In Cold Blood (re-release)
Metascore
89 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 4 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
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  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    Fantastically powerful despite its flaws. (Review of Original Release)
  2. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Bosley Crowther
    100
    Excellent quasidocumentary, which sends shivers down the spine. (Review of Original Release)
  3. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kenneth Turan
    90
    The most memorable section of the film is the chilling quarter-hour devoted to the apprehension and eventual murder of the Clutter family. Captured in unblinking, neo-documentary detail, it freezes the blood just as they did all those decades ago.

User Reviews

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User Score
9.2 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 5 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. koundinya
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view. Perry is out on parole and calls on his friend Dick in Kansas City. Perry makes up a plan of finding hidden treasure worth 60 million dollars in gold in Mexico and hopes he does it the same way Humphrey Bogart does it in 'The Treasure of Sierra Madre'(1948). Dick convinces that they could go after the hidden treasure after breaking into Mr. Clutter's house and walk away with the 10,000 bucks ensconced in his safe. The Clutters are a revered, rich, god-fearing family in a rural town in Kansas. They are deemed to be the people who would-not-harm-a-creature. The duo execute the robbery as planned but end the lives of the the Clutters. To their aghast, they do not find any safe as told by Dick's friend Harold; all they could rake in is 43 bucks. They leave no traces, clues or witnesses and make it really intricate for the cops to identify them. However, the cops process a photo of the impression made by their blood-soaked shoes and use it to trace the convicts with the help of Harold testifies. The men then head to Mexico and after Dick makes Perry understand hidden treasures only happen in movies, they set out to their native state. They are finally caught by the cops in California. They come up with alibi which the cops rule them out as preposterous. They are proved guilty and sentenced to death. They are taken to "The corner" after a 5-year long wait. The men then hang from the gallows for the heinous crime they committed.

    Like 'To kill a mocking bird'(1962), the movie doesn't have much screen-time in a courtroom but it is an equally good movie nonetheless in the genre 'Courtroom Drama'. The movie is a landmark in the way it brings out the message of the gross crimes committed by the people; how people are undaunted by the capital punishment despite watching and hearing many people hang from the gallows. The movie also showed that all the convicts will one day be brought to the book by the hand of the law; such is the perseverance the police force show in catching the criminals. The art-direction , background score and screenplay, combined with wonderful Editing and continuity has made this a movie worth watching. It is far-ahead of Fargo in it's theme any day. Pun intended.    … Full Review »
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