in cold blood and adapt by director richard brook from truman capote famous novel and deal with the brutal and senseless murder of a family of four by a pair of hapless criminal . the film excels a a character study of the killer and particularly trigger man perry smith ( robert blake ) . the cast include few recognizable name but they nevertheless bring the story to life with ease . robert blake and scott wilson be excellent together a two criminal with disparate personality . they play off of each other effortlessly while blake also get plenty of opportunity to explore his character idiosyncrasy . the rest of the cast be merely average and isn not worth remark on . richard brook receive oscar nomination for both his script and his direction . in my opinion and both be excellent and though the script do miscalculate with some ill advise narration in the late stage . the oscar nominate cinematography by conrad hall be also top notch and a be the editing . also worthy of note be the jazzy score by quincy jones which secure the last of the film four oscar nomination . unlike so many other crime film and this one doesn not glamorize violence . brook turn the killer into pitiable character rather than flatly condemn them . whether or not you agree with that sentiment the film do present an interesting alternative to the usual hollywood approach . i recommend the film for this reason and also for the expertise with which the technical aspect be handle .