingly quiet movie with little action and faded looking scenes, Hoffman gives a more than brilliant performance of Truman Capote. br / br /For me, the attraction of Capote is not in the skin, not the outside but the inside of his mind, of his heart. The complicated emotions and motives that clash with every word he says to all the different people he said them to. Is he being sincere or is he being deceitful? Did he really care for the murderers? Or did he care more about his book? This movie inspires all these questions and more. Disturbingly Intriguing July 18, 2006 A. H. Lever (Bolton, England) 7 out of 9 found this review helpful Due to the scandalously limited English cinema release of this film I was waiting for the DVD impatiently to see if my initial very favourable impression at the local multiplex was valid. br / I was not disappointed, this film is little short or a masterpiece and incidentally the DVD extras are good as well. br / For me the film is about writing, and the lying and scheming that lies behind research into morbid crimes.In this sense the viewer is of course complicit in the salaciousness of the subject matter, just as much as the writer, the reader and his P.R. men.come to that. br / Visually the use of the Winnepeg for Kansas locations is succesful, and the acting is superb. Showing reviews 1-5 of 33 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next »

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